Know your rights: Hurricane shutters on your condo or other property.

If you live in a condo or other property controlled by an association in Florida you may not know that you’re within your legal rights to put up Hurricane shutters even if your association says you can’t.

According to an article filed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel today author Joe Kollin writes:

“The law says condo associations can specify colors or styles of shutters, but can’t ban them, even if the buildings have hurricane-resistant glass.”

Although this law specifically pertains to Florida it’s important to know your rights in states all over Hurricane Country. We’ve contacted the State Attorney General’s offices for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas today asking to help identify any similar laws in their states. We’ll report the results of our research back here. Do you live somewhere else in Hurricane Country? Contact your State Attorney General and ask them what your legal rights are. Let us know what you find!

The article in the Sun-Sentinel goes on to mention a specific association that took the stand that since the condo already had impact resistant windows there was no need to install shutters. Hmmmm. Impact windows are a great way to protect your dwelling or small business against wind borne debris. What many people don’t know is that many Hurricane, or impact resistant windows are only tested to withstand a nine-pound two-by-four hurtled at the window at 34 miles per hour. Shutters as well. This is the testing overseen by Miami-Dade County and is referred to as the large missile test. Keep in mind that Miami-Dade presently has the strictest test protocols in the country for wind-borne debris, air and water tests. A category four Hurricane has winds of 130-155 mph on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and certainly has the power to hurtle a nine pound piece of debris like a two-by-four at your window. Even a category three hurricane has the potential to break expensive impact resistant windows. Where am I going with this?

Two things. First, although an expensive option, some individuals want the added protection that a shutter/impact window combination gives them. Second, and perhaps more practically speaking for those of us on a budget, some people want window protection in the form of shutters so that their expensive impact windows don’t get shattered. Why? While your insurance may cover the cost to replace any impact glass that was damaged in a storm there’s a strong chance that your insurance deductible may well be in excess of the cost of having the windows replaced yourself. So, protecting your impact windows with shutters of some kind can actually become a cost saving strategy while also substantially increasing your protection against wind born debris.

In future stories we’ll write more about small and large missile testing and define some important terms that you should understand around these tests, especially as they relate to marketing and sales materials and tactics that are getting consumers into trouble all over Hurricane Country.