Question about Florida statute 720

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Florida Statute 720: Regulating Homeowners in Florida

Mark Warda (2005) made a succinct observation when he wrote that the states' laws governing the landlord tenant relationships are like a double-edged sword (p. xi). More particularly, he said that "[if] a landlord does not know about them or ignores them, he or she can lose thousands of dollars in lost rent, penalties, and attorney's fees. However, a landlord who knows the law can use the procedures to simply life and save money" (Warda, 2005, p. xi). Therefore, it goes without saying that it pays for homeowners not only to familiarize themselves with the different Florida statutes governing their rights as landlords, but to learn how these laws affect the sustainability of their business, if their renting out, for example. This white paper presents an authoritative guide to homeowners and addresses issues faced by landlords and how Florida Statute 720, specifically, solves them.

The researcher's aim, therefore, is to help homeowners understand the laws regulating their transactions in Florida. The researcher believes that this white paper is a necessary reading in that, in a way, it makes Statute 720 more readable. Laws, with virtually no exception, whether unintentional, were written to be precise rather than to be readable or concise. Simple explanation and language is therefore necessary.

According to the 2009 Florida Statutes Chapter 720, Part I, Chapter 720.302, the chapter's purpose is to provide operating procedures for homeowners' associations and to establish protection for the rights of association members without jeopardizing the ability of the homeowners' associations to perform their functions (Florida Senate, 2009). Furthermore, the legislature recognized that the creation of a regulatory body for the affairs of homeowners' associations is not necessary; however there is still a need to establish procedures for the resolution of election and recall disputes, and other disputes.
Thus the Statute 720 authorized the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or simply the department to "hear, administer, and determine" (Florida Senate, 2009) the disputes as outlined in the legislature. The scope of the legislature does not include a homeowners' association which was created primarily for commercial, industrial, or other non ...