Senate cold shoulder likely dooms Juan Porras’ House-passed HOA reform package

It passed in the House with overwhelming support March 5. Now one week later, an ambitious bill to reform condo and homeowners associations (HOA) is likely to be among the many legislative casualties this Session.

The measure (HB 657) aimed to make numerous changes to state laws governing HOAs that would have increased transparency, strengthened oversight and provided new mechanisms to resolve disputes between homeowners and their association boards.

The changes are much-needed, according to the bill’s sponsor, Miami Republican Rep. Juan Porras, who called HOAs in their current form a “failed experiment” allowed to “run amok” due to wide regulatory loopholes in current state law.

But by Thursday, one day before Sine Die, it was clear the updates the bill contemplates won’t come this year. While the measure passed 108-2 last week, its upper-chamber analogue (SB 1498) by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley has languished unheard since early February, clearing just one of three committees to which it was referred.

Porras said it is “unlikely” the Senate will hear HB 657, which he called “landmark legislation that would have helped millions of Floridians living with corrupt and unaccountable associations.”

He vowed to continue working on the issue as long as he remains a lawmaker, but indicated things must change across the rotunda if such efforts are to succeed in the future; this year, he said, the Senate has been largely silent on the matter.

“I am unclear as to the reasoning the Florida Senate does not believe over 50% of Florida residents living in an HOA deserve transparency and accountability. There has been little to no communication from our Senate counterparts, but I hope that next year we can form a better dialogue and pass this bill,” he said. “I will continue to have conversations with constituents and stakeholders to fight for HOA and condo reform as long as I am a member of the Florida House.”

HB 657 would have implemented three major changes to Florida’s HOA laws.

First, it would have addressed transparency issues by creating a state-funded court process to address condo and HOA disputes, which would replace the pre-lawsuit mediation process required today.

Second, it would have provided a process for the dissolution of HOAs. Porras has stressed this would not be a one-size-fits-all approach, and there would be several necessary steps — petition gathering, an election and final approval by a Judge — before an organization could be terminated.

Third, the measure would have addressed a lack of accountability that malfeasant HOA Board members now enjoy by mandating that HOAs include “Kaufman language” in their governing documents that require organization bylaws to change in accordance with changes in state law automatically.

Supporters argued the measure is an apt response to a regulatory system that has plainly failed. Porras has said more than 60% of Florida homes are in HOAs, affecting more than 8 million homeowners, yet residents often have little practical recourse against abusive boards.

Former condo ombudsman Spencer Hennings told lawmakers in 2023 that the current system works only when boards decide to act scrupulously. When they’re corrupt, “unit owners basically have no rights,” he said, as recalled board members can simply refuse to leave, state arbitration orders are non-binding and litigation can take years, costing homeowners a small fortune, before cases ultimately become moot.

That frustration has been fueled by real scandals. Lawmakers repeatedly pointed to the Hammocks HOA case in Miami-Dade, where prosecutors alleged millions were looted from association funds, as well as more recent South Florida and Pinellas County cases involving alleged racketeering, fraud, grand theft and misuse of association money.

A January Civic Data & Research Institute survey of likely General Election voters conducted in January found 78% supported HB 657’s aims, including direct court access and an HOA-dissolution process. That included 82% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats and 77% of third- and no-party voters.

Opponents, however, contended the bill was overly blunt. Critics warned the 20% vote threshold for unit owners to begin a board dissolution process was too low and could be exploited, even though a vote of the full membership and subsequent judicial review would have been needed to finalize the process.

Others argued that scrapping pre-suit mediation could drive up costs by pushing more homeowners into litigation, even though HOA cases are already complex and hard to bring.

One condo association member from Coral Springs objected to the Kaufman language portion, which he said gave the Legislature too much power over private governing documents. The man, Jonathan Gonzalez, called the bill a “Trojan horse” whose board dissolution provisions could destabilize communities, depress property values and invite corporate buyouts.

That critique overlaps with other polling. An October Tyson Group survey of homeowners living in HOAs found 80% said they enjoy HOA living, with 61% saying the benefits are worth the dues and that they’d choose HOA living again. Seventy-three percent of respondents said stronger enforcement of existing laws, rather than abolition, is the right answer.

Mark Anderson, Executive Director of the Florida-based Chief Executive Officers of Management Companies, which represents community association managers, celebrated HB 657’s likely demise Thursday.

“Our legislators ultimately agreed with what Florida homeowners have been saying all along: community associations may have challenges but abolishing them is not the answer,” he said in a statement. “Although the actual bill never proposed to completely abolish community associations, it did attempt to make it easier to terminate them while increasing costs on the very homeowners this bill was intended to help. Community associations play a critical role in protecting quality of life, maintaining property values, and keeping the cost of local services from shifting onto taxpayers. After today, we look forward to continuing our focus on improving oversight and enforcement of existing laws — not attempting to dismantle a system that millions of residents rely on every day.”

In June 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed another HOA-focused bill Porras sponsored, with support from Republican Reps. Adam Anderson of Palm Harbor and Tiffany Esposito of Fort Myers, to limit certain HOA enforcement powers, bar fines for minor issues like trash cans or holiday lights, and require more transparency from Boards.

That measure (HB 1203) cleared both chambers of the Legislature with uniform support.