Condo Association Budgets in Florida: What to look out for
Posted by Denise Stewart on Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 at 10:34pm.
By: Melissa & Denise Stewart
Condo Association Budgets in Florida are governed by Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes.
The first question that we are often asked is are there any rules or regulations governing Condominium Associations and their budgets? The answer is YES, and the law is Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, and it is very specific as it relates to budgets, and the process in which budgets are developed, which items need to be accounted for, what reserves are required, and even what to do if budget increases are necessary.
These are the requirements by Statute:
(f) Annual budget.—
And these are the Budget Items that are required by statute:
The next question that we are always asked is "Can the Association raise the budget to any amount, or is there a law that will prevent this?"
There are special rules relation to this very point, and the statutes cover if the Association is going to raise your assessments by more than 15% OF WHAT THEY WERE IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. tHE STATUTE IS AS FOLLOWS:
As you can see, ther rules governing budgets are very specific and complicated. The best thing to do if you think that you may have a problem, is to ask the Board of Directors (or the President of the Association) to speak to the Attorney for the Association. Otherwise, you may have to hire your own attorney to inquire into any issues that you see...