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Community Living

Placing satellite dish may require association vote

By RICHARD WHITE, Special to the Times
Published January 13, 2007

Q: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 says that an owner can install a satellite dish on property he or she exclusively owns. Our governing documents say that no radio, television, or any other outside antenna or any kind can be installed. Which governs us: our condo documents or the Telecommunications Act?

A: The Telecommunications Act has three basic requirements for homeowner associations. However, condominium owners are not entirely covered by this act. The act says that any homeowner has the right to install a dish, not to exceed one meter, to receive signals. The association must approve the dish in a reasonable time. The association cannot block the signal. A homeowner association can establish reasonable rules, but they cannot conflict with these requirements.

Condominium rules are different in that the act does not cover the placement of dishes on common areas. A dish can be installed on a limited common area, such as the balcony. However, the dish cannot extend beyond the outer limits of the balcony extending into the common area. This becomes a problem when half of the building faces away from the satellite signal.

The key concern about not allowing dishes to be placed on common areas is that the installation will alter the common areas. To allow dish placement in common areas, the members must vote to allow the alterations.

You own wall's finish

Q: The Florida Insurance Commissioner's office says a condo association is responsible for the walls through the wallboard but not for the finish on the wallboard. Our condominium board says "to the wallboard." Which is correct? Our insurance agent says damage to a condominium unit from water, etc. from the unit above is the responsibility of the condominium owner with the damage, unless it is a deliberate act. This does not seem right.

A: Almost always, the association is responsible for repairs to unfinished drywall. You are responsible for the finish, i.e., paint or paper. Obviously, intentional damage would be an exception. The key factor in most damage, including water penetration, is that the association is not responsible for personal property. In the example you cite, paint and wallpaper are considered personal property.

If your unit is damaged by water from the unit above, you are responsible for damage repairs to personal property - paint and paper, as noted, and carpet, furniture, etc. I know it seems unfair that you must pay for damage you didn't cause, but it is highly likely that your upstairs neighbors are not responsible either. Assuming they didn't let the tub overflow, water damage is usually caused by failure of a pipe or a system.

Illegal closed session

Q: The president of our association held a board meeting in closed session, supposedly to discuss legal issues involving association members. She said she did not want to embarrass these members by discussing the situation at an open board meeting. Our association lawyer, who was not present at the meeting, tells us that such a meeting is appropriate so long as the topic is pending litigation - which was not the case here. Was this meeting legal? Must the attorney be present?

A: Any meeting in which a quorum of directors meets to discuss association business is considered a board meeting FS 718.112. Notices must be posted, minutes taken and the meeting must be open to the members.

The one exception is when the directors meet to discuss pending litigation and the attorney is present. However, a meeting notice still must be posted and minutes taken. Since your attorney was not present and pending litigation was not discussed, the meeting was illegal.

The way to publicly discuss rule violations or payment delinquency is to use lot or unit numbers or addresses rather than names, or to say "Case 1" or "Violation 2" when discussing the case.

Richard White is a licensed community associations manager. Write to him c/o Community Living, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or provide personal replies by mail, but you can e-mail him at CAMquestions@cfl.rr.com Please include your name and city.

[Last modified January 12, 2007, 09:30:31]