Lost in all of the controversy surrounding the recent amendments to Florida’s laws governing community associations–and, in particular, the changes to condominium association laws enacted by House Bill 1237–were revisions to the financial reporting requirements for condominium and cooperative associations.
House Bill 6027 became effective on July 1 and amends provisions of Chapters 718 and 719 of the Florida Statutes. House Bill 6027 is a “two edged sword”:
- On one hand, it removes the “fewer than 50 units” exception that allowed community associations to simply prepare a report of cash receipts and expenditures instead of either compiled, reviewed or audited financial statements regardless of the association’s annual revenue. House Bill 6027 also removes this exception from F.S. Section 720.303, which governs financial reporting for mandatory homeowners associations.
- On the other hand, condominium and cooperative associations are no longer prohibited from waiving the statutorily provided financial reporting requirements for more than 3 consecutive years. This prohibition against associations waiving these reporting requirements more than 3 years in a row was a fairly recent addition to Florida statutes. House Bill 6027 effectively “turns back the clock” and allows associations to waive those financial reporting requirements on an annual basis for as long as the association’s members see fit.
At least in regards to these financial reporting requirements, “what the legislature giveth, the legislature taketh away”.
I hope all of you had a safe and restful 4th of July and that we’ll have another uneventful hurricane season.