The question gets asked again and again about relatives serving on the Board of Directors (BOD) together. Let’s go straight to the Florida Condominium Acts for this one.
Section 718.112(2)(d) states, “co-owners of a unit may not serve as members of the board of directors at the same time unless they own more than one unit or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at the time of the vacancy.”
On the other hand, Sections 720.306(9)(a) & (b) of the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act state that any member of the association can serve on the board. The only caveat is that they can’t be delinquent on any dues or be a convicted felon without their rights restored.
You’d think this one would be pretty cut and dry. But first, it’s important to note that in this law there are no conditions stated specifically based on being relatives or blood relations. The act simply uses the term co-owners.
For condo associations, this means that relatives may serve on the board together but they must own more than one unit. Essentially, it is a unit per family member in order to be on the board. If 3 members of the same family all wanted to serve on the BOD, then they would need to own 3 units.
On the other hand, if there are vacancies and not enough eligible candidates, then more than one member of the family could serve on the board, even if they owned only one unit. This would most likely only be the case in a very small association.
It is very important to note that HOAs do not have the same laws regarding co-owners on the BOD together.
To sum up, there are not restrictions on HOAs for co-owners serving on the BOD together, while there are restrictions set for condo associations. But neither HOAs nor condo associations provide any laws against relatives serving together.
We hope this has helped clarify the situation. These laws can be confusing and, to add to that, each association can create addendum in their bylaws that may further complicate the issue. If you have more in-depth questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
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