H.W. from Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I am in a Condo in South Florida which has recently enacted a parking pass rule. My community consists of 2/2’s 3/2’s, townhomes and villas but we all pay the same association fee. I own 1 car and I have a guest that stays 1 or 2 nights each week. I’m required to request a guest pass every time I have a guest however the process of getting guest passes is inefficient and the board member from whom I have to request them seems hostile like she is the “parking police”. I have 2 questions:
1) I feel as though since they are saying each resident is entitled to 2 cars per unit, I should be entitled to a pass for 2nd car without having to be harassed each time I request one. Is there a resource for FL condo association law that I can go to for further research?
2) Is the board allowed to implement a Parking Policy without a quorum of the owners?
Mister Condo replies:
H.W., I am sorry that you find yourself at odds with your Board over guest parking. The Board is the democratically elected group of volunteers governing the association and they have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the association with regards to the commonly owned assets of the association, of which the parking lots are included. Unless your bylaws require otherwise, a quorum of unit owners was likely not required for them to implement the parking restrictions. As for you feeling “harassed” when asking for a parking pass, I am afraid that unless you can prove harassment (via lawsuit) you are most likely just dealing with a person with whom you do not get along with. I am sorry that the two of you can’t be more congenial when transacting association business but the system is the system and you will likely have to deal with the keeper of the passes if you wish to secure one. I wish I had better news for you, H.W., but I don’t think the Board’s request to issue parking passes is unreasonable. In fact, managing the limited parking resources of the association is a challenge many Board face. It would appear that yours is acting to keep the spaces available for unit owners and guests. All the best!