Chapter 5: Records Management for HOAs 3 CE Hours
Expiration Date : February 12, 2028 Course overview
This course is intended to satisfy the DBPR’s requirement for those who manage homeowners’ associations to fulfil five hours of continuing education in homeowners’ association specific information, specifically, three hours related to record keeping and two hours that relate to homeowners’ associations. The course also provides three hours of continuing education credit for CAMs who are not homeowners’ association managers. association’s obligations of record maintenance and inspection. Understand provisions related to meetings, elections, and fraudulent voting activities. Recognize how the components and events discussed in this course portray existing records or those that may become records that the HOA is responsible for maintaining.
This course examines various sections of Florida Statute 720 as well as F.S. 468 statutory professional practice standards of community association managers (CAM) and community association management firms. Specifically, how they apply to the records and records management operations of homeowners’ associations. The course includes discussion of what CAMs should be aware of while in service to homeowners’ associations related to record keeping. Learning objectives After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Understand the many areas with which a CAM must concern themselves related to HOA records and maintenance of such records. Recognize the importance placed on record keeping by Florida statute. Understand how a CAM can provide guidance in various association duties and processes to help achieve the
INTRODUCTION
This course is divided into four parts: PART 1 : General discussion of the importance and extent of record keeping. PART 2 : Official records and their maintenance (i.e., record keeping) PART 3 : Websites and mobile applications requirements for homeowners’ associations. PART 4 : Inspection and copying records. Hello, I’m Sam. I’ve been a CAM for 25 years. When it comes to record keeping, I’ve seen it all! Good record keeping, bad record keeping, and no record keeping. In the introduction, we mentioned the board secretary’s responsibility. This doesn’t mean that the secretary will keep the records of the association in their garage. It implies that the secretary is responsible for assuring that the records are kept in compliance with statutes and the association’s governing documents. This means that the CAM and/or management firm of a community association will work closely with the secretary to ensure that their responsibility is being carried out.
Maintaining records is a vital duty for all types of organizations, businesses, and corporations. Since October 1, 1995, an association that operates a community as defined in F.S. 720.301 must be operated by an association that is a Florida corporation. Thus, one of the duties of a homeowners’ association (the corporation) is to properly maintain its official records. The gathering and maintenance of the HOA’s records is an obligation that begins with the first board, usually the developer, passed on to the association through all subsequent boards. If the association retains the services of other authorized agents, such as a CAM or community association management firm, those entities are also regarded as having the responsibility to maintain the existing records and all subsequent information, documentation, and materials that will become association records. Even though the office of the board secretary is described as, “The keeper and point person for all corporate documents,” which means they are responsible for ensuring that records are handled properly; by statute, all board directors, officers, and their authorized agents have the responsibility to ensure proper maintenance of the records of the association.
PART 1: GENERAL DISCUSSION - IMPORTANCE OF RECORD KEEPING
Professional practice standards F.S. 468.4334, as applied to professional practice standards liability of community association management services, requires that the official records of an association be returned to the association within 20 business days after termination of a contract agreement providing community association management services or receipt of written request (whichever occurs first).
If the CAM or management firm fails to return the official records within the set time, they are subject to suspension of their license and a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for up to 10 business days, beginning the 21st day after termination or receipt of written request from the association.
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Book Code: CAMFL1526
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