Five weeks of hurricane season left: what your Florida condo board should have on file

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. That leaves about five weeks. Late storms are less common, but the calendar is not over yet.

For a condo building, the hardest part of a storm is often not the cleanup. It is finding the right papers fast, while owners are calling and some of them are out of state. A quiet stretch is the cheapest time to get those papers in one place. This article covers what Florida law already asks the association to keep, what powers the law gives a board in a declared emergency, and what owners and board members can do now.

What the law already says the association must keep

You do not need a new rule to start. Section 718.111(12) already lists records every association must keep where they apply. Several of them matter most when a storm is coming:

• Plans, permits and warranties the developer handed over when owners took control of the building. These must be kept permanently.
• Copies of the association's current insurance policies.
• Current contracts, such as the management agreement.
• Structural and life-safety inspection reports, including milestone inspection reports, and the structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) — the study that sets how much the association saves for the roof, structure, waterproofing and other big parts of the building. These must be kept for 15 years.
• A current list of unit owners with mailing addresses, unit numbers, voting certificates and phone numbers if known. Email addresses are kept for owners who agreed to get notices electronically.

The law also says records must be available to an owner within 45 miles of the condominium or in the same county, within 10 working days of a written request. Keeping copies on the property or offering electronic access counts. If records are lost or destroyed, the association has a good-faith duty to try to recover them. A copy stored off-site before a storm makes that duty much easier.

One more document worth pulling out now: the declaration of condominium. Florida law requires a residential declaration to say whether the owner or the association is responsible for installing, maintaining, repairing and replacing hurricane protection. Knowing that answer before a storm saves arguments after.

The emergency powers a board gets after a declared emergency

Section 718.1265 gives a condo board extra powers when there is damage or injury caused by, or expected from, an emergency for which a state of emergency has been declared for the building's area. The powers apply unless the declaration or bylaws specifically prohibit them. In plain words, the board may:

• Hold meetings by phone or video, and give notice by any practical means, such as email, posting on the property, radio or the internet. It may also cancel and reschedule meetings.
• Name people who are not directors as assistant officers if an officer cannot serve, and move the association's office.
• Carry out a disaster plan before, during or after the event, including shutting off elevators, electricity, water, sewer, security systems or air conditioning.
• Close parts of the property or decide whether they can be safely used, based on advice from emergency management or public health officials, or from licensed professionals.
• Require owners and residents to leave if a local evacuation order is in place. If someone refuses, the law says the association is not liable for injury or damage that results.
• Act to prevent further damage, such as removing wet drywall, carpet and insulation from units to stop mold, and contract for work in units — drying out, boarding up, sanitizing — that owners then repay. The association can use its lien rights to collect.
• Levy special assessments without an owner vote, and borrow money and pledge association assets without an owner vote to pay for emergency repairs when operating funds fall short.

These powers have limits. The law says they last only as long as reasonably necessary to protect people's health, safety and welfare, and to limit further damage and make emergency repairs. And during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, the association generally cannot stop owners, tenants and others from getting into a unit when it is needed for a sale, lease or transfer of title, or for the unit's habitability or someone's health and safety. Reasonable restrictions are still allowed, and a government order or federal public health directive can override that access.

Which of these powers fit your building, and how your own documents affect them, is a question for the association's attorney. This article does not tell a board what to decide.

What to do this week

If you are a board member:

• Make one folder — paper and digital — with the declaration, bylaws, current insurance policies, the latest milestone and SIRS reports, key contracts and the owner list. Keep a copy off the property and somewhere every director can reach it.
• Check that the owner contact list is current, and note who is away for the season.
• Take dated photos of the building: each side, the roof, balconies, walkways, garage, pool deck and equipment rooms.
• Ask your association attorney which emergency powers in section 718.1265 apply to your building, and write down who on the board does what if officers cannot be reached.
• Decide how the association will send notices if the power and internet are out.

If you are an owner:

• Make sure the association has your current phone number and mailing address. If you want notices by email, ask how to give written consent.
• Read the part of your declaration on hurricane protection so you know whether shutters or impact windows are your job or the association's.
• Know your evacuation zone. The Florida Division of Emergency Management's Know Your Zone map at FloridaDisaster.org shows it, and the state suggests a supply kit with at least 7 days of supplies.
• Keep copies of your own important papers, including your unit deed and your own HO-6 policy, in a safe place or in your kit.
• If you want to see the association's records, send a written request. The law gives the association 10 working days to make them available.