Records retention A condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association must maintain accounting and financial records for a period of seven Debit card use (condominiums only) According to statute, an association and its officers, directors, employees, and agents may not use a debit card issued in the name of the association or billed directly to the association for the payment of any association expense. Use of a debit card Annual report to DBPR (condominiums only) Condominium associations are required to provide an annual report to the DBPR containing the names of all the financial institutions in which it maintains accounts. A copy of the report may be obtained from the DBPR upon written request from any association member. Associations should restrict the information provided to the DBPR to the names of the financial institutions
years. A multi-condominium or cooperative must maintain separate records for each association.
issued in the name of the association or billed directly to the association for any expense that is not a lawful obligation of the association may be prosecuted as credit card fraud. [F.S. 718.111(15)] only without additional information. Any information provided to the DBPR is subject to the Florida’s Sunshine Law (F.S. 286) that makes it available to the public. The provision of non- required, confidential information could subject the association to potential liability.
CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT The information on this form is required to be provided annually to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation by F.S. 718.71 [Ch 2017-188 Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2017]. The information contained on this report includes: ● Association Name ● MA Number [from annual billing statement] ● Mailing Address ● City/State/Zip code ● Contact person ● Contact email/phone ● Name(s) of Financial Institution(s) – [list only the names of the institution(s)] Fiduciary duties
● Duty of loyalty : To place no other causes, interests, or affiliations above their allegiance to the association and its members. Florida Administrative Code regarding condominiums, cooperatives and timeshares address violations regarding accounting, budgets, records, developer, assessing, and common expenses. F.A.C. 61B-15 through 25, 45, and 50 include details of violations that are considered minor and major violations including the consequences. The following are identified as minor violations (concerning budgets and finances): ● Failure to obtain competitive bids on contracts that exceed five percent of the association’s budget [F.S. 718.3026(1)]. ● Failure to include applicable line items in a proposed budget. Failure to show limited common element expenses in a proposed budget [F.S. 718.112(2)(f)1, F.A.C. 61B- 22.003(5)]. ● Failure to provide for funding of one or more reserve fund categories in the proposed budget [F.A.C. 61B-22.003(1)(e) (f)(g)]. ● Failure to timely provide the annual financial report [F.S. 718.111(13)]. ● Improper disclosure in the year-end financial statements of revenues and expenses related to limited common elements [F.A.C. 61B-22.006(3)(d)]. than $5,000 be imposed for a single violation. The penalties are set forth in categories 1, 2, and 3, for each violation as follows: Category Penalty Range 1 $10 - $18 per unit 2 $20 - $50 per unit 3 $100 - $300 for each unit offered/created; deposit or contract
While the Florida statutes and Florida Administrative Code related to various types of community associations do not provide detailed guidelines for management and investment of association funds, the board, in determining its financial policies and strategies, must be guided by its documents. This entails three duties for directors and officers: ● Duty of care : To investigate all possible decisions that may impact the association when making decisions, to ensure it makes the best possible choice. ● Duty to act in good faith : To choose the option that best serves the interest of the members in the long and short terms. Minor violations Violations shall be considered minor due to their lower potential for consumer harm. If an enforcement resolution is utilized, the division shall impose a civil penalty between $1 and $5, per unit, for each minor violation. The penalty will be assessed beginning with the middle of the specified range and adjusted either up or down based on any accepted or mitigating factors. An occurrence of six or more aggravating factors or five or more mitigating factors will result in a penalty being assessed outside of the specified range. The total penalty to be assessed shall be calculated according to these guidelines or $500, whichever amount is greater. Finally, in no event shall a penalty of more than $5,000 be imposed for a single violation. Major violations Violations shall be considered major due to their increased potential for consumer harm. If an enforcement resolution is utilized, the penalty will be assessed beginning with the middle of the specified range and adjusted either up or down based upon any accepted aggravating or mitigating factors. An occurrence of six or more aggravating factors or five or more mitigating factors will result in a penalty being assessed outside of the specified range. The total penalty to be assessed shall be calculated according to these guidelines or $500, whichever amount is greater. Finally, in no event shall a penalty of more
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Book Code: CAMFL1524
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