Florida bill aimed at giving some rights back to homeowners with HOAs on Gov. DeSantis' desk

TAMPA, Fla. - Living in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association comes with some perks but also some rules, and a new bill on Governor Ron DeSantis' desk aims to give back some of the rights homeowners give up in those communities.

People can pay hundreds of dollars into their HOA, and House Bill 1203 looks to build some transparency and responsibility with proposed changes. The bill made it to DeSantis on Tuesday.

"I think this is a way of getting all the HOAs on the same page," said Brian Bokor, a residential property appraiser in Hillsborough County.

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Bokor said he sees how HOAs affect neighborhoods.

"You can tell some communities, HOAs are very strict on their guidelines," he said. "Some communities aren’t as strict on their guidelines. And I think the ones that aren’t as strict on their guidelines are the more outliers, because a lot of the people, even though they don’t want the HOA, they want the conformity an HOA brings them."

House Bill 1203 hits on a variety of issues, including educational requirements for community managers, record keeping and what HOAs would be allowed to fine or suspend for.

"There’s a lot of requirements right now as far as vehicles, specifically work vehicles," said Bokor. "First responders are having problems parking their vehicles in HOA properties."

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But, the bill would allow work vehicles that are not commercial motor vehicles to park on their properties, and homeowners would be allowed to park their assigned first responder vehicles on public roads or rights of way. The proposal also bans fines or suspensions for leaving garbage cans out for less than 24 hours before or after pickup time. It would give some rights back to homeowners and add transparency.

"If a board member, or whoever is maintaining the official records doesn't keep the records, so there's no trail of what happened, that is now a crime," said Dale Appell, a Tampa attorney.

But, Appell said the bill may not be a right fit for all.

"Apparently in the past, board of directors of HOA's were able to sign something that certified that they had reviewed certain material in order to educate themselves about their responsibilities and the rules regarding being a member of the board. Now, they're going to actually have to take a course," said Appell.

That education for HOA board of directors would need to happen every year under the proposal, and Appell said that might discourage some from getting involved.

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Lesser penalties may not have the desired effect if rules are broken.

"In those types of situations in the past, you can levy fines and actually lien the home if the fine isn't paid. That type of penalty no longer exists. You can still fine the homeowner for those types of things, but you can no longer lose your home if your grass is too tall," said Appell, providing one example for the bill’s potential impact. "The homeowner may say, well, that's a good thing. But, the other homeowners may say, you know, that's a shame, because now the person who has the grass, it's not being cut, doesn't have that incentive to make sure that it gets done."

In 2023, there were six laws that changed rights and responsibilities for homeowner’s associations. DeSantis has until June 5 to sign House Bill 1203. If he does sign the bill, it takes effect July 1.

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