How Lack of Kaufman Language in your Condominium’s Governing Documents May Affect a Prospective Board Candidate’s Eligibility Related to Statutory 8-Year Term Limits for Elections From July 2026 Forward

Thank you for all your years of service these past 8 years, now go find something else to do with your free time. This is how many long serving members of condominium association boards throughout Florida have felt treated since the eight (8) consecutive year term limit law took effect in 2017. In 2017, the Florida Legislature amended Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)2 to provide that board members generally may not serve more than eight consecutive years unless one of two exceptions applied:

1. The board member is re-elected by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all votes cast in the election.
2. There are not enough eligible candidates to fill all board vacancies.

But what would happen if your association’s governing documents do not contain what is commonly referred to as “Kaufman language,” meaning that when your governing documents were written, there was no provision expressly incorporating future statutory amendments into your declaration and bylaws automatically (i.e., “as amended from time to time.”). Under Florida law, statutory amendments that affect substantive rights such as the eight-year term limit (as opposed to procedures that implement those rights) are generally not retroactively applicable to associations whose governing documents predate the amendment and do not contain Kaufman language. Florida courts have held that, absent Kaufman language, statutory changes typically apply only prospectively and do not automatically alter the association’s governing documents. See Tropicana Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Tropical Condo., LLC, 208 So. 3d 755, 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016).

This specific issue was addressed in the 2019 Final Arbitration Order in Glanz v. Hidden Lake of Manatee Owners Association, Inc. (Fla. Arb. Case No. 2019-01-5048) which held that the eight-year term limit would not be applied where an association’s declaration did not contain Kaufman language adopting the Condominium Act.  In that case, the arbitrator concluded that the association’s declaration, drafted in 2005, that did not contain any term limit provisions, and which did not include “Kaufman language” would not be subject to the 2017 statutory amendments including the board member term limits.

Do your association’s governing documents include such language? If they do, then you would most likely be subject to the Florida Legislature’s 2017 amendment to Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)2, and you would be ineligible to serve further on your condominium board unless one of the two exceptions referenced above applied. If your association’s governing documents do not include the magic Kaufman Language, then they likely do not adopt future amendments to the Condominium Act, and the reasoning in Glanz would likely apply, and the Legislature’s 2017 term limit amendment to Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)2 may not be automatically binding on your Association.

If you are contemplating investigating your Association’s governing documents to determine whether or not the 8-year term limit would apply, we would strongly recommend that you seek the advice of counsel, such as Haber Law, to review and advise on your association’s specific circumstances.

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THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD NOT ACT UPON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE WITHOUT OBTAINING SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.