Owners at our last annual General meeting, on January 19, 2024, have voted in favour of two important amendments in article 12.1 of our By-Laws, related to water damage, shown in Bold below:

“12.1 (s) Each UNIT owner who plans to be absent from his unit, for 3 days or longer, must prepare his or her unit prior to departure by:

1. shutting Off the main water valve to his or her unit, and turning it On only when the unit is occupied again, as described in the Grantham E Water Damage Guide;

2. during Hurricane season, removing all furniture, plants and other objects from his or her screened terrace or porch prior to departure, unless protected by hurricane shutters; and

3. designating a responsible firm or individual to care for his or her UNIT, should the UNIT suffer hurricane or water damage, and furnishing the BOARD with the name of said firm or individual. Such firm or individual shall contact the BOARD for clearance to install or remove hurricane shutters. Any Owner who is absent from his or her Unit must appoint a person to inspect the Unit regularly. The name of the person assigned to inspect the Unit must be provided to the Association.”

and, this new sub-article 

“12.1 (w) UNIT owner shall preventively inspect, maintain, repair and replace, at his or her sole cost and expense, components of the unit plumbing system including, but not limited to, water heaters, hot water tanks, overflow trays, valves, faucets, pipes, drains, plumbing fixtures and plumbing connections. Hot water tanks at 15 years of life, as well as rusted overflow trays must be replaced to avoid unnecessary water damage to other units and the common elements.”

We all want to have a better place to live, and would love to improve our units. It is important to remember that, Florida Building Code does not allow an owner of a Condo to do work on his unit. Also a Florida Licensed Contractor must be hired, and a permit must be obtained prior to allowing any contractor to start work. Failure to hire a license contractor is a felony in the state of Florida “Florida Statue 489.127(1) (f)”.

Additionally, article 9.5 of our Declaration of Condominium requires that owners, prior to make any material alteration, addition or modification to his or her unit, must obtain written consent of the Association.

These projects require written Board approval and in most cases, permits:

• Renovation projects such as kitchen & bathroom remodelling;
• Knocking down walls and floor plan reconfiguration;
• Plumbing such as changing water heaters, toilets, sinks, showers & tubs;
• Electricity such as changing electric panels & ACs;
• Installing doors, windows, hurricane shutters and enclosing balconies;
• Mold remediation works (i.e. drywall removal)

These projects require written Board approval:

• Installing hard surface floor on 2nd, 3rd & 4th floor;
• Installing a communication dish or devices;
• Changing the front door lock;

Failing to get approval from the Board and obtain appropriate permits on any of the above actions may result in serious financial and/or legal consequences.

As part of the Fire Alarm permit, the City of Deerfield Field requires that each bedroom and the living room be equipped with a 10 years lithium battery smoke detector. The existing electric smoke detector in each unit, located near the Air Conditioning filter grill, although still operating, does not meet the new fire regulation because of its vicinity to the AC intake grill.  

The new smoke detectors must be installed at least 3 feet away from any AC vents, and far away from heated appliances such as stove or portable heater. Do not install one in or near the kitchen.

Upon receiving in the mail a Confirmation of Installation of smoke detectors, kindly complete the form, sign it and return it by mail to Seacrest.

Please be reminded of the requirements of Article 12.2 b) 2 of the Grantham E Declaration of Condominium, which states that from the date of the application, the Board has up to 60 days to approve or deny an applicant as a new owner or renter. Therefore, I remind everyone that if you intend to lease or sell your unit, you must plan at least two months after submitting the Application documents to Seacrest, for the start date on the lease or the closing date on the sale.

Seacrest has been instructed to return to the owner or realtor the applications that do not meet this 60 days period. Please ensure to advise your realtor if you are selling, to plan for a closing date of at least two months after the submission of the Application forms.

While doing your laundry, if a machine is not working or functioning properly, please call the company Wash at 800-421-6897, or 800-342-5932, then state account number FL8602108, then give the machine ID number A00 . . located on the front panel where the dials are. Report the problem and request for service in Century Village, Grantham E, Deerfield Beach, Fl.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Due to Broward County fire regulations, please be reminded to keep the open area of our storage rooms clear of all personal items, objects, materials and bikes at all times. All your personal items and other items must be stored in your storage cage or your unit. Any items left in the open space of the storage room will be disposed of at the owner’s expense.