Many condominium associations have policies that prohibit or regulate the ownership of pets. For the most part, associations have become adept at dealing with those having pets and those requesting permission to have a pet. However, as a recent lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in Utah shows, things are very different when the pet in question is a service animal. More...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 785,000 Americans suffer their first heart attack every year, while another 470,000 experience their second. Unfortunately, the number of those who die from sudden cardiac arrest is equally disturbing. More...

Florida’s Condominium Act confers broad authority upon condominium associations to manage and maintain the communities they serve. Included within an association’s authority is the significant power to enter into contracts. This power, however, does have its limits. More...

A consequence of the struggling real estate market is the increased number of condominium units occupied by tenants rather than unit owners. Not surprisingly, many tenants do not have the same commitment—financial or emotional—to the condominium community as owners. As a result, condominium associations have to deal with non-owner tenants who fail to observe the association’s rules more frequently than before. More...

The overall health and stability of a condominium community is often viewed as a function of the whole rather than the sum of its parts. As such, those choosing to make their home in a condominium community understand the manner and extent to which their standard of living is dependent upon one another. This is particularly true in the context of a condominium community’s financial situation. More...

If an admitted insurance company becomes insolvent, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) generally becomes obligated to pay up to $300,000 for each covered claim. However, for multi-building condominiums, the manner in which the association’s property insurance is structured could affect the amount FIGA will pay if the association’s admitted insurer becomes insolvent. More...

Today, condominium residents are feeling the pain of their neighbors' financial struggles, particularly in the form of budgetary shortfalls created by unit owners defaulting on their obligation to pay assessments. Assessments, which represent each unit owner’s share of the funds required to pay the association’s common expenses, are the life-blood of an association. The revenue generated by assessments enables the condominium association to undertake the maintenance, management, and operation of the condominium community. Unfortunately, the current slump in the housing market, particularly in Florida, has hit condominium communities especially hard. More...

Condominium associations can be sizeable organizations responsible for overseeing and managing hundreds of residents, possibly thousands. This responsibility often involves hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions of dollars worth of property and revenue. A for-profit organization dealing with similar figures will commit significant resources to protecting its assets. For some reason, however, many condominium associations fail to take the same precautions. Perhaps the most common oversight, and often the costliest, is an association’s failure to review and understand their insurance coverages.More...

In the State of Florida, what right does a condominium board have to prohibit a unit owner from installing hurricane shutters? More...

Did you know that the earth receives more energy from the sun in one hour than the world uses in an entire year? In the past, such a fact was considered trivial. Today, however, it is fueling (pardon the pun) the Going Green movement that has found prominence in local and national political debates and news productions. More...

The holiday season brings with it a flurry of activity. From wish lists and shopping lists to recipes and reservations, this time of year often has the effect of raising spirits more than any other. And, while people express their holiday spirit in different ways, many choose to do so by decorating their homes; inside and out. More...

Those choosing to live in a condominium community voluntarily concede a measure of their autonomy as homeowners to their condominium association, whose governing board has the power to enact and enforce restrictions on the manner in which unit owners occupy and use their property. More...

Condominium communities offer unique benefits to their residents that may not be otherwise available to those opting for "traditional" home ownership. However, in exchange for these benefits, unit owners must give up a certain degree of freedom of choice that they might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned homes. More...

Condominium unit owners have common interests that go beyond just the use of the pool and the clubhouse. Because residents share the expenses associated with condominium living, they have a vested interest in the financial health of their fellow unit owners, specifically their ability to pay their share of those expenses. More...

As a country of laws, the United States has gone to great lengths to ferret out and eliminate discrimination, having deemed it antithetical to a free and fair society. More...