One thought on “Legal Opinion on Disclosing Member Delinquencies”
From: Fox W. Glenn [mailto:foxwood9000@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2013 10:27 AM
To: general.mail
Subject: Re: Colorado Homeowners Association Law Blog: Can You Disclose Who In Your Community Is Delinquent In Payment Of Their Assessments?
Thanks for the link.
I have reviewed several opinions regarding this issue and have considered the legality and general correctness of posing this information on our blog.
The first fact to consider is that the vast majority of HOA information forums are offered by property managers/CAMs and HOA attorneys who primarily support HOA boards and property managers/CAMs. As such, these forums rarely offer opinions from the perspective of the homeowner. In fact, most of them are very defensive of HOA management in almost every scenario.
As for this blog’s decision to provide delinquent lists:
1. This blog is not the HOA website, but rather is a homeowner-based blog created for the express purpose of informing our homeowners of the vast failures of our HOA board.
2. None of the contributors to this blog are board members.
3. This blogger remains anonymous.
4. Our purpose of posting the delinquent list is to reveal the failure of the board and the PM to collect the dues, rather than to shame delinquent homeowners into payment. In fact, our hope is that more homeowners will withhold payment until the board starts following the By-Laws.
5. All HOA records provided here (including the delinquent lists) were freely provided to a homeowner who requested the information from the property manager.
6. Florida statutes require access to all HOA records (including aging accounts information). The only information that can be withheld from a HOA records request in Florida is personal bank account numbers.
7. As stated in our disclaimer, all personal information (including names and addresses) posted here is widely available on the web. In Florida, the county property appraiser webpage provides all property related data including the homeowner’s name, what they paid for the property, a copy of the deed, survey maps, and details of all county permits associated with the property.
8. The board and the PM are responsible for any incorrect information they provide to a homeowner.
9. As stated in our disclaimer, we are providing an ongoing discussion of point-in-time events that occur over time in the HOA. The old information remains to provide long-term perspective of events as they occurred.
One caveat: Florida law exempts law enforcement officers from freedom of information laws regarding publication of their personal information including name and address. For example, our neighborhood has 44 homes, but only 43 owners appear on the property appraiser web page (one is an FHP officer). Thus we do not provide that homeowners’ personal information either. We have one other neighbor who works at FDLE, but is not an officer, who requested that his name be removed…we removed it.
Overall, I disagree with the article. All homeowners are entitled to all HOA records (including delinquent accounts). My HOA is a non-profit corporation of which I own a 44th share. I pay $230 per year to maintain this corporation for the purpose of maintaining our common property. I have every right to know when any of my 43 “business partners” are not contributing…and to force them to contribute.
Fox
From our friends at Foxwood Glen HOA Blog: http://foxwoodglenhoa.blogspot.com/ Foxwood Glenn is a private community of 44 homes located near the intersection of Crump and Miccosukee Roads in Leon County Florida. Since 2006, our board of directors has failed to provide the basic services outlined in our HOA By-Laws and the Florida Statutes by refusing to enforce collection of annual HOA dues, failing to hold open meetings, and failing to provide annual financial reports and audits. THIS BLOG’S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE OUR HOMEOWNERS THE INFORMATION THAT OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS DENIED US.
The Unofficial Heatherlea Blog 
From: Fox W. Glenn [mailto:foxwood9000@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2013 10:27 AM
To: general.mail
Subject: Re: Colorado Homeowners Association Law Blog: Can You Disclose Who In Your Community Is Delinquent In Payment Of Their Assessments?
Thanks for the link.
I have reviewed several opinions regarding this issue and have considered the legality and general correctness of posing this information on our blog.
The first fact to consider is that the vast majority of HOA information forums are offered by property managers/CAMs and HOA attorneys who primarily support HOA boards and property managers/CAMs. As such, these forums rarely offer opinions from the perspective of the homeowner. In fact, most of them are very defensive of HOA management in almost every scenario.
As for this blog’s decision to provide delinquent lists:
1. This blog is not the HOA website, but rather is a homeowner-based blog created for the express purpose of informing our homeowners of the vast failures of our HOA board.
2. None of the contributors to this blog are board members.
3. This blogger remains anonymous.
4. Our purpose of posting the delinquent list is to reveal the failure of the board and the PM to collect the dues, rather than to shame delinquent homeowners into payment. In fact, our hope is that more homeowners will withhold payment until the board starts following the By-Laws.
5. All HOA records provided here (including the delinquent lists) were freely provided to a homeowner who requested the information from the property manager.
6. Florida statutes require access to all HOA records (including aging accounts information). The only information that can be withheld from a HOA records request in Florida is personal bank account numbers.
7. As stated in our disclaimer, all personal information (including names and addresses) posted here is widely available on the web. In Florida, the county property appraiser webpage provides all property related data including the homeowner’s name, what they paid for the property, a copy of the deed, survey maps, and details of all county permits associated with the property.
8. The board and the PM are responsible for any incorrect information they provide to a homeowner.
9. As stated in our disclaimer, we are providing an ongoing discussion of point-in-time events that occur over time in the HOA. The old information remains to provide long-term perspective of events as they occurred.
One caveat: Florida law exempts law enforcement officers from freedom of information laws regarding publication of their personal information including name and address. For example, our neighborhood has 44 homes, but only 43 owners appear on the property appraiser web page (one is an FHP officer). Thus we do not provide that homeowners’ personal information either. We have one other neighbor who works at FDLE, but is not an officer, who requested that his name be removed…we removed it.
Overall, I disagree with the article. All homeowners are entitled to all HOA records (including delinquent accounts). My HOA is a non-profit corporation of which I own a 44th share. I pay $230 per year to maintain this corporation for the purpose of maintaining our common property. I have every right to know when any of my 43 “business partners” are not contributing…and to force them to contribute.
Fox
From our friends at Foxwood Glen HOA Blog: http://foxwoodglenhoa.blogspot.com/
Foxwood Glenn is a private community of 44 homes located near the intersection of Crump and Miccosukee Roads in Leon County Florida. Since 2006, our board of directors has failed to provide the basic services outlined in our HOA By-Laws and the Florida Statutes by refusing to enforce collection of annual HOA dues, failing to hold open meetings, and failing to provide annual financial reports and audits. THIS BLOG’S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE OUR HOMEOWNERS THE INFORMATION THAT OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS DENIED US.