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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Unpaid assessments of previous owner are not always owed by the foreclosure buyer

In January, 2017, my client received title to a house he bought in December at a mortgage foreclosure sale. The mortgage had been recorded in 2005. Soon after, the homeowners association (HOA) demanded more than $19,000 from my client that it claimed was owed because the prior owner who was foreclosed did not pay assessments for years and the law passed in 2007 states that a buyer, including a purchaser at a foreclosure sale, is jointly and severally liable with ...

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Accord and Satisfaction eliminated for condominium assessments

On August 24, 2016, the Florida 2d District Court of Appeal decided a significant case that benefits condominium associations.

In Madison at Soho II Condominium Association vs Devo Acquisitions, the association demanded approximately $28,000, plus costs and attorney fees, for 6 years of unpaid assessments from Devo after it acquired title to a Unit. Under 718.116 of the condo statute, a buyer is jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for all unpaid assessments that came due up to the ...

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Lien stripping in Chapter 7 eliminated by Supreme Court

An important decision was announced on June 1, 2015 by the United States Supreme Court.   In a unanimous decision arising from two cases in Florida, the Court ruled in Bank of America v. Caulkett that a person who files a Petition for Bankruptcy under Chapter 7 may not cancel a junior lien when the amount owed on the senior lien exceeds the value of the property.  The only condition is that the senior lien must be a secured and allowed ...

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Can a condominium association amend the Declaration to restrict an owner’s right to lease her unit?

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A condominium unit owner living “up north” purchased her unit in Miami as a rental investment property. She specifically purchased in her building with the idea of leasing it in the winter tourist season because the only restriction on leasing was that a lease must be a minimum of one month. Soon after her purchase, the Board announced it was proposing an ...

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Withholding maintenance dues is not a good idea

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Condominium associations are not-for-profit corporations whose members elect directors to manage and operate their business affairs. In the course of such business operations, they incur expenses in the name of the association for various goods and services, such as building and landscaping maintenance and repairs, insurance, water and electric services, management fees, professional fees, and every other item that makes up a ...

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