BY LAURA SHAY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, ROYAL PALM COAST REALTOR® ASSOCIATION
Florida Realtors® were able to claim victory this year, when they or provide any explanation of what “reasonable” was. Some
helped get a bill passed that caps estoppel certificate fees, among associations and management companies took the loose wording
of the law and were charging very high fees – some well over
other things.
$1,000.
HB 483/ SB 398 cap the fees association management companies
may charge for estoppel certificates, and specify a set time frame HB 483/SB 398 cap the fees that community association
for when the certificate must be valid. The bills also create a management companies can charge for estoppel certificates at
uniform requirement for information, so an estoppel certificate $250 for owners who are current in their assessment payments.
for a property in Fort Myers would include the same information For expedited certificates, management can charge an additional
as one in Miami.
$100, and an additional $150 for owners who are not paid up.
This makes the maximum cost of a certificate $500.
Putting a cap on estoppel fees was one of the Legislative Priorities
for Florida Realtors® this year, and was the focus of a Realtor® The new law also requires certificates to be valid for 30 days, and
Party Call for Action leading up to the legislative vote. It was a provides a standard certificate form for the state of Florida.
multi-year effort to get a handle on the unreasonable fees some
community associations were charging for the certificates.
Fun Fact: The legislation has roots in Southwest Florida. HB 483
was sponsored by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Naples) and SB 398 was
After getting the votes necessary to pass the House and the sponsored by Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).
Senate, the legislation went to Governor Scott’s desk – which he
signed into law on July 1st.
When the news broke that the bills had passed, the Vice
President of Public Policy for Florida Realtors®, Carrie O’Rourke,
congratulated all of the members who put their time and effort
into the problem.
“After several years of educating legislators and building support
in both legislative chambers on the issue of estoppel certificate
fees, we brought home a huge victory for home sellers,” she said.
WHAT IS AN ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE?
An estoppel certificate gives a buyer information about the
fees and/or assessments that the seller pays to their community
association. The association or management company provides
the certificate when a property is being sold. Before HB 483/SB
398, Florida law permitted associations to charge “reasonable”
fees for preparing the estoppel certificates, but did not specify
10 RPCRA.ORG | JUL/AUG 2017
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