With the troubles and financial difficulties currently plaguing condominium and homeowners associations throughout South Florida, any new and costly regulations affecting an association's ability to collect delinquencies or imposing new charges would be devastating. In July, attorneys from our firm analyzed such an ordinance adopted in Miami-Dade County, which would have required associations to pay for maintenance and upkeep for some properties under foreclosure.

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Community Associations Now Using Aggressive, Little-Known Legal Maneuvers To Overcome Delays Caused by Delinquent Unit Owners, Bank Foreclosures
By Guillermo M. Mancebo, Esq.

The glut of new condominiums and homeowner associations in South Florida coupled with the economic recession and declines in housing prices have combined to create a “perfect storm” scenario for the region's community associations.

Regardless of whether the communities are new or old, luxury or affordable, beachfront or urban, all types of multifamily properties have been affected by the times, which have wreaked havoc on associations and the owners that
they serve.

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Marketable Record Titles Act: Preserving Restrictive Covenants For Homeowners' Associations
By L. Chere Trigg, Esq.

The Marketable Record Titles Act (“MRTA”) is a Florida law not known to many homeowner association board members which serves to remove certain covenants, restrictions, claims and other encumbrances recorded against real property after 30 years.

Included within the types of instruments extinguishable under MRTA are recorded covenants and restrictions that are enforced by homeowners' associations or that authorize homeowners' associations to impose charges or assessments against property or property owners. The restrictive covenants which make up the governing documents for homeowner associations in Florida are subject to MRTA, which may operate to extinguish such covenants 30 years after their recordation unless preserved or reaffirmed in accordance with Florida law.

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