Community Update

Hoarding in Community Associations

By: Mary R. Hawk

Community association managers and board members often find themselves dealing with the mental illness of a resident; especially if the resident has no family members willing to help. Hoarding has especially grown in prevalence in community associations. Many associations find themselves wondering how to deal with a hoarder or suspected hoarder.

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Now Is the Time to Adopt Hurricane Protection Specifications

By: Yeline Goin

In a few short months, the 2025 hurricane season will be upon us, and it is important to start planning ahead.

For many years, the Condominium Act provided that each board of a residential condominium was required to adopt hurricane “shutter” specifications including color, style, and other factors deemed relevant by the board. The Homeowners’ Association Act did not have a similar provision.

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Yes, Virginia, Estoppel Letters are Addressed by Statute

By: Joseph Arena

With so many other subjects related to condominium and homeowners’ associations consuming so much bandwidth these days, it was not surprising to learn that a community association client of mine was not aware that the Florida Statutes address in detail association estoppel letters. If your association’s board or directors or property manager has been completing fill-in-the-blank forms generated by title companies or closing agents and/or has been sending account ledgers to persons involved in real estate transactions in lieu of more nuanced financial disclosures, then this article is for you. It is important to note that this article does not address what is commonly referred to as “lender questionnaires”. Lender questionnaires were addressed in a previous CUP article.

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Santa Monica Beach Prop. Owners Ass’n v. Acord
219 So.3d 111 (Fla. 1d DCA 2017)

By: Joseph Markovich

The question in THIS CASE was whether short-term vacation rentals were prohibited by the restrictive covenants. In 2015, the Association sent letters to homeowners, alleging that their properties were being used primarily as vacation rentals and requested that they stop this activity. When the owners continued to do so, the Association filed a declaratory judgment action, claiming that these uses breached the restrictive covenants.

The properties in question were located in the Santa Monica Beach subdivision in Bay County, Florida. The restrictive covenants applicable to these properties specified that they were to be used only for residential purposes and explicitly prohibited their use for business purposes. The homeowners argued that the short-term vacation rentals were residential uses, not business uses, because the renters were using the properties for residential purposes.

The appellate court determined that short-term vacation rentals are considered residential uses. The critical issue was whether the renters were using the property for ordinary living purposes, such as sleeping and eating, and not the duration of the rental. The court agreed with decisions from other states that have almost uniformly held that short-term vacation rentals do not violate restrictive covenants requiring residential use.

The court explained that generating income from rentals or regulatory requirements like licensure do not transform the residential character of the use into a business use. The Association did not allege that renters were using the properties for nonresidential purposes, and thus the court concluded that the short-term rentals did not violate the covenants.

The court further noted that ambiguities in restrictive covenants are resolved in favor of the free and unrestricted use of property. Restrictive covenants must explicitly prohibit specific uses if they are intended to prevent common and predictable activities like short-term rentals. It should be noted that the restrictive covenants in question did not include a minimum lease term–they only prohibited “business use”.

So why does THIS CASE matter? This case highlights the importance of precise and explicit language in restrictive covenants. Short-term vacation rentals are a common and foreseeable use of properties in coastal or vacation areas, and courts are unlikely to restrict such uses absent clear prohibitions in the covenants.

For homeowners and associations, this case serves as a reminder to carefully draft and interpret restrictive covenants. Associations must ensure their governing documents clearly address specific uses they intend to restrict. Consulting with legal counsel can provide clarity and help prevent future disputes regarding property use.