SARASOTA, Fla. — If you are one of more than 40 percent of Floridians who lives in a community governed by a homeowner’s association, you may have heard a legal term recently regarding bylaws, covenants and declarations.
It’s called “Kaufman language” based on the 1977 case of Kaufman vs. Shere, which affects governing documents for HOAs.
“HOAs are out of control”
Since we ran a story about how certain communities are choosing not to recognize a new Florida law that prevents HOAs from restricting parking of private and work trucks in driveways, there’s a lot of interest and confusion surrounding the topic.
Within hours of posting our story on YouTube, we received nearly a thousand comments, including… “ HOAs are out of control”… “I don’t understand why any HOA would ban parking for an owner’s personal vehicle in their driveway” and “This is BS. How is an HOA more powerful than the governor?”
Ryan McIntire loves his 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup but doesn’t love one of his HOA’s rules— which keeps him from parking it in his driveway overnight.
He thought a new state law would change that.
“You can imagine how ecstatic I was when I heard I can park it at my own house,” McIntire said.
This is what the new law says
But Ryan’s HOA in The Meadows and other HOAs across Florida are pushing back, arguing that the new law's application depends on the governing language of the community association at the time it was recorded.
“How can they go against state law?” Ryan asked, when he first contacted the I-Team.
The Meadows Community Association sent emails to residents telling them it came down to something known as “Kaufman language.”
“If you have certain Kaufman language, that’s indicating that if the legislature changes the statute, that would apply,” said attorney Jonathan Ellis
Ellis says The Meadows and other neighborhoods which don’t have “Kaufman language”, which includes the phrase “as amended from time to time”, don’t have to follow the new law.
“Does it automatically incorporate any amendments? If it doesn’t incorporate any amendments, then does a statute like this necessarily apply retroactively or not?”
Ellis says with no "Kaufman language", existing HOA rules can still be enforced under the idea that homeowners agree to follow them when they move into the community.
“It’s much like a contract. And generally, the legislature after a contract is entered can’t change the contract,” Ellis said.
Dozens of parking citations
Ryan says he got about 50 parking citations from his HOA since he moved into the neighborhood five years ago.
“Each violation is $100,” he said.
Ryan said he eventually ended up in HOA court with the threat of a $5,000 lien.
They agreed to expunge his record if he agreed to drive his truck to and from an off-site parking lot each day.
He says unless The Meadows changes its stance regarding the new law, he will continue complying with the existing pickup parking rules.
“Until we can finalize how this is going to play out, we’ll play the game,” he said.
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