Q&A: A Stonewalling Board

Q&A: A Stonewalling Board

Q. Our association recently hired a new management company. An announcement was sent to the homeowners announcing the change. A new board initiated this action with no input from homeowners and no discussion. I have specifically requested information concerning our budget and if they are being paid more than our previous company. This stonewalling of my direct questions is very disconcerting to me. What recourse do I have to get honest answers from the board?

                      —Waiting in Winter Haven

A. “Typically a board does not need to obtain the owners’ approval to hire management. To the extent that you may have questions concerning the amount that is being paid, contract terms, etc., it is my suggestion that you send a written demand to the association asking to see the management agreement,” says Susan P. Bakalar, a shareholder attorney at Bakalar & Associates, P.A. in Coral Springs.

“Florida law deems the management agreement to be an official record of the association, which, upon request, must be made available to an owner for inspection or photocopying. The demand should be sent by certified mail return receipt requested.

“The association generally has ten (10) working days from the date the request is received to make available said record(s) for review. Failure of the association to allow access to such records could entitle the owner to statutory damages not to exceed $500.00.

“There is nothing in the statute that requires an association’s board to answer written questions posed by a unit owner.” 

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2 Comments

  • Our previous board from 2020,fired our management company ,only 2 board members were involved,no quaron,no vote. They gave away condo assets ,no meeting no vote. Members were not notified before decision.We have a new board of 3 ,1 board member is completely left out of decisions.We have many members who requested a special meeting for board to fill board.They keep stalling.We are a small group of condo with a smaller budget .We have many projects to do.What can we do to make board members go by the rules ?
  • I am a director on a board in a large 55+ older Resident Owned park. Our office roof needed to be replaced. Cost should have been 10k but a engineer was hired so the price went to 71k . The manager was not looking so the cost went to 97k. Nobody asked why. The engineer did work that was not needed. Keep in mind that our office is a 1977 double wide. Just 2 weeks ago another Director was paying attention and found a clear case of Bid Rigging by the manager . Many of our seniors are on a fixed income. There is a lot more to this story. Please let me know if you can help. I have all the contracts and emails to back up my story. .