On December 15th, the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources hosted a webinar to discuss the process of ensuring compliance with Miami-Dade County's recently passed ordinance requiring registration of condominiums, cooperatives, and homeowners' associations. As defined in Chapters 718, 719, and 720 of the Florida Statutes, respectively, these entities that govern residential real property within the County must file annual registrations with the County containing certain information and documentation. The information will be made publicly accessible online by Miami-Dade County.

Panelist:

Gregory Baker | Division Chief Miami Dade County REF Consulate
Holly Beth Biliington | MDC RER Consumer Protection,
Rafael Galvez | Division Manager MDC RER Consumer Protection
Vanessa Collazo | Strategic Initiative Manager, MDC RER Consumer Protection
Chavelli Moreno | Chief of Enforcement Support
Rosa Zambrana | Building and Permit Code,
Larisa Aploks | Strategic Initiatives Manager, MDC RER

Compliance Date: By February 1st of each year, all Community Association with in Miami-Dade County must register online and the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources Consumer and Protection Division. The website is not up as on today and should be ready in early January, click here.

Requirements:

The name of the Community Association, which shall include the name registered with the Florida Division of Corporations in addition to any fictitious names that the Community Association utilizes. Cross reference with SunBiz.
The business address and the legal description of each residence owned operated, or governed by the Community Association.
The name and contact information for the Property Manager or other designated agent for the Community Association.
The name and contact information for an emergency contact for the Community Association [cannot be the same individual identified in subsection (3) above].
A list of all Officers and Directors of the community association with contact information.
A link to the Community Association's website, if any.
An impression of the corporate seal of the Community Association, if any.
A legible copy of the Community Association's governing documents and any amendments thereto, including the declaration, articles of
incorporation, bylaws, rules, regulations, and resolutions.
A list of the Community Association's planned capital projects, if any, from the date of registration through February 1, of the following year.
A copy of the Community Association's most recent set of compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statements, as applicable. Any monthly association fees, and any applicable current or approved special assessments, must be specifically outlined.
A copy of the community association's most recently adopted annual budget.
The location where all building permits for work in common areas shall be posted during construction.
All reports issued within the last 10 years on the structural status of each of the properties within the County owned, operated, or governed by the community association, including any required recertification reports, if applicable.
A Certificate of Insurance listing all of the community association's current insurance policies, issuing companies, policy numbers, coverage limits, and effective dates.

Registration Fee: Initial Annual Fee : $50 Additional Registration Fee for Association with more than 25 units $1.50 per unit

Renewals: After the Association files it’s initial registration, the Community Association must renew their registration with the Department every 12 months thereafter, reflecting any changes to the information and attachments required by the ordinance.

Registration Preparation Checklist:

Submit applications online only.
- A miamidade.gov account is required for submission
- New to miamidade.gov? Sign up for a miamidade.gov account
Start collecting the required documentation.
Ensure documents are in PDF format.
Submit one (1) application per Community Association.
Submission can be delegated to Property Manager or Property Management Company or designated Agent.

Questions and Answers:
Q. What if properties have different property management companies? Do they need to work together to submit one application? A. Yes, the registration is required for the single association entity regardless of the number of management companies. Each company should be listed as a contact on the registration.

Q. So if there is a MASTER association and then sub associations under it, only one application for the MASTER is required? Or will it also be required for each neighborhood association? A. The sub associations would need to apply if they operate independently (i.e., have their own Boards, own budgets, etc.). Just want to be sure that you don't double count the units under the Master.

Q. Will the management company have to register all of the associations under one account or each association has to have its own account? A. One management company may register for multiple associations. Each registration requires their own contacts.

Q. Will the database be public? A. Yes, it will be available and free for the public.

Q. What happens if midyear the association decided to start a capital project? A. If the association is already registered, upon the renewal, they would have to provide that information. However, the association can login to their account and upload documents during their year prior to renewal.

Q.If the database is not going to be functional until early January, is it realistic to expect all Miami-Dade associations to complete registration by the February 1 due date? Is there any possibility or expectation that this deadline will be extended? A. The February 1st due date is established by the ordinance. However, it is understood that this is a new ordinance/registration and some flexibility will be required for all. I cannot give a time limit as to any extension if granted, yet accomodations and flexibility will be taken into account.

Q. Will the community at large, as much as the actual unit owner, be able to access these documents and information easily on the Miami-Dade site, or were wll the consumer, buyer, Realtor and/or homeowner obtain each of these documents? A.The intent of the online site is to provide the information to the entire community/general public.

Q. How will the fee required be paid? Not all associations have credit cards. A. Our website accepts credit cards and eChecks.

Q. Web registration, why is it on a personal name and not an Association, does this mean anew registration every time the authorized person changes? A. The registration is tracked by the association entity but we do require that the person applying (applicant) registers an account. If the person changes, you may call our office to update the contact information at any time.

Q. Who needs to register? The management company or the condo owner. A. Individual owners do not register. It is the association only, so that could be done by the management company, or a representative of the association board.

Q. What purpose does having individual building audits/budgets/etc. available to the public serve? This is intrusive. Why can't this be private for view of the County only? A. Thank you for your feedback and we understand your concern. The intent of the legislation is to provide transparency to the community.

Q. Is there any security in place to stop contact harvesting of Board Members? A. "Harvesting" is a very specific term related to extracting data from online sources. The information is visible online on a per record search and the dataset is public record should someone request the data in a report; but the data is not open to be "harvested" in the typical definition of that term.

Q. Can we add more than one email to the registration so that multiple board members can receive letters, notifications, etc? A. Yes, under the contact option.

Q. What happens if you do not comply? A. If you do not comply you will be fined anywhere from $250-$1,000

Q. Does this apply to residential associations or commercial associations? A. Only residential