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Fla. Stat. § 720.405

Organizing committee; parcel owner approval.

disclosuresaleconsumer-protectionrescissionclosing

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Plain-English summary

Common Elements summary — Section 720.405 is the HOA consumer-protection statute for parcel sales. Before a contract for the sale of a parcel becomes binding, the seller must give the buyer a "Homeowners' Association Disclosure Summary" in substantially the form prescribed by the statute — disclosing that the parcel is in an HOA, that there is a recorded declaration of covenants, that the buyer will be obligated to pay assessments, that assessments are subject to change, that there may be capital contribution charges at closing, that there are recorded restrictions on use of the property, and that the buyer should review the governing documents before closing. The buyer has a 3-day rescission right after receipt of the disclosure summary AND the governing documents. If the seller fails to deliver the summary at all, the buyer can void the contract at any time before closing. Real-estate brokers and sellers attempting to close without the disclosure summary face contract-rescission risk and potential damages. For boards and managers: the association is often asked to provide the governing-documents package for the disclosure. Charge a reasonable fee under 720.303(5) and produce promptly — slow document responses are a frequent source of broker complaints to DBPR.

Not legal advice. Statute reference is for education only — confirm citations on official sources and consult a Florida attorney for your situation.

Statutory text

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The proposal to revive a declaration of covenants and an association for a community under the terms of this act shall be initiated by an organizing committee consisting of not less than three parcel owners located in the community that is proposed to be governed by the revived declaration. The name, address, and telephone number of each member of the organizing committee must be included in any notice or other document provided by the committee to parcel owners to be affected by the proposed revived declaration.

The organizing committee shall prepare or cause to be prepared the complete text of the proposed revised declaration of covenants to be submitted to the parcel owners for approval. The proposed revived documents must identify each parcel that is to be subject to the governing documents by its legal description, and by the name of the parcel owner or the person in whose name the parcel is assessed on the last completed tax assessment roll of the county at the time when the proposed revived declaration is submitted for approval by the parcel owners.

The organizing committee shall prepare the full text of the proposed articles of incorporation and bylaws of the revived association to be submitted to the parcel owners for approval, unless the association is then an existing corporation, in which case the organizing committee shall prepare the existing articles of incorporation and bylaws to be submitted to the parcel owners.

The proposed revived declaration and other governing documents for the community shall: (a) Provide that the voting interest of each parcel owner shall be the same as the voting interest of the parcel owner under the previous governing documents; (b) Provide that the proportional-assessment obligations of each parcel owner shall be the same as proportional-assessment obligations of the parcel owner under the previous governing documents; (c) Contain the same respective amendment provisions as the previous governing documents or, if there were no amendment provisions in the previous governing document, amendment provisions that require approval of not less than two-thirds of the affected parcel owners; (d) Contain no covenants that are more restrictive on the affected parcel owners than the covenants contained in the previous governing documents, except as permitted under s. 720.404(3); and (e) Comply with the other requirements for a declaration of covenants and other governing documents as specified in this chapter.

A copy of the complete text of the proposed revised declaration of covenants, the proposed new or existing articles of incorporation and bylaws of the association, and a graphic depiction of the property to be governed by the revived declaration shall be presented to all of the affected parcel owners by mail or hand delivery not less than 14 days before the time that the consent of the affected parcel owners to the proposed governing documents is sought by the organizing committee.

A majority of the affected parcel owners must agree in writing to the revived declaration of covenants and governing documents of the association or approve the revived declaration and governing documents by a vote at a meeting of the affected parcel owners noticed and conducted in the manner prescribed by s. 720.306. Proof of notice of the meeting to all affected owners of the meeting and the minutes of the meeting recording the votes of the property owners shall be certified by a court reporter or an attorney licensed to practice in the state.

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Organizing committee; parcel owner approval.

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