Florida Puts Condo Boards On Notice: Accepting Or Soliciting ‘Kickbacks’ Is A Felony

In the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse, the Florida Legislature has made a number of changes to the state’s condo law in 2024. This is one of the change. It looks like it just got easier for board member and manager at Florida condo associations to be charged with a felony for accepting or soliciting “kickbacks.” During the 2024 Florida legislative session, the law was broadened – by deleting specific language – to allow condo board directors, officers and managers to be charged with third-degree felonies for “knowingly” soliciting, offering to accept or accepting “kickbacks.” The move is part of an ongoing effort by the Florida legislature in the aftermath of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in Surfside to bring more transparency to condo associations, which have a reputation for being shrouded in secrecy, intimidation and corruption What is your outlook for South Florida condos? Take our anonymous survey. All results will be published in a report scheduled for July 23, 2024. Board members – who are usually volunteers and responsible for deciding which vendors to hire and fire – have increasingly been in the news in South Florida. Many of the allegations are related to purportedly accepting a variety of perks and benefits, including free renovations to the interior of their units. Read the report: https://peterzalewski.substack.com/p/florida-condo-directors-on-notice