Can a condominium association deny an owner the right to rent his unit if his assessments are unpaid

The short answer is:  “it depends” – because the board can deny a lease only if the authority to approve or deny a lease is stated in the declaration or bylaws.

718.104(5) of the Florida Condominium Act states that the Declaration as originally recorded or as amended may include covenants and restrictions concerning the use, occupancy and transfer of units.    Thus, if  leasing a unit is not subject to prior approval or otherwise restricted  in the Declaration (or in the Bylaws, an ...

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Is your condominium’s right of approval enforceable?

Most condominium declarations contain a right of approval. In general terms, they typically state no sale, lease or other transfer of a unit is permitted without prior written approval of the Association.  But most declarations do not specify the grounds, if any, upon which denial is permitted.  Most are very open-ended; for example, “grounds for disapproval include but are not limited to the account being delinquent.”  Thus, what is the limit of the association’s authority to approve or disapprove, or ...

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Suspension of Voting Rights in a Florida condominium

Update to §718.303 of Florida Statutes – posted June 28, 2017.

Effective July 1, 2017, §718.303 was amended to provide that an owner’s voting rights can be suspended if the monetary obligation owed is more than $1,000.00 and 90 days delinquent but proof of such obligation must be provided to the owner or member 30 days before the suspension takes effect.

The prior article was written by me in January 2015:

A condo manager asked me about the voting rights of an owner ...

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New laws directly affect Property Managers

Do you know ….?
Under §718.111 of the Condominium Act, as amended and effective on July 1, 2017:
1) the new law expressly prohibits any officer, director or manager from receiving a “kickback”. Previously, the law prohibited such persons from accepting anything or service of value without consideration other than services or items received in connection with trade fairs or education programs. A kickback is already the subject to a civil penalty but under the ...

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Who can serve on the Condominium Board of Directors?

The condominium’s governing documents will specify who is eligible to serve on the Board of Directors. Typically, but not always, a director must be a unit owner. A unit owner is defined in the statute as the record owner of legal title. That means in the case of units owned by an individual(s), the owner is the person(s) whose name(s) is on the recorded deed. In the case of ownership in the name of a corporation or partnership, the condominium ...

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Associations cannot impose a fine without prior, proper notice to the owner

On July 8, 2012, the Association’s attorney sent a Notice to the unit owners of a violations committee meeting “regarding the Association’s intent to levy fines” due to their dog’s frequent barking. The notice stated the hearing was to be on July 16. On July 16, the violations Committee met and imposed two fines in the amount of $100.00 each per day for 10 days for a continuing violation, for a total of $2,000.00. The owners did not attend the ...

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