HB 0337 and SB 968, if enacted, would amend Florida Statutes 718.116 by providing condominium owners who are delinquent on their assessments an opportunity to receive a “notice of delinquency”. The notice would specify each assessment sought by the association, the date of the assessment or charge, and the corresponding interest, fee and cost attached to such unpaid assessments. Notice would need to be provided prior to any restriction, penalty or condition being placed upon that unit owner. It also would prohibit a condominium association from imposing penalties during a 20 day notice period or while an objection made during the notice period is unresolved. The notice requirement would not apply if the association has been in lien collection or foreclosure proceedings against the same unit owner within the proceeding 12 months or if the unit owner acknowledges in writing he or she owes the debt to the association. Once past the notice period, delinquent unit owners could be restricted from running for office, holding office, serving on committee, leasing their unit or using common areas.
The Senate version of the bill is passing through committee and is presently with the Judiciary Committee. The House version of the bill is now in the Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Council. So far, other than minor editing of the language, both versions of the bill are being treated fairly favorably.
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You have a home that you are leasing to a tenant. Your tenant fails to pay you rent and refuses to vacate the property. You may or may not be able to evict the tenant for non-payment or otherwise remove the tenant from the property. Your ability to do so greatly depends on the type of written agreement entered into by and between you and the tenant.
If you entered into a typical written lease agreement with your tenant, you would most likely be able to evict the tenant after giving the tenant the proper 3 day notice to pay rent or vacate. You may thereafter file an action for possession with the county court to regain possession of the property. This eviction procedure is on an expedited docket and may be completed in less than 30 days.
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In most situations, unfortunately, yes.
Florida Courts, traditionally, have said that the owner of a motor vehicle is responsible for accidents and injuries caused by that vehicle, even when the vehicle is driven by a friend or family member. The courts have gone so far as to state that when a vehicle is used negligently, it becomes a “dangerous instrumentality” on the roadway.
For years, rental car companies were held to that standard, and they shared in the responsibility for accidents caused by vehicles that they owned. This changed dramatically on August 10, 2005, when a new federal highway improvement law was enacted (The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, 49 U.S.C. sec. 30106). This is a federal law, designed, in part, to improve roadways, which also included an amendment protecting rental car companies. The rental car companies were no longer responsible for damage done by their drivers, and lawsuits were not allowed against the companies.
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You may not recall the information you provided on your insurance application, but your insurance company does. If you neglected to provide full and accurate responses to the questions on your application for insurance, you may not have insurance coverage. Insurance companies are allowed to void an insurance policy if the company finds that a there was a material misrepresentation made in the insurance application. [1] A material misrepresentation is defined as a misrepresentation, omission or concealment of fact that would have changed the insurance premium charged and/or caused the insurance company to decline coverage. Whether you did or did not intend to omit information or mislead the insurance company is of no consequence. The only issue is whether the information, if known, would have changed the insurance premium or caused the insurer to decline coverage.
Any inaccurate or incomplete response to the questions on your insurance application may constitute a material misrepresentation. The most common misrepresentation is the failure to list all of the people living in your residence. Insurance companies do not have a certain period of time to discover or notify you of the material misrepresentation. Typically insurers discover material misrepresentations once you make a claim for insurance coverage. It is possible and very common for someone to pay insurance premiums for years only to have their insurance company void their insurance coverage once a claim is made. A material misrepresentation can cause you to be uninsured when you need insurance the most.
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