As 2016 comes to an end, Condominium Associations find themselves sending out mandatory notices to Owners regarding budget proposals, declaration amendments, changes to monthly assessments, etc. But what if, as with many of Florida’s condominium owners, a unit Owner lives out of state? Does every notice from the Association have to be sent to the unit Owner’s out of state address?

Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes explicitly states that official notice of meetings and all other purposes must be mailed to each unit owner at the address last furnished to the association by the unit owner. The statute does allow hand delivery of notices; however, this is a risky tactic on behalf of the Condominium Association as it may be difficult in the future to prove that the notice was actually delivered. The statute also allows Condominium Associations to send notices via e-mail; but only if the Condominium Owner provides written consent for such action (Associations make sure you retain this written consent in your records!).

It is a Condominium Owner’s obligation to furnish the Condominium Association with a contact address if their primary residence is out of state. Owners should submit this notification via certified mail AND e-mail (retain for your records Owner!). Otherwise, a Condominium Association can simply continue sending notices directly to the Condominium unit address. However, once a Condominium Association receives notice of an out-of-state contact address, in whatever written form, the burden shifts back to the Condominium Association to send all notices to the out of state address.

In certain situations, if no differing contact address is provided to Condominium Association or if there are multiple owners per unit with multiple contact addresses, then the Association must send notices to the address on the deed of record. This means the unit Owner’s address provided on the warranty deed, special warranty deed, or the quitclaim deed. Personally, I have seen covenant enforcement and lien foreclosure cases derailed because the Association simply sends notices to the Condominium unit address and not to the out-of-state address after being notified by a unit owner. The simplest way to sidestep this potential issue is to make sure all correspondence with Owners is in writing; even if you have a verbal conversation with an Owner regarding anything substantive, write a follow-up e-mail to re-iterate what was talked about! Another remedy is to ensure that Owners have an easy way to notify your Condominium Association of any potential change of address. Communication and correspondence can be lost in the shuffle between Associations, Property Managers, and Property Manager Headquarters. Enable and advise your Owners how they can update information and effectively inform the Association of any pertinent information!