House toppeled the estoppel, preventing $100M in new HOA fees

Business concept meaning Homeowner Association HOA Estoppel Letter with inscription on the page.

The House in the waning hours of the 2024 Legislative Session stood its ground on the “Home Tax” bill dealing with estoppel certificates and who can pay for them. Its unwillingness to budge left the measure (HB 979) dead for the Session.

As it was originally filed, the measure would have blocked homeowner associations (HOAs) from charging a fee to prepare an estoppel certificate — a document used to outline any outstanding fees owed to the HOA during the home sale process. It protects buyers who would be on the hook for any dues owed.

Critics, including the Chief Executive Officers of Management Companies (CEOMC) group that represents more than 18,000 community association managers, argued that eliminating the fees for preparing the certificates would have passed costs along to all neighbors, regardless of whether they are selling their home. The extra fees could have added as much as $100 million to HOA fees throughout Florida, the group said.

The House Judiciary Committee in February amended the legislation to alleviate concerns, proposing a prohibition on charging homeowners and buyers for the estoppel certificates.

The Senate passed its own version of the bill (SB 278) without the amendment, but the House refused to take up its version.

“We are so grateful that our Legislature sided with homeowners over big real estate special interests by rejecting this unnecessary legislation,” CEOMC Executive Director Mark Anderson said.

The group offered particular praise for House Speaker Paul Renner, Speaker-designate Danny Perez and Reps. Michael Gottlieb, Tommy Gregory, Lawrence McClure, Will Robinson and David Smith, as well as “dozens of other legislators from both political parties in both Chambers who didn’t buckle under intense pressure to fix something that wasn’t broken.”

Lawmakers negotiated the bill until the final moments of Session, but the impasse between the House and Senate over the House’s amendment wasn’t bridged before the hankie dropped.

“This is an issue I thought we dealt with in 2017,” said Rep. Chip LaMarca during a press conference following the Senate passage of the bill. “We came up with a plan that would cap these fees but at the same time would not be borne by all of the other homeowners and condo owners in communities. This is something I definitely can’t support.”

That legislation, signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, capped fees for the preparation of estoppel certificates at $250, with another $150 allowable if there is a delinquent amount owed to the HOA.

That bill was an effort to shift the cost of estoppel certificate preparation from title agents and realtors to HOAs.

It typically costs around $300 to prepare the certificate, according to reporting from News Channel 8.

This year’s attempt was a priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, whose leadership likely led to the Senate insisting on its version without the House amendment.