Mandate HOA Transparency

Homeowners in Florida HOAs (Homeowners Associations) continue to be frustrated with Boards of Directors who will not adhere and submit to the spirit of transparency in community affairs, especially as applies to timely and convenient access to HOA records.

Florida House Bill 319 and it's Florida Senate counterpart do not go far enough to address issues of access to records and transparency of HOA Boards of Directors.

We, the undersigned, frustrated residents of Florida HOA communities, do hereby petition you, our elected State representatives to revisit the current language of the aforementioned bills, and to address the critically important issues of HOA Boards of Directors transparency and truthfullness in the execution of their duties.

We call on you to to mount a Public campaign to discover the current frustrations of Homeowners all over the State of Florida,  by calling for public meetings, and soliciting the testimony and input of citizens in finding new solutions to these age old problems.

One suggestion that we the undersign do hereby endorse, is to declare HOAs (Homeowner Associations) as "Public Agencies," as defined in Florida's Sunshine Laws (Open Records and Open Meetings), inasmuch as HOAs do function as quasi-governmental authorities, with the powers to tax (assess), and even the power to fine Homeowners.

In an open HOA meeting, Board of Directors should be obligated by law to orally answer questions of fact about HOA business as may be posed by Homeowners, to the best of their abilities, and not to obfuscate the truths that the members may be seeking.

Please note that signers of this petition have an additional space at the bottom of the page to make further comments, and we ask you to take care to note and catalog those comments in your records as matters of concern to the individual signers.

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Regarding official records of an association, Florida Statutes 720 CURRENTLY states ::

(4) OFFICIAL RECORDS.—The association shall maintain each of the following items, when applicable, which constitute the official records of the association:
(a) Copies of any plans, specifications, permits, and warranties related to improvements constructed on the common areas or other property that the association is obligated to maintain, repair, or replace.
(b) A copy of the bylaws of the association and of each amendment to the bylaws.
(c) A copy of the articles of incorporation of the association and of each amendment thereto.
(d) A copy of the declaration of covenants and a copy of each amendment thereto.
(e) A copy of the current rules of the homeowners’ association.
(f) The minutes of all meetings of the board of directors and of the members, which minutes must be retained for at least 7 years.
(g) A current roster of all members and their mailing addresses and parcel identifications. The association shall also maintain the electronic mailing addresses and the numbers designated by members for receiving notice sent by electronic transmission of those members consenting to receive notice by electronic transmission. The electronic mailing addresses and numbers provided by unit owners to receive notice by electronic transmission shall be removed from association records when consent to receive notice by electronic transmission is revoked. However, the association is not liable for an erroneous disclosure of the electronic mail address or the number for receiving electronic transmission of notices.
(h) All of the association’s insurance policies or a copy thereof, which policies must be retained for at least 7 years.
(i) A current copy of all contracts to which the association is a party, including, without limitation, any management agreement, lease, or other contract under which the association has any obligation or responsibility. Bids received by the association for work to be performed must also be considered official records and must be kept for a period of 1 year.
(j) The financial and accounting records of the association, kept according to good accounting practices. All financial and accounting records must be maintained for a period of at least 7 years. The financial and accounting records must include:
1. Accurate, itemized, and detailed records of all receipts and expenditures.
2. A current account and a periodic statement of the account for each member, designating the name and current address of each member who is obligated to pay assessments, the due date and amount of each assessment or other charge against the member, the date and amount of each payment on the account, and the balance due.
3. All tax returns, financial statements, and financial reports of the association.
4. Any other records that identify, measure, record, or communicate financial information.
(k) A copy of the disclosure summary described in s. 720.401(1).
(l) All other written records of the association not specifically included in the foregoing which are related to the operation of the association.
(5) INSPECTION AND COPYING OF RECORDS.—The official records shall be maintained within the state and must be open to inspection and available for photocopying by members or their authorized agents at reasonable times and places within 10 business days after receipt of a written request for access. This subsection may be complied with by having a copy of the official records available for inspection or copying in the community. If the association has a photocopy machine available where the records are maintained, it must provide parcel owners with copies on request during the inspection if the entire request is limited to no more than 25 pages.
(a) The failure of an association to provide access to the records within 10 business days after receipt of a written request submitted by certified mail, return receipt requested, creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply with this subsection.
(b) A member who is denied access to official records is entitled to the actual damages or minimum damages for the association’s willful failure to comply with this subsection. The minimum damages are to be $50 per calendar day up to 10 days, the calculation to begin on the 11th business day after receipt of the written request.
(c) The association may adopt reasonable written rules governing the frequency, time, location, notice, records to be inspected, and manner of inspections, but may not require a parcel owner to demonstrate any proper purpose for the inspection, state any reason for the inspection, or limit a parcel owner’s right to inspect records to less than one 8-hour business day per month. The association may impose fees to cover the costs of providing copies of the official records, including, without limitation, the costs of copying. The association may charge up to 50 cents per page for copies made on the association’s photocopier. If the association does not have a photocopy machine available where the records are kept, or if the records requested to be copied exceed 25 pages in length, the association may have copies made by an outside vendor or association management company personnel and may charge the actual cost of copying, including any reasonable costs involving personnel fees and charges at an hourly rate for vendor or employee time to cover administrative costs to the vendor or association. The association shall maintain an adequate number of copies of the recorded governing documents, to ensure their availability to members and prospective members. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the following records are not accessible to members or parcel owners:
1. Any record protected by the lawyer-client privilege as described in s. 90.502 and any record protected by the work-product privilege, including, but not limited to, a record prepared by an association attorney or prepared at the attorney’s express direction which reflects a mental impression, conclusion, litigation strategy, or legal theory of the attorney or the association and which was prepared exclusively for civil or criminal litigation or for adversarial administrative proceedings or which was prepared in anticipation of such litigation or proceedings until the conclusion of the litigation or proceedings.
2. Information obtained by an association in connection with the approval of the lease, sale, or other transfer of a parcel.
3. Personnel records of the association’s employees, including, but not limited to, disciplinary, payroll, health, and insurance records. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “personnel records” does not include written employment agreements with an association employee or budgetary or financial records that indicate the compensation paid to an association employee.
4. Medical records of parcel owners or community residents.
5. Social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, electronic mailing addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, emergency contact information, any addresses for a parcel owner other than as provided for association notice requirements, and other personal identifying information of any person, excluding the person’s name, parcel designation, mailing address, and property address. However, an owner may consent in writing to the disclosure of protected information described in this subparagraph. The association is not liable for the disclosure of information that is protected under this subparagraph if the information is included in an official record of the association and is voluntarily provided by an owner and not requested by the association.
6. Any electronic security measure that is used by the association to safeguard data, including passwords.
7. The software and operating system used by the association which allows the manipulation of data, even if the owner owns a copy of the same software used by the association. The data is part of the official records of the association.
(d) The association or its authorized agent is not required to provide a prospective purchaser or lienholder with information about the residential subdivision or the association other than information or documents required by this chapter to be made available or disclosed. The association or its authorized agent may charge a reasonable fee to the prospective purchaser or lienholder or the current parcel owner or member for providing good faith responses to requests for information by or on behalf of a prospective purchaser or lienholder, other than that required by law, if the fee does not exceed $150 plus the reasonable cost of photocopying and any attorney’s fees incurred by the association in connection with the response.

As stated above, we do not believe that these statutes go far enough to force transparency in HOA environments, and require modification.