Blogs & Resources

The declaration of condominium is the instrument by which a condominium is created. Fla. Stat. § 718.103(15). Florida courts have often referred to a declaration of condominium as the condominium’s “constitution” because it “strictly governs the relationships among the condominium unit owners and the condominium association.” Woodside Vill. Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Jahren, 806 So.2d 452, 456 (Fla. 2002). Yet what commonly happens is that, over time, unit owners and/or the board of directors of condo associations grow to dislike certain declaration provisions. Those bound by the declaration cannot simply ignore those unwanted provisions; rather, they must take action to amend and/or otherwise change the declaration. Fortunately, Condo Associations have the statutory right to amend their declarations and may even unilaterally void declaration provisions in certain circumstances. This blog post will discuss this right in more detail.

Every condo association finds itself having to deal with tenants who break the association’s rules and regulations. While the association’s governing documents may allow it to take certain actions against those tenants, the Florida Statutes provide for remedies as well. Specifically, Section 718.303, Florida Statutes, defines the obligations of not only unit owners but also their tenants and explains the remedies available to an association when those tenants violate its rules. This Blog post will discuss in detail a condo association’s statutory remedies against those tenants who violate the association’s declaration, rules and regulations.

An important aspect of condominium association law is responding to estoppel requests from prospective purchasers or those who take title to a condominium unit by foreclosure. The nature of the request will be the new owner or lender requesting the current outstanding balance due for condominium assessments for the unit. […]

Due to poor mid-2000’s construction, the area of construction defect litigation is booming. Across the country, numerous owners are grappling with issues of shoddy construction and defective building materials. One of the most common reasons for defect litigation, aside from shoddy construction and poor workforce supervision, results from defective building […]

The Florida Condominium Act provides that an association has “the irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours, when necessary for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of any common elements or of any portion of a unit to be maintained by the association.” Fla. Stat. § 718.111(5)(a). It is tempting for an association to interpret that language too broadly, possibly subjecting itself to liability if a unit owner’s objection to an association’s demand for access to his or her unit leads to legal action. That was the situation in the recently decided case, Small v. Devon Condo B Ass’n., Inc., No 4D10-2302 (Fla. 4th DCA April 2, 2014). This Blog post will discuss that case in which Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal made clear that a condo association’s demand for unit access must be “reasonable and necessary.” Id.

Our first post, the first of a three part series, discussed the differences between homeowners association and condominium association law in Florida pertaining to basic board operations. The second post discussed the differences between homeowners association and condominium association law in Florida pertaining to records inspections and alterations to property. […]

The Florida Condominium Act provides the process for a condo association to file a foreclosure action for recovering a unit owner’s unpaid assessments. That process includes sending the required statutory notices to unit owners and recording a claim of lien for those unpaid assessments in the county’s official records. Once those pre-suit actions are satisfied an association may move forward with a foreclosure action if a unit owner has not paid the past-due amount owed.

Our previous post, the first of a three part series, discussed the differences between homeowners association and condominium association law in Florida pertaining to basic board operations. This post, the second of a three part series, discussed the differences between homeowners association and condominium association law in Florida pertaining to […]

Under Florida’s association laws, each type of community association differs from each other type of community association primarily in the manner in which each association and the association’s members own real property within the community. For example, with Condominiums, a member owns in fee simple a “unit” for the member’s […]

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in March of 2014 concerning properties governed by an association that are sold at a tax sale. The court, in A to Z Properties, Inc. v. Fairway Palms II Condo. Ass’n, Inc., held that when property with unpaid association assessments is purchased at a tax sale, the purchaser is not liable to the association for those unpaid assessments. No. 4D13-1267 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). The court’s reasoning is that an assessment lien is extinguished by the issuance of a tax deed. Id. This post will analyze that case, including the ramifications that decision has on Florida’s community associations and what associations can do to avoid finding themselves on the wrong end of this situation.