Married Board
Q: We have a husband and wife who are insisting they both can serve on the board at the same time. Our community is small, with only 37 units. I have searched our covenants and bylaws and the Florida statutes to find guidance. No luck! Can a husband and wife both serve on a board of three to five members?—Yules, Fla.
A: The Florida statutes were changed last fall to provide that "in a condominium association of more than 10 units, co-owners of a unit may not serve as members of the board of directors at the same time." Therefore, a husband and wife who co-own and reside together in one unit can't be on the board at the same time. Either one could serve without the other, if elected by the members.
In states with no laws prohibiting co-owners from serving—as long as an association's governing documents don't prevent it—the co-owners of a unit can serve at the same time if the members chose to elect them.
Generally, under the law and the governing documents, each board member has one vote on any issue that comes before the board. On the other hand, each unit is entitled to one vote, regardless of how many people own that unit. The new law appears to have been passed because some believe that two owners from one unit serving on the board at the same time would give that unit an unfair advantage. Prior to that, if the unit owners didn't want two board members from a single unit, they didn't elect both candidates.
The new law's limitation may turn out to be a significant hardship for small associations, or for associations that have aging populations or just don't have a viable pool of interested, qualified candidates to serve on the board. Taking the issue a little further, if a husband and wife own more than one unit, either together or independently, would they both be qualified to run and serve, one from one unit and one from the other? The Florida legislature addressed that question in its 2009 session, adopting additional modifications that allow co-owners of units to serve on a board if they each own a unit and they are not co-occupants of a unit. However, the bill was vetoed by the governor. It's expected to be reintroduced during the next legislative session.
Ellen Hirsch de Haan is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff in Clearwater, Fla., and a member of CAI's College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL).
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