My question involves real estate located in the State of: FLORIDA
I have lived here for 10 years in peace and quiet. All these people know me and until this, we've gotten along. Now we have a new Assn president who is being difficult.
Property management or the Association have lost keys to my unit twice since I've lived here. The first time, I replaced the door knob and gave them a new key to it. My door now has two locks, one for the deadbolt, the other for the knob. This year, when we switched property management companies, it was discovered that they have lost the key to the deadbolt also, and rather than replace the deadbolt, I gave them another key and installed a monitored security system.
They have keys. They can open the door to respond to any emergency. Now the HOA is asking that I provide them with an access code, even though the Declaration of Condominum doesn't mention them. Seeing as how they have lost my keys in the past, and have also behaved improperly, I no longer trust them with the ability to disable my alarm. I have responded back to them that lack of an access code does not create a physical impediment to enter my unit in an emergency, and that the Declaration of Condominium makes no mention of security access codes.
Our Declaration has two sections that address access to units, the first one is the right to go in due to an emergency. I am not questioning that one. The second states that they can go in for maintenance and what-have-you ONLY at reasonable times and with reasonable advance notice. I am not opposed to that one either.
The exact wording to the first section is:
"In case of any emergency originating in or threatening any units regardless of whether or not the owner is present at the time of such emergency, the
Board of Directors of the Association, or any other person authorized by it, shall have the right to enter such unit for the purpose of remedying or abating
the cause of such emergency, and such right of entry shall be immediate, and to facilitate entry in the event of any such emergency, the owner of each unit,
if required by the Association, shall deposit under control of the Association a key to such unit."
The problem is that there have been instances where the people with access to the keys have entered units for reasons unknown. I am the only person with an alarm system now, but others have cameras with motion detection recording 24/7 that can be accessed through the internet/apps. You can get one for like $50 nowadays and if that's all you need, then it's a cheap way to semi-secure your space and be notified of activity. 90% of the owners here are snowbirds who don't leave anything of real value to worry about, and being retired, they can dispense with the expense of a monitored alarm system which is going to cost over $1,500 a year. So these owners noticed the past president of the Association entering their units and they went nuts. Chaos ensued. Past president got voted out. But understand that what prompted these folks to install a camera was that the PREVIOUS president before him had ALSO done the same thing. There is a history here of bored retired men snooping.
So it seemed like a good idea to get a security system to prevent unauthorized access.
The alarm is set to silent. There will be no annoying noises if someone were to trip it, but even so, I can turn off the alarm myself with my phone from anywhere, even overseas. No neighbors will be bothered. Most of these people aren't even here most of the year. Our building is 90% empty from May to November.
Unlike 90% if the owners, who actually have their permanent residence elsewhere, this is my permanent residence and I reside in my unit all days of the year. I receive mail here. At any given time, there could be investment statements, bank statements, checkbooks, credit cards, cash, sensitive identity documents, electronics, jewelry and other valuables left in plain sight. Therefore, I require the reasonable advance notice for non-emergencies that the Declaration says I'm due to allow time for me to inspect and secure that which I deem sensitive or valuable. And I can work from home whenever I want, so if they need to come here for anything, I can arrange to be here.
And let's not forget that they have lost my keys twice. Who knows who has them. I should have insisted they rekeyed or replaced my locks. I don't want my access code to fall into the wrong hands. It doesn't look like their key control policies, if they have any, have been any good in the past.
If my water heater broke, and water is flooding my apartment, how does a silent alarm going off prevent anyone from dealing with the water heater when they are already inside my apartment? Our current property manager lives 45 mins away in Delray Beach. His distance is more dangerous in an emergency than the lack of an alarm code.
I am okay with them having keys. But nowhere in the Declaration is an access code listed.
I've considered giving the Assn an access code that will only work when they give me reasonable notice of needing access. I can activate and deactivate codes from an app on my phone all day long, if so inclined. I can also make the code I give them the "distress code" which will unwittingly dispatch the police to my unit right away. Not sure if that opens me to any liability if they have to go in due to a real emergency and then the police shows up? This first is my "Plan A", to be honest. The latter will be my "Plan B" if I find them accessing my home without notice for non-emergency reasons.
So, do I really have to? Thanks in advance.
Trish
I have lived here for 10 years in peace and quiet. All these people know me and until this, we've gotten along. Now we have a new Assn president who is being difficult.
Property management or the Association have lost keys to my unit twice since I've lived here. The first time, I replaced the door knob and gave them a new key to it. My door now has two locks, one for the deadbolt, the other for the knob. This year, when we switched property management companies, it was discovered that they have lost the key to the deadbolt also, and rather than replace the deadbolt, I gave them another key and installed a monitored security system.
They have keys. They can open the door to respond to any emergency. Now the HOA is asking that I provide them with an access code, even though the Declaration of Condominum doesn't mention them. Seeing as how they have lost my keys in the past, and have also behaved improperly, I no longer trust them with the ability to disable my alarm. I have responded back to them that lack of an access code does not create a physical impediment to enter my unit in an emergency, and that the Declaration of Condominium makes no mention of security access codes.
Our Declaration has two sections that address access to units, the first one is the right to go in due to an emergency. I am not questioning that one. The second states that they can go in for maintenance and what-have-you ONLY at reasonable times and with reasonable advance notice. I am not opposed to that one either.
The exact wording to the first section is:
"In case of any emergency originating in or threatening any units regardless of whether or not the owner is present at the time of such emergency, the
Board of Directors of the Association, or any other person authorized by it, shall have the right to enter such unit for the purpose of remedying or abating
the cause of such emergency, and such right of entry shall be immediate, and to facilitate entry in the event of any such emergency, the owner of each unit,
if required by the Association, shall deposit under control of the Association a key to such unit."
The problem is that there have been instances where the people with access to the keys have entered units for reasons unknown. I am the only person with an alarm system now, but others have cameras with motion detection recording 24/7 that can be accessed through the internet/apps. You can get one for like $50 nowadays and if that's all you need, then it's a cheap way to semi-secure your space and be notified of activity. 90% of the owners here are snowbirds who don't leave anything of real value to worry about, and being retired, they can dispense with the expense of a monitored alarm system which is going to cost over $1,500 a year. So these owners noticed the past president of the Association entering their units and they went nuts. Chaos ensued. Past president got voted out. But understand that what prompted these folks to install a camera was that the PREVIOUS president before him had ALSO done the same thing. There is a history here of bored retired men snooping.
So it seemed like a good idea to get a security system to prevent unauthorized access.
The alarm is set to silent. There will be no annoying noises if someone were to trip it, but even so, I can turn off the alarm myself with my phone from anywhere, even overseas. No neighbors will be bothered. Most of these people aren't even here most of the year. Our building is 90% empty from May to November.
Unlike 90% if the owners, who actually have their permanent residence elsewhere, this is my permanent residence and I reside in my unit all days of the year. I receive mail here. At any given time, there could be investment statements, bank statements, checkbooks, credit cards, cash, sensitive identity documents, electronics, jewelry and other valuables left in plain sight. Therefore, I require the reasonable advance notice for non-emergencies that the Declaration says I'm due to allow time for me to inspect and secure that which I deem sensitive or valuable. And I can work from home whenever I want, so if they need to come here for anything, I can arrange to be here.
And let's not forget that they have lost my keys twice. Who knows who has them. I should have insisted they rekeyed or replaced my locks. I don't want my access code to fall into the wrong hands. It doesn't look like their key control policies, if they have any, have been any good in the past.
If my water heater broke, and water is flooding my apartment, how does a silent alarm going off prevent anyone from dealing with the water heater when they are already inside my apartment? Our current property manager lives 45 mins away in Delray Beach. His distance is more dangerous in an emergency than the lack of an alarm code.
I am okay with them having keys. But nowhere in the Declaration is an access code listed.
I've considered giving the Assn an access code that will only work when they give me reasonable notice of needing access. I can activate and deactivate codes from an app on my phone all day long, if so inclined. I can also make the code I give them the "distress code" which will unwittingly dispatch the police to my unit right away. Not sure if that opens me to any liability if they have to go in due to a real emergency and then the police shows up? This first is my "Plan A", to be honest. The latter will be my "Plan B" if I find them accessing my home without notice for non-emergency reasons.
So, do I really have to? Thanks in advance.
Trish
Homeowners Associations: Do I Have to Give the HOA an Alarm Access Code
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