Revisiting Your Rules and Regulations in the New Year

Steven G. Rappaport

First and foremost, Sachs Sax Caplan would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!  We know that this is a time for many people to make resolutions for the upcoming year ahead.  One resolution that many Associations may wish to make in 2023 is revisiting their rules and regulations.  Many Associations may have outdated rules and regulations that need to be updated and amended.  Other Associations may have been lax in their enforcement of rules and may need to republish their rules and restrictions, so that they may be properly enforced on a moving-forward basis. If you are an Association, whether a Condominium Association or Homeowners Association, that has not been uniformly enforcing your rules and regulations, Florida law allows you to go through a republication process whereby you send a letter to the community republishing the rule or restriction that has not been properly enforced which will allow you to enforce those rules on a moving-forward basis.  If you have any such restrictions, whether they are in your rules and regulations or in your Declaration of Covenants or Declaration of Condominium, it is important to avoid selective enforcement issues in the future, you republish this rule or restriction and “clean the slate” on a moving-forward basis.  You can send the rules and regulations or other restrictions out to the community with a cover letter stating that the Board of Directors, on a moving-forward basis, will be enforcing these restrictions.  Any pre-existing violations that were not enforced would likely need to be grandfathered, but at least this will allow the Associations to be in a better position to enforce these revitalized rules and regulations and other use restrictions. Also, this may be a good time for Associations to evaluate existing rules and regulations and to determine whether they need to be updated or amended.  It is important to remember that, while rules and regulations may be adopted by the Board without needing a membership vote (unless the documents specifically require a membership vote), if you are adopting or amending rules and regulations that regulate the use of Condominium...

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