The Florida Condominium Act says that “any unit owner or other eligible person” may be a candidate for the board of directors. An individual is not eligible for board membership if the person has been suspended or removed from the board by the State, is delinquent in the payment of monetary obligations to the condo, or has been convicted of a felony, unless his civil rights have been restored for at least five years as of the date such person seeks election to the board.

Collections for condos and HOAs require you to consider this, The Fair Debt Collection industry has established an objective test based on “the least sophisticated consumer”.  The purpose of this is to protect consumers. Some are Harvard Graduates and others are less educated and there are always the very clever.

In a decision by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Of the State Of Florida Homeowner Associations have been handed another setback regarding HOA collections of past due maintenance fees. On May 27, 2015 the court rendered a decision in the Appeal in Pudlit 2 Joint Venture, LLP v. Westwood Gardens HOA, Inc., Case No. 4D14-1385 that declares that if a delinquent unit is purchased by a subsequent purchaser and the association has this specific language in its governing documents (“the personal obligation for delinquent assessments shall not pass to his successors in title unless expressly assumed by them”),  then the new owner is NOT jointly and severally liable to pay the accrued delinquent fees.

Written by: Mitch Drimmer
Every business has their share of those who are unwilling to pay what they owe, and this happens often in Homeowners and Condominium Associations. If you come across unresponsive members, you should be ready to act. Regarding community association collections one option is to hire a collections agency to do the work for you.