The 2022 Florida legislative session ended Friday, March 11, 2022. They did have to come back on Monday, the 14^th to finalize the budget, which is the only bill they must pass each year. We do not normally publish information about legislation until it is signed by the governor. This is a lesson learned a number of years ago, when I started spreading the word about significant changes for community associations as soon as the bill passed, only to be vetoed by the governor before it was scheduled to be effective. So, I have always been careful about making sure the bills are effective before communicating the changes to our students and clients.

This year, I don’t have to worry about that. Our legislature did not pass anything that made changes for condominiums, cooperatives or homeowners’ associations. This is a first for me since I have been doing newsletters going back to the 1970s. There was an amendment to Chapter 712, F.S., The Marketable Title to Real Property Act, revising some of the extinguishment of certain documents affecting titles that may impact homeowners’ associations, CS, SB 1380.

There are two areas of concern that were not addressed. Obviously, there were several bills introduced regarding building safety as a result of the Champlain Towers South building collapse last year. Most thought one bill was moving along and would probably pass, requiring safety inspections of certain buildings and limiting the waiver of reserves for condominiums. Again, the bill did not pass. Property insurance issues are the second area of concern. I have seen our property insurance situation described as a crisis, with increasing insurance rates and decreasing coverages by insurance companies, but this also was not addressed.

We feel certain the building safety issues will come up in the next legislative session which will be in the spring of 2023…unless there is pressure on the governor to call a special session. However, it appears he does not have a strong feeling about the issue. If you have concerns or recommendations, you should communicate with your legislators and let them know how you feel.

Thanks for reading and stay in touch.

Fred Gray, President