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Sign up freeWhy is it that the cleaning lady told me she is not on the board of directors of springwood village condominiums in Ocala Florida but yet she can walk around and enforce violations upon owners, when in fact she's in violations of her unit as well .when I approach her and ask her how come her and the maintenance man can enforce bylaws and regulations and place violations upon owners when they're in fact in violations of their units as well why is that fair, are they legally allowed to enforce violations when their units are in violations themselves. It's very important that we as owners carefully select board of directors of our association because they are on a very bad power Trip in this community. The power Trip in this community is far much deeper than just a cleaning lady and the maintenance man it stems from the president of the association it's a husband and wife that owns 22 units in here they also are in fiduciary duty they only worry about their units they recently just started to put this place back in the shape after I actually told them that they're in fiduciary duty of my building and they currently still are why am I being harassed and bullied by these people
George, honestly, I'm with you on this one.
I'm a licensed CAM here in Florida and I see this setup more than I'd like. A husband and wife on the same board, or an investor who owns a pile of units, isn't illegal. But when two people own 22 units in a 152-unit building, they can basically vote themselves in every year. Legal and healthy are two different things.
On your actual question: it's not illegal for the board to have staff hand out violation notices. But it's highly unorthodox. In a normally run building, violations come from the manager, the board, or the violations committee. Not the cleaning lady and the maintenance guy. That alone tells me a lot about how this place is being run.
And the part you're really asking about, that those two are writing people up while their own units are in violation, that's selective enforcement. An association has to apply its rules evenly. If they're citing you and letting their own staff slide, you've got a real defense against those violations and anything that comes after them. Write it all down. Which units, what the violation is, how long it's been like that, whether anybody's ever been cited for it.
One more thing that matters a lot. Under 718.303, the board can levy a fine, but you have the right to appeal it to a committee of other owners who aren't on the board and don't live with anyone who is. You get 14 days notice of that hearing, the committee gets the final say, and fines cap at $100 a day and $1,000 total per violation. If this association doesn't even have that committee, they've skipped the one protection the law gives you, and a violation with no committee behind it has nothing behind it. We've got the statute here: commonelements.com/florida/statutes/718/303
I'd like to hear the whole story instead of guessing. A few things I want to know:
What did they actually give you? A letter, something on the door, or just words? Who signed it and what rule does it cite?
What are the violations on the cleaning lady's and maintenance guy's units, and has anybody ever written them up?
Has anyone said the word fine, named an amount, or mentioned a hearing?
What were they trying to get you to sign? Don't sign anything under pressure. Ask for a copy and take it home.
Is there a management company, or is the board running everything through the staff? The state has a manager on file for you and I want to know if that's still true.
Are you the owner of record on your unit?
Two things you can do today. Send the association a written request to see the official records under 718.111(12): anything about violations or fines on your unit, the rule they say you broke, the fining committee roster if there is one, and the board minutes where enforcement came up. They get ten working days. And keep a dated log. Who said what, who handed you what.
Message me on here or email me directly at [email removed]. Happy to talk it through.
This is general info on Florida condo law, not legal advice for your situation. If fines or a lawsuit show up, get a Florida community association attorney.
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