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Do renters in condominium associations located in Florida have a right to attend meetings of the board of directors? An issue arose when a renter who has attended meetings for
several years was asked by the management company to leave a board meeting because she was a renter and not allowed in the meeting.
As a member of the board, I simply want to know if renters in Florida are allowed to attend, but not participate in board meetings of the association.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

onewalker:

Fla. Statute 718.11 (1)(a) states "The owners of units shall be shareholders or members of the association." It makes no provisions for non-owners.

The association is given many powers including the power to administer its governance which, although not specifically spelled out, would include the right to decide who attends meetings of the board. All of the provisions regarding meetings refer to owners not renters.

This right may be spelled out in the bylaws. You would need to review those bylaws.

You can also send an inquiry, under 718.112(2)(a)(2), to your board asking for the source of authority for excluding the renter. You send a certified letter to the board with the inquiry and they must respond within thirty days with a substantive answer or tell you they need a legal opinion.

Generally, because the Board has the power to govern its administration and it is, I'm assuming, a private body, it can exercise the power to exclude non-members from its meeting. But, the bylaws may provide otherwise and the bylaws would govern over this general proposition.

Disclaimer: This answer is informational in nature and is not a substitute for hiring an attorney. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this answer.

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