New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power

“On 1 July, there will be unprecedented new curbs on the power and excesses of [Florida] HOAs, the ultra-local panels of government that decide what color your front door should be, and how clean you need to keep your mailbox, in pursuit of high standards of maintenance and aesthetics,” writes Richard Luscombe in The Guardian.

The law seeks to curb the excesses of some HOAs, such as situations where “a Vietnam war veteran almost lost his apartment for owning the wrong kind of dog,” “a ring of thieves made off with millions of dollars of residents’ money they were obligated to look after,” and “where a family was threatened with legal action over decorative garage door hinges.”

The new law requires  new training for HOA board members, Luscombe notes, and “No more can residents be cited or fined for trivial transgressions, like leaving their trash cans out beyond collection day, or having holiday lights and decorations still hanging long after the last visitors have returned home – at least without 14 days’ written notice, a hearing and appeals.”