720.305 Obligations of members; remedies at law or in equity; levy of fines and suspension of use rights.—
(1) Each member and the member’s tenants, guests, and invitees, and each association, are governed by, and must comply with, this chapter, the governing documents of the community, and the rules of the association. Actions at law or in equity, or both, to redress alleged failure or refusal to comply with these provisions may be brought by the association or by any member against:
(a) The association;
(b) A member;
(c) Any director or officer of an association who willfully and knowingly fails to comply with these provisions; and
(d) Any tenants, guests, or invitees occupying a parcel or using the common areas.
The prevailing party in any such litigation is entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs. A member prevailing in an action between the association and the member under this section, in addition to recovering his or her reasonable attorney fees, may recover additional amounts as determined by the court to be necessary to reimburse the member for his or her share of assessments levied by the association to fund its expenses of the litigation. This relief does not exclude other remedies provided by law. This section does not deprive any person of any other available right or remedy.
(2) An association may levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association. A fine may not exceed $100 per violation against any member or any member’s tenant, guest, or invitee for the failure of the owner of the parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with any provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association unless otherwise provided in the governing documents. A fine may be levied by the board for each day of a continuing violation, with a single notice and opportunity for hearing, except that the fine may not exceed $1,000 in the aggregate unless otherwise provided in the governing documents. A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against a parcel. In any action to recover a fine, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs from the nonprevailing party as determined by the court.
(a) An association may suspend, for a reasonable period of time, the right of a member, or a member’s tenant, guest, or invitee, to use common areas and facilities for the failure of the owner of the parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with any provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association. This paragraph does not apply to that portion of common areas used to provide access or utility services to the parcel. A suspension may not prohibit an owner or tenant of a parcel from having vehicular and pedestrian ingress to and egress from the parcel, including, but not limited to, the right to park.
(b) A fine or suspension levied by the board of administration may not be imposed unless the board first provides at least 14 days’ written notice of the parcel owner’s right to a hearing to the parcel owner at his or her designated mailing or e-mail address in the association’s official records and, if applicable, to any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner, sought to be fined or suspended. Such hearing must be held within 90 days after issuance of the notice before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association, or the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of an officer, director, or employee. The committee may hold the hearing by telephone or other electronic means. The notice must include a description of the alleged violation; the specific action required to cure such violation, if applicable; and the hearing date, location, and access information if held by telephone or other electronic means. A parcel owner has the right to attend a hearing by telephone or other electronic means.
(c) If the committee, by majority vote, does not approve a proposed fine or suspension, the proposed fine or suspension may not be imposed. The role of the committee is limited to determining whether to confirm or reject the fine or suspension levied by the board.
(d) Within 7 days after the hearing, the committee shall provide written notice to the parcel owner at his or her designated mailing or e-mail address in the association’s official records and, if applicable, any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner, of the committee’s findings related to the violation, including any applicable fines or suspensions that the committee approved or rejected, and how the parcel owner or any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner may cure the violation, if applicable, or fulfill a suspension, or the date by which a fine must be paid.
(e) If a violation has been cured before the hearing or in the manner specified in the written notice required in paragraph (b) or paragraph (d), a fine or suspension may not be imposed.
(f) If a violation is not cured and the proposed fine or suspension levied by the board is approved by the committee by a majority vote, the committee must set a date by which the fine must be paid, which date must be at least 30 days after delivery of the written notice required in paragraph (d). Attorney fees and costs may not be awarded against the parcel owner based on actions taken by the board before the date set for the fine to be paid.
(g) If a violation and the proposed fine or suspension levied by the board is approved by the committee and the violation is not cured or the fine is not paid per the written notice required in paragraph (d), reasonable attorney fees and costs may be awarded to the association. Attorney fees and costs may not begin to accrue until after the date noticed for payment under paragraph (d) and the time for an appeal has expired.
(3) If a member is more than 90 days delinquent in paying any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation due to the association, the association may suspend the rights of the member, or the member’s tenant, guest, or invitee, to use common areas and facilities until the fee, fine, or other monetary obligation is paid in full. This subsection does not apply to that portion of common areas used to provide access or utility services to the parcel. A suspension may not prohibit an owner or tenant of a parcel from having vehicular and pedestrian ingress to and egress from the parcel, including, but not limited to, the right to park. The notice and hearing requirements under subsection (2) do not apply to a suspension imposed under this subsection.
(4) An association may suspend the voting rights of a parcel or member for the nonpayment of any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation due to the association that is more than 90 days delinquent. A voting interest or consent right allocated to a parcel or member which has been suspended by the association shall be subtracted from the total number of voting interests in the association, which shall be reduced by the number of suspended voting interests when calculating the total percentage or number of all voting interests available to take or approve any action, and the suspended voting interests shall not be considered for any purpose, including, but not limited to, the percentage or number of voting interests necessary to constitute a quorum, the percentage or number of voting interests required to conduct an election, or the percentage or number of voting interests required to approve an action under this chapter or pursuant to the governing documents. The notice and hearing requirements under subsection (2) do not apply to a suspension imposed under this subsection. The suspension ends upon full payment of all obligations currently due or overdue to the association.
(5) All suspensions imposed under subsection (3) or subsection (4) must be approved at a properly noticed board meeting. Upon approval, the board must send written notice to the parcel owner and, if applicable, the parcel’s occupant, licensee, or invitee by mail or hand delivery to the parcel owner’s designated mailing or e-mail address in the association’s official records.
(6) The suspensions permitted by paragraph (2)(a) and subsections (3) and (4) apply to a member and, when appropriate, the member’s tenants, guests, or invitees, even if the delinquency or failure that resulted in the suspension arose from less than all of the multiple parcels owned by a member.
(7) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in an association’s governing documents, an association may not levy a fine or impose a suspension for any of the following:
(a) Leaving garbage receptacles at the curb or end of the driveway within 24 hours before or after the designated garbage collection day or time.
(b) Leaving holiday decorations or lights on a structure or other improvement on a parcel longer than indicated in the governing documents, unless such decorations or lights are left up for longer than 1 week after the association provides written notice of the violation to the parcel owner.
Cited 19 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2004 WL 2633598
...Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, deals with homeowners' associations. It provides legal redress against the association, members, directors, and officers for failure to comply with statutes, association documents, or community rules. Prevailing parties in the litigation are entitled to recover attorney's fees under section 720.305, Florida Statutes (2002)....
...nants and restrictions. Gulf Landings answered and counterclaimed, seeking an order requiring Mr. Hershberger to remove the cover. It too requested an award of attorneys' fees pursuant to the declaration of covenants and restrictions and pursuant to section 720.305, Florida Statutes (2001). In his answer to the counterclaim, Mr. Hershberger asserted section 720.305 as an additional ground for his claim for attorneys' fees....
Cited 16 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 3613693
...The parties attended mediation in September, 2005, which was unsuccessful. The Association refiled the complaint. Ultimately, the Asads acceded to the demands of the Association by paying $1,000 in fines and repainting their home. In the dismissed action, the Asads moved for attorney's fees under section 720.305(1), Florida Statutes (2004), which provides that the "prevailing party" in litigation between the association and a member "is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs." The trial court ruled that the Asads were "entitled to reasonable attorney's fees as prevailing parties" and entered a judgment for $8,146. The issue in this case is whether the Asads were "prevailing parties" under section 720.305(1)....
...d as party defendants. Id. The second district held that the association was the prevailing party in the first action within the meaning of section 718.303(1), Florida Statutes (1979), a statute *319 containing "prevailing party" language similar to section 720.305(1)....
...Section 627.428(1), Florida Statutes (1995), at issue in Britamco, provided for prevailing party attorney's fees "[u]pon the rendition of a judgment or decree." Id. at 786. The statute here at issue provides for an award of fees to the "prevailing party" in "litigation." § 720.305(1), Fla....
...n between the parties was the result of a simple misunderstanding the parties should have resolved between themselves. The trial judge concluded that Dr. Rao was the prevailing party in the litigation and thus entitled to attorneys' fees pursuant to section 720.305(1)....
...[3] In the judgment, the trial court concluded that Dr. Rao was a third-party beneficiary to the management contract between the Association and Greenacre Properties and that Greenacre Properties had breached the agreement. The court held that Dr. Rao was entitled to statutory damages under section 720.305 in the amount of $500....
...As such, it appears that this lawsuit might have been pursued to obtain damages from the Association that Dr. Rao had not successfully recovered in the first trial. [5] Dr. Rao has asserted that this recitation makes Dr. Rao the prevailing party in this litigation under chapter 720, entitling him to attorneys' fees. See § 720.305(1)....
...Tahiti Beach Homeowners Association, Inc., appeals a partial final summary judgment in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Pfeffer regarding the Association's complaint to foreclose a lien for a $285,000 fine. The fine, imposed for the alleged violation of a "Homesite Construction Rule," [1] did not *809 meet the requirements of section 720.305(2), Florida Statutes (2007), regulating the imposition of fines by homeowners' associations....
...The issue for decision below and here is a question of law: does the statute, enacted in 1995, apply to the Homesite Construction Rule, adopted by the Association in 1993 or 1994, with respect to alleged violations of the Rule occurring 2007-09? We answer the question in the affirmative. The caption to section 720.305 is "Obligations of members; remedies at law or in equity; levy of fines and suspension of use rights." The limitations on fines, and the requirements for prior notice and a hearing, imposed by the statute are unquestionably procedural and remedial in nature....
...of the amendment. In the case of such amendmentsbut not in the case of amendments affecting or impairing substantive rightsretrospective application is required unless the legislation itself provides otherwise. Here, the pertinent amendments to section 720.305 did not specify that they would only be applicable to homeowners' association documents entered into after the effective date of the legislation....
...four years; (3) breach of declarations: five years; and (4) private nuisance: four years.
See § 95.11(2)(b), (3)(g), (3)(p), Fla. Stat. (2012). Unless otherwise provided by
3
The Association requested fees pursuant to (1) section 720.305(1),
Florida Statutes (2013), which provides for prevailing party attorney's fees in "[a]ctions
at law or in equity, or both, to redress alleged failure or refusal to comply with these
provisions," and (2) section 13.5 of the declarati...
720 and the Law Regarding Injunctions “Section 720.305(1) authorizes ‘[a]ctions at law or in equity
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
