Florida Condo Bills: ARDA-ROC Advocates for Timeshare Associations on New Stipulations  

Overview 

In the wake of the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers in Surfside in 2021, the Florida Legislature has been actively reforming laws relating to condominiums and condominium management. Major reform bills were passed both this session (HB 913) and last session (HB 1021). While these revisions are primarily positive and provide additional clarity and financial flexibility for associations struggling with safety requirements new stipulations on Community Associations Managers are also impacting timeshare associations, even though timeshares operate differently than condominiums.    

Assisting Timeshare Board Members 

ARDA-ROC led an effort this year to remedy some issues caused by last year’s HB 1021 that were unique to timeshare. While the objective of 1021 may have been positive for whole ownership associations, some of the particulars of that legislation, including mandatory bid requirements for contracts over $2,500 and establishing quarterly board meetings, did not make sense for the timeshare operations. Our bill, HB 897, which successfully passed this session, exempts timeshare boards from these requirements. 

Looking Ahead 

With the passage of another major condo reform bill (HB 913) this year, we are analyzing the impact on our members and formulating a plan to advocate for any necessary adjustments in future sessions.    

Some of the more challenging portions of this bill for timeshare associations revolve around creating certain requirements around conflicts of interest in community association boards and management. While targeting issues in whole ownership condos, this language could be problematic for timeshares, which are often integrated with hotel and resort properties and may vendors for certain services in order to maintain brand standards. ROC dealt with a similar issue in creating the exemption from mandatory bidding for goods and services over $2500 in HB 897, and successfully explained to the legislature why this is problematic for timeshares, securing an exemption this session.  

We hope to build on that success to secure a broader exemption for timeshare association while preserving accountability for managers, and we are actively working on how to move forward on behalf of our members.