Condo Q&A: Is It Legal for HOAs to Have 50/50 Raffles?

Also: A rental owner life in a 125-device community, and was instructed they need to have a internet site and will have to publish sure official data. Need to they? And: An independent contractor/handyman doesn’t lawfully will need workman’s comp insurance coverage. Is it all right to use him?

NAPLES, Fla. – Query: My homeowner’s affiliation is considering hosting a social celebration the place there will be a 50/50 raffle. Fundamentally, everyone who will come to the celebration will be questioned to donate a specific volume and a drawing is held for a winner. 50 % of the collected cash go to the winner and the other 50 percent goes to the affiliation to fund long term social events. Is this lawful? – S.R., Delray Beach front

Respond to: Until your homeowner’s association qualifies as an “organization” less than the applicable Florida regulation, it is illegal for your homeowner’s affiliation to conduct a 50/50 raffle. The relevant Florida law can be observed in Segment 849.0935, Florida Statutes.

This regulation makes it possible for certain companies to carry out raffles these as 50/50 raffles. Nevertheless, the term “organization” is specifically outlined as an group which is exempt from federal earnings taxation these as a 501(c)(3), (4), (7), (8), (10), and (19) firm and which has a existing willpower letter from the IRS.

For businesses that qualify, any brochures, adverts, notices, tickets or entry blanks applied in connection with the raffle must conspicuously disclose:

The procedures for the drawing
The whole identify of the charitable organization and its principal position of enterprise
The resource of the funds utilized to award the dollars prize
The day, hour, and location where by the winner will be decided on, and the prize awarded
That no order or contribution is essential

Merchandise e. previously mentioned can be challenging. Whilst you are not able to mandate that to enter the raffle you “must” shell out an entry payment, you may possibly “suggest” a minimum donation. On the other hand, legally, if an individual preferred to enter for free of charge or for much less than the instructed minimum amount donation you must let it.

I do not believe that your homeowner’s affiliation would qualify below the definition of “organization” less than Portion 849.0935, Florida Statutes. Nevertheless, in get to make certain, you really should check with your lawful counsel or accounting expert. If it does not qualify, your homeowner’s association can not lawfully perform a 50/50 raffle.

Question: Our homeowner’s affiliation has an Architectural Critique Board, ARB. The ARB’s duties involve reviewing and approving or disapproving proposed architectural modifications in just our neighborhood. The ARB does not supply recognize to the group when they fulfill and they do not retain any minutes of their conference. Is this appropriate? – J.K., Hollywood

Answer: Chapter 720 is the Florida law that governs homeowner’s associations. Segment 720.303, Florida Statutes involves board of directors’ conferences to be found at least 48 hrs prior to the assembly, open to all customers, besides for limited circumstances, and that minutes have to be kept of all the board steps at the conference.

These exact same requirements utilize to any committee or other related system vested with the ability to approve or disapprove architectural decisions with regard to a unique lot in a community. This indicates that your community’s ARB is necessary to discover its conferences, keep it open up to all users of the community and to maintain minutes of its selections.

Dilemma: Our condominium has 125 models. We are being advised that we should have an affiliation web page and are needed to put up specific formal data on it. Is this true? – S.S, Plantation

Remedy: No that is not legitimate. Florida Statute 718.111(12)(g) delivers that an association taking care of a condominium with 150 or far more models should have a web site and submit particular files on it.

Considering that your condominium is considerably less that 150 units you are not required by regulation to maintain a web site. Be aware that there is no website requirement for cooperatives of house owners associations.

Problem: Our affiliation has a handyman that we consistently use as an impartial contractor. It is only him and at times a helper. He does not have personnel compensation coverage as he is lawfully exempt from staying essential to have it.

Our administration organization is telling us we should not use this particular person if he is not insured. Our association has its own staff payment insurance policy and normal liability so I am not sure I understand the issue. What is your impression on this subject? – A.C., Fort Lauderdale

Reply: Workers’ compensation is a kind of insurance furnishing wage substitute and health care rewards to workers injured in the training course of work in trade for necessary relinquishment of the employee’s correct to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. So, workers compensations secure the employer not the affiliation specifically.

If an incident takes place you have normal liability insurance coverage to cover the affiliation, and if the human being by some means could show he was an staff of the affiliation, that is what the association’s staff compensation is for.

The downside of the employer not owning worker’s payment is that if the staff receives harm and the employer is not well financed, the hurt individual will only have a single entity to sue, the affiliation.

If the employer has personnel compensation, then some of the liability can be laid off on the employer and presumably considerably less on the association. But a different real trouble is that if the handyman triggers destruction to the association home or injures anyone, he has no general legal responsibility coverage to pay out for it.

For people explanations, we do not advocate the association employ the service of persons without having worker’s comp., even if not legally essential, and unquestionably not without common liability coverage.

The details provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal guidance. The publication of this posting does not build an attorney-client marriage between the reader and Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our lawyers. Visitors ought to not act or chorus from performing centered on the data contained in this report without having initial contacting an lawyer, if you have concerns about any of the troubles lifted herein. The hiring of an attorney is a choice that must not be based exclusively on ads or this column.