Q: Our HOA prints an owner directory annually. Residents provide the information on a voluntary basis. In the past, the association has included email addresses when the resident provided them and indicated that it was OK to publish them.
This year, we were told that Florida law prohibited the association from publishing email addresses in the directory. Is there such a law?
– F.L., via email
A: Such a law does exist, at least for now.
The entire issue of publishing an association directory is so much more confusing than it needs to be.
In the past, associations could publish owner “personal identifying information,” such as email addresses, cell phone numbers, addresses other than the property address and the like, provided that the owner consented in writing to the publication.
That changed in 2013 in an apparent response to complaints from some associations that wanted to publish a telephone directory without having to seek written permission from each owner. The statute, which applies to condominiums, cooperatives and HOAs, provides that an association can publish the “telephone number of each parcel owner,” although owners can request to be excluded.
On the face of it, the new law sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature proves time and again that the law of unintended consequences is alive and well.
When it made that change, it “accidentally” deleted the provision of the old law that allows an owner to consent to the distribution of other personal information. Even the definition of “telephone number” is confusing. Is it the land line (if any) to the parcel? Is it the number “on file” with the association? It appears that only one number can be published because “telephone numbers” (in the plural) are protected information.
What a mess.
Your question specifically asked about the publication of owner email addresses. The current law simply states that email addresses “are not accessible to owners.” To me, that means that an association cannot publish them in a directory, even with the owner’s consent.
Additional questions exist over other uses of owner email addresses. Suppose that an owner sends an email inquiry to the association. That communication would ordinarily become an “official record” of the association, open for inspection by other owners. Does the association have an obligation or the right to “redact” or remove that email address from an official records request? I think so. Better safe than sorry.
Relief may be on the way. Legislation has been filed that clarifies that associations can publish all owner telephone numbers in a directory and that owners can consent to the publication of other contact information. Let’s just hope that passes and that no one makes a ridiculous “floor amendment” (translation — something deleted, added or changed to a bill by an individual legislator during the bill’s consideration) at the last minute that makes a confusing situation worse.
I guess that means I am a “glass half full” person.
Q: Our five-member condo association board has one member who is in Florida year-round. The other four members reside outside of Florida for six to eight months a year. Can we conduct association business by email?
– B.D., Venice
A: The short answer is no.
Obviously, email is a useful tool for communicating information. Providing information to directors via email (such as proposed contracts and management reports) saves time and money.
However, any situation in which at least a quorum of the board is present and association business is being discussed, even if no final decisions are made, is a “board meeting” and must be open and noticed in advance to the membership (with very few exceptions.)
Therefore, I advise against any sort of “live chat” or other interactive exchange among most or all of the board that results in an informal agreement among the board members in advance of a formal noticed meeting.
The actual meeting should not be a forum for rubber-stamping decisions made previously in private.
Bills have been filed in this year’s legislative session which may clarify (or further muck up) the subject of email communication among board members.
HB 807/SB 798 addresses the ability of directors to use Skype and other technology to attend board meetings. The bills are also intended to clarify that board members can use emails to communicate with each other, provided that the directors do not vote via email.
THINGS YOU DON’T WANT IN YOUR POOL
Would you rather have a sick dolphin or a candy bar in your community pool?
A recent Associated Press story reported that federal officials suspended a Florida dolphin researcher for allegedly putting a sick dolphin in a resort community’s swimming pool without permission. The pool had to be drained and decontaminated. Unfortunately, the dolphin had to be euthanized.
I was sad for the dolphin.
But the story also made me think of the famous scene in the movie “Caddyshack.”
Mass panic ensued after a guest dropped a Baby Ruth candy bar into the golf resort’s pool, and everyone else assumed the worst. Just imagine going down to the community pool for a morning swim and encountering an ailing Flipper.
Makes all those disputes over swim diapers for babies in community pools pale in comparison.
Tamela Eady is a Florida Bar board-certified real estate attorney with more than 25 years’ experience, concentrating her practice on community association and real estate legal matters. The subjects discussed in her columns are not intended as specific legal advice to anyone and are subject to principles that may change from time to time. Questions may be modified for clarity or for brevity. Email questions for possible inclusion in a future column to tke@eadylaw.com.
