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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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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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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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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Grandfather Status For Condominium Unit Owners

When an association amends its existing declaration, the rights of existing owners must be considered.

A declaration of condominium may not contain all the property restrictions that owners want, especially as a community changes over time. Although declarations may be amended to establish new constraints, amendments cannot always be enforced against everyone.

For example, there may be no restrictions against boats in the parking lot or pets on the premises. If no other restriction exists (such as local zoning ordinances), owners will ...

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