Florida law is patently clear. By December 31, 2016, a residential condominium association that is not in compliance with the requirements for a fire sprinkler system and that has not voted to forego retrofitting of such a system must initiate an application for a building permit for the required fire sprinkler system retrofit installation with their local government demonstrating that the association will become compliant by December 31, 2019. So, if your condominium association does not want to incur this expense, then the association must act now, before it is too late, by presenting an option to its members to opt-out of this requirement by the December 31, 2016 deadline which will be here before you know it.
Section 718.112(2)(l), Florida Statutes allows an association to vote to forego the retrofitting of the fire sprinkler system upon the approval of a majority of the entire membership (not a majority of a quorum). The vote may be undertaken at a duly-noticed membership meeting or by the written consent process in lieu of having a membership meeting. Voting by written consents or written agreements may be utilized by an association regardless of whether the bylaws or the declaration specifically permit voting by written consents or written agreements. On the other hand, if a membership meeting is held, fourteen (14) day advance written notice must be sent to the entire membership by mail or hand-delivery. If the vote is successful, then the vote to forego the retrofit is only considered effective when the certificate attesting to the vote is recorded in the public records of the county where the condominium is located.
In addition, if the vote to forego the retrofit is approved by the unit owners, the condominium association must also send written notice to the entire membership of the outcome within 30 days of the vote. Further still, the providing of this notice must be evidenced by an affidavit executed by the person sending the notice and kept with the condominium association’s official records. As the last step to this process to opt out of the need to retrofit, the condominium association must also report the results of the vote and recording of the certificate to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (the “Division”).
If by December 31, 2016, a majority of the members of the condominium association do not vote in favor of approving to forego the retrofit, the association must submit a building permit application with the applicable local governmental authorities on or before December 31, 2016 regarding its intent to comply with the applicable fire and life safety codes. Then, the retrofit of the condominium must be completed by December 31, 2019. In addition, if a condominium association undertakes retrofitting of its condominium, then the condominium association is also statutorily required to report the per-unit cost of the retrofit work to the Division.
In the event a condominium association has previously voted to forego the retrofit, and now wants to reverse that decision, the membership has the ability to vote to require the retrofit at a membership meeting. The affirmative vote of all of the members is needed in order to require the retrofit. The vote to require the retrofit may only be called once every three (3) years, and electronic transmission cannot be used to provide notice of the membership meeting.
In rendering your decision to retro fit or to not retrofit, ask yourself whether you would rather live in a condominium building with up-to-date life safety equipment. Even though it might be a costly project, in the rare circumstance it is needed, it is worth more than a billion dollars when your life is at stake. In fact, some might say that the decision to go ahead with the fire sprinkler retrofit is priceless.