HOA Lawyer Near Hillsborough County, FL

There are two main laws that govern HOAs in Florida: the Florida Condo Act and the Florida HOA Act. These two pieces of legislation dictate how an HOA can resolve disputes with its citizens and what decisions the HOA can make without its citizens’ consent. It breaks HOAs down into two main groups: Condo Associations and Homeowner Associations. These rules can vary considerably from many regional laws. Because of this, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer before initiating a dispute against your HOA.

The main difference between many kinds of HOA disputes and other civil matters is that certain HOA issues require members of the community to meet before taking their case to court. This meeting is called arbitration. Arbitration is similar to a court hearing, except that there’s no judge. Instead, it’s just you, a representative from your HOA, and your attorneys. Arbitration is mandatory, meaning that you must attend the meeting, and non-binding, meaning that the decisions of the arbitration are not considered legally binding.

For a Condo Association, issues that need to pass arbitration include whenever an HOA:

• Wants to change how homes appear from the outside
• Make changes to a common area
• Fails to conduct proper elections in a timely manner
• Doesn’t give notice of meetings, or doesn’t conduct meetings entirely
• Destroying or removing a unit
• Removing board members

There are other types of HOA disputes that don’t require arbitration. Instead, they can go straight to civil court. They include issues like:

• Evicting a tenant
• Disputes arising from who owns a common area
• Fines issued by the HOA
• Serious claims, like whenever a member of the HOA embezzles money
• Damages to a unit because of the HOA’s actions
• Appealing a decision made during arbitration

When you attend an arbitration meeting or file a civil lawsuit against your HOA, you can hire a lawyer to represent your interests.