HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - September 12, 2025
Published: Fri, 09/12/25
Updated: Wed, 09/17/25
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - September 12, 2025
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In this week's tip, we answer an HOAleader.com reader's question about an apparently rogue board that the reader believes is divided by gender.
According to our reader, the majority, all men, often provide no notice of meetings or cancelled meetings or decisions they've made. And the women are fed up.
Our experts aren't impressed by this majority on this board either. Here's just one reason.
1. Meeting notices seem to be ignored. “In Florida, action must be taken at a duly noticed and called board meetings with a minimum of 48 hours' notice and actual notice to all directors,” says Jonathan James Damonte, founder of Jonathan James Damonte, Chartered, who's been representing community associations for 40 years mostly in the greater Tampa Bay area and is a Florida Bar board certified specialist in condo and planned development law. “The directors are specifically allowed to communicate with each other by email but not allowed to vote by email.
“It's the law that any time a majority get together, if they start talking about community stuff, that's a board meeting,” he adds. “Does that stop board members from calling each other in minority groups and making decisions ahead of time and rubber stamping them at the meeting? No. It's hard to stop that and incredibly hard to prove.
“If you have proof board members are doing that, in Florida, you can file a complaint with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation,” says Damonte. “They're supposed to investigate. They have the power to fine associations anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per violation—and they do. Anybody can file a complaint with the DBPR.”
One more thing: decisions made without proper procedures may be worthless. “In this case, for me the big concern is that the majority are having secret meetings and not inviting other board members,” says Phaedra J. Howard, CCAL, department chair for community association law at Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC in Edina, Minn. “That would potentially invalidate decisions made at those meetings.”
Oh, our experts have more reasons to take this board to task. Read them—and find out their suggestions for this majority to rein in this rogue majority—in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/5169.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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