Fiduciary Responsibility
As officers and directors of community associations, Florida Statutes, and the association documents require that all Board members have a fiduciary relationship in their positions with and for the unit owners that they represent and serve. What is a fiduciary relationship? A fiduciary relationship simply means a relationship of trust and confidence. In other words, as an owner, I elected you to represent me on the Board and I trust you to do the following:
1. Act in good faith in all of your dealings.
2. Put the best interests of the association first.
3. Operate within the scope of your authority.
4. Act prudently and responsibly in all circumstances.
5. When dealing with fellow unit owners, doing what is right.
6. Rely on experts when making decisions for the association.
7. Uphold the documents and state statutes for the good of all.
8. Maintain, enhance, and repair common areas and structures.
It is real simple, use the above as a guide and you will have done your “fiduciary responsibility”. Though some fellow unit owners may not be happy with your tenure on the Board of Directors, you will have fulfilled your purpose and role within your volunteer position.
Without getting into specifics, there are other Florida Statutes that provide immunity from personal civil liability to directors unless they breached their fiduciary duty and the breach was criminal, self-dealing and with malicious purpose. But if a director were to follow the 8 keys listed above they could easily state that they did what they thought was in the best interest of the community association for which they served.
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