MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Local 10 News has reported several stories from South Florida residents frustrated by their condo and homeowners associations and property management companies.
“I have three complaints with case numbers,” said condo owner Jenny Trujillo. “They have done nothing.”
“There needs to be some sort of accountability,” according to HOA resident Ed Guminski. “There needs to be somebody looking into this and doing something.”
Most recently, reports have focused on B.D.M. Property Management and property manager Michael Curtis, who runs several properties in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Owners have alleged corruption, lack of transparency, even theft. But the most consistent complaint is that no one seems to be watching.
“You report to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, you report to the Mayor, you report to the commissioner, you’re on the news, and nothing is done,” lamented one unit owner named Carol. “No one seems to care.”
In Miami-Dade County, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has been working on these cases.
“Half of Floridians, of 22 million Floridians, live in condominium associations, or in homeowners associations,” Fernandez Rundle told Local 10′s Amy Viteri. “In the last couple of months maybe we’ve had over 400 complaints that have come into my office.”
The challenge is that much of the alleged wrongdoing in associations isn’t technically a crime, yet.
A proposed bill making its way through Florida’s legislature is looking to change that by criminalizing widespread offenses like withholding financial records, fraudulent election activity in associations, even kickbacks.
“The only way you can really get the records under the present existing law is to go to civil court,” explained Fernandez Rundle. “And so sometimes what is the law and what feels like a crime are not the same.”
House Bill 919 is sponsored by State Representative Juan Carlos Porras who represents district 119 which covers part of Miami-Dade County.
If passed it would also create a pathway for criminal allegations to be passed to law enforcement rather than remain within the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which homeowners have complained for years seems reluctant or ill-equipped to enforce the rules.
“We need an investigative agency like FDLE who’s going to be trained and engaged and committed to these crimes,” said Fernandez Rundle.
In 2016, a Miami-Dade grand jury issued a scathing report calling the DBPR “Ill-suited to correct problems brought to their attention” adding “There was no requirement of prior investigative experience and no formal investigative training was offered.”
The report also criticized the way in which owners have to file grievances, “The... Complaint process seems designed solely to screen out complaints.”
“So what this law does, is it gives more teeth to the DBPR,” said Fernandez Rundle. “It gives them a constant referral service, or referral mandate, if you like, to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.”
Fernandez Rundle has been vocal in her support of new laws to criminalize bad behavior in associations and property management companies, stating it would fast-track investigations and help bring more cases to justice.
It was her office that ultimately helped make arrests in the multimillion dollar Hammocks Association case. It was a process which took years, she said, because of the lack of existing laws around this behavior.
In its current state, the proposed legislation does not allocate specific personnel or funding for these investigations, something for which Fernandez Rundle had advocated.
“Are you concerned about resources to dedicate toward that?” asked Viteri. “I’m concerned about resources at the investigative level,” said Fernandez Rundle, “When we see a good case put together, that makes our case much easier. When we have to do both. That makes it more complicated and slower.”
When asked about the legislation, a spokesperson for Governor Ron DeSantis wrote:
“Since this legislation is still subject to the legislative process (and therefore different iterations), the governor will decide on the merits of the bill in final form if and when it passes and is delivered to the governor’s office.”
Local 10 News also reached out to the DBPR regarding the proposed bill but at this time had not heard back.
B.D.M. property manager Michael Curtis has declined an interview with Local 10 and has accused the unit owners themselves of corruption.