Florida Statutes 468.4335 – Conflicts of interest
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(1) A community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, must disclose to the board of a community association any activity that may reasonably be construed to be a conflict of interest. A rebuttable presumption of a conflict of interest exists if any of the following occurs without prior notice:
(a) A community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, enters into a contract for goods or services with the association.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 468.4335
- Community association: means a residential homeowners' association in which membership is a condition of ownership of a unit in a planned unit development, or of a lot for a home or a mobile home, or of a townhouse, villa, condominium, cooperative, or other residential unit which is part of a residential development scheme and which is authorized to impose a fee which may become a lien on the parcel. See Florida Statutes 468.431
- Community association management: means any of the following practices requiring substantial specialized knowledge, judgment, and managerial skill when done for remuneration and when the association or associations served contain more than 10 units or have an annual budget or budgets in excess of $100,000: controlling or disbursing funds of a community association, preparing budgets or other financial documents for a community association, assisting in the noticing or conduct of community association meetings, determining the number of days required for statutory notices, determining amounts due to the association, collecting amounts due to the association before the filing of a civil action, calculating the votes required for a quorum or to approve a proposition or amendment, completing forms related to the management of a community association that have been created by statute or by a state agency, drafting meeting notices and agendas, calculating and preparing certificates of assessment and estoppel certificates, responding to requests for certificates of assessment and estoppel certificates, negotiating monetary or performance terms of a contract subject to approval by an association, drafting prearbitration demands, coordinating or performing maintenance for real or personal property and other related routine services involved in the operation of a community association, and complying with the association's governing documents and the requirements of law as necessary to perform such practices. See Florida Statutes 468.431
- Community association management firm: means a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust, association, sole proprietorship, or other similar organization engaging in the business of community association management for the purpose of providing any of the services described in subsection (2). See Florida Statutes 468.431
- Community association manager: means a natural person who is licensed pursuant to this part to perform community association management services. See Florida Statutes 468.431
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
(b) A community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, holds an interest in or receives compensation or any thing of value from a corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, or other business entity that conducts business with the association or proposes to enter into a contract or other transaction with the association.
(2) If the association receives and considers a bid that exceeds $2,500 to provide a good or service, other than community association management services, from a community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, the association must solicit multiple bids from other third-party providers of such goods or services.
(3) If a community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, proposes to engage in an activity that is a conflict of interest as described in subsection (1), the proposed activity must be listed on, and all contracts and transactional documents related to the proposed activity must be attached to, the meeting agenda of the next board of administration meeting. The disclosures of a possible conflict of interest must be entered into the written minutes of the meeting. Approval of the contract, including a management contract between the community association and the community association manager or community association management firm, or other transaction requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all directors present. At the next regular or special meeting of the members, the existence of the conflict of interest and the contract or other transaction must be disclosed to the members. If a community association manager or community association management firm has previously disclosed a conflict of interest in an existing management contract entered into between the board of directors and the community association manager or community association management firm, the conflict of interest does not need to be additionally noticed and voted on during the term of such management contract, but, upon renewal, must be noticed and voted on in accordance with this subsection.
(4) If the board finds that a community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, has violated this section, the association may cancel its community association management contract with the community association manager or the community association management firm. If the contract is canceled, the association is liable only for the reasonable value of the management services provided up to the time of cancellation and is not liable for any termination fees, liquidated damages, or other form of penalty for such cancellation.
(5) If an association enters into a contract with a community association manager or a community association management firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a community association management firm, or a relative of such persons, which is a party to or has an interest in an activity that is a possible conflict of interest as described in subsection (1) and such activity has not been properly disclosed as a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest as required by this section, the contract is voidable and terminates upon the association filing a written notice terminating the contract with its board of directors which contains the consent of at least 20 percent of the voting interests of the association.
(6) As used in this section, the term “relative” means a relative within the third degree of consanguinity by blood or marriage.