A Florida condo attorney helps buyers and sellers with unit transactions and represents owners and associations in disputes over assessments, rules and repairs. Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, supplies many of the governing rules. Aaron Resnick reviews the documents and deadlines, advises on association compliance and handles mediation, arbitration and litigation.
Aaron Resnick, a Miami condominium litigation attorney with Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, represents condo owners, buyers, sellers, association members, boards and managers across Florida.
What Does a Florida Condo Attorney Do?
A Florida condo attorney reviews purchase agreements, advises on association governance and represents clients in disputes about rules, money and property. Aaron Resnick works with owners, buyers, sellers, associations, boards and managers on those issues. His services include drafting contracts and bylaws, addressing disclosure requirements, and handling assessment liens and foreclosure proceedings.
Florida condominium law governs condominium development, sales and operation. Aaron Resnick advises on compliance and represents owners and associations in disputes over their rights. The table below lists the work and the firm's related pages.
| Work | What It Covers | Read More |
|---|---|---|
| Condominium law | The rules for the development, sale and operation of condominiums, and compliance with them. | Florida Condo Law 3.0 |
| Purchases and sales | Buying a new condo or selling one: reviewing or drafting the purchase agreement and confirming the required disclosures. | Miami residential real estate lawyer; condominium deposits |
| Association management and compliance | The statutory requirements for running an association, drafting and amending bylaws, enforcing rules and handling disputes inside the association. | Miami condo association attorney |
| Dispute resolution | Disputes between unit owners, or between owners and the association, including construction defects: mediation, arbitration and litigation. | Condominium litigation record |
| Liens and foreclosures | Liens against units for unpaid assessments, and foreclosure proceedings, for the association or the owner. | Condo assessment disputes |
Can a Buyer Cancel a Florida Condo Purchase Contract?
A Florida residential condo buyer can have a statutory right to cancel before closing. Developer sales and resales have different document rules and deadlines under chapter 718, Florida Statutes. Aaron Resnick checks the seller's status, the contract clauses and the dates each required document reached the buyer before calculating the cancellation period.
Developer Sales
The ordinary developer clause allows written cancellation within 15 days after both the buyer signs and receives all required developer documents. A separate 15 day right follows receipt of an amendment that materially changes the offering adversely to the buyer. The statute does not treat increased budget estimates alone as a material adverse change.
The ordinary clause also permits extending closing to no later than 15 days after receipt of all required items. An advance waiver of the cancellation rights is ineffective, and those rights end at closing. A developer's early closing requires the buyer's informed agreement, documented separately as the statute requires.
Resales
A residential resale contract must contain one of two ordinary document clauses. One acknowledges receipt of the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, most recent annual financial statement and budget, and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document more than seven days before signing. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are excluded; the acknowledgment must match the actual delivery.
The alternative clause allows written cancellation within seven days after signing and receipt of those listed documents, if requested in writing. It also permits a closing extension of up to seven days after receiving the requested documents. Both periods exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays under chapter 718.
Those cancellation rights cannot be waived in advance and end at closing. A resale contract that fails to contain the required ordinary clauses is voidable by the buyer before closing. The ordinary clauses do not replace the separate inspection and reserve document protections.
Inspection and Reserve Documents
For residential contracts entered into after December 31, 2024, additional contract statements must identify required milestone inspections, applicable turnover reports and structural integrity reserve studies that remain incomplete. Where a milestone inspection or reserve study is not required, the contract must say so. Turnover report provisions concern inspections performed on or after July 1, 2023.
When applicable reports or studies are complete, the statute requires acknowledgment and cancellation clauses. The cancellation periods run after signing and receipt of the applicable documents: 15 days for developer sales and seven days for resales. These separate periods exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, unlike the ordinary developer clause's unqualified 15 day period.
The inspection and reserve clauses also provide closing extensions after receipt of the requested reports and studies, using the same 15 or seven day periods and excluded days. Cancellation ends at closing. A contract that fails to comply with these additional clause requirements is voidable before closing.
Documents the Resale Buyer Receives
A contracted resale buyer is entitled, at the seller's expense, to current copies of:
- The declaration, articles of incorporation, and association bylaws and rules.
- An annual financial statement and annual budget.
- The inspector's summary of the milestone inspection report, if applicable.
- The most recent structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that the association has not completed one.
- The turnover inspection report for an inspection performed on or after July 1, 2023.
- The Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document.
The buyer is also entitled to the state condominium division's governance form from the seller. The document entitlement and the written request language in the ordinary cancellation clause are separate questions; obtain the complete package rather than relying on a document receipt with missing items.
Aaron Resnick reviews or drafts the purchase agreement, checks required disclosures and delivery records, and prepares the next step before the applicable deadline. Read about recovering a condominium deposit.
Does a Condo Buyer Owe the Seller's Unpaid Assessments?
A Florida condo buyer generally shares liability with the previous owner for assessments unpaid when title transfers, and owes assessments coming due during ownership. Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, preserves any right to recover the earlier payments from the previous owner. Aaron Resnick checks the ownership history and association account before closing.
Special rules apply to qualifying first mortgage lenders that acquire title by foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The limits depend on the mortgage, required joinder and other statutory conditions; they are not a benefit for every foreclosure buyer. The same provision also contains an older mortgage exception that requires checking the mortgage date and declaration.
An association that acquired the unit by foreclosure or a deed in lieu is not treated as the previous owner for this purpose. A later buyer's liability for earlier unpaid assessments is limited to those accruing before the association acquired title. That exception does not erase the buyer's own assessments after acquisition.
Checking the Estoppel Certificate
An estoppel certificate states the association's account for the unit, including scheduled amounts during its effective period. The association must issue it within 10 business days after receiving a written or electronic request from the owner, the unit's mortgage lender or either one's designee, and provide it on the issue date.
The association waives collection of amounts beyond the certificate from a person who relies on it in good faith and from that person's successors and assigns. The certificate is effective for 30 days if hand delivered or sent electronically, or 35 days if sent by regular mail, under chapter 718.
If a mistake or additional information becomes known during that period, the association can issue an amended certificate before the sale or refinancing is completed. A new 30 or 35 day period begins on the amendment's issue date. Aaron Resnick checks for amendments and scheduled charges, not just the first balance quoted.
How Does a Florida Condo Association Collect Unpaid Assessments?
A Florida condo association can secure unpaid assessments with a lien and seek foreclosure, a money judgment or both under chapter 718, Florida Statutes. Notice before recording a lien is separate from notice before a foreclosure judgment. Aaron Resnick checks the account, notices, mailing records and court filings for the association or owner.
| Step | Time and Condition |
|---|---|
| A new owner's payment of the amount owed to the association | Within 30 days after transfer of title |
| Late assessment notice before requiring related attorney fees | The statutory notice gives 30 days to pay without those attorney fees |
| Notice of intent to record an assessment lien | Generally 45 days after proper delivery before recording; the prescribed notice, mailing rules and any chapter exception must be checked |
| Notice of intent to foreclose before a foreclosure judgment | Generally at least 45 days after written notice is given; statutory exceptions apply |
| The life of a recorded claim of lien | One year after recording unless an enforcement action is commenced within that time |
| Enforcement after service of an owner's recorded notice of contest | 90 days to file an enforcement action; the lien becomes void only if no action is filed within the applicable period |
Notices Before Collection and Foreclosure
The late assessment notice gives the owner an opportunity to pay without related attorney fees. The separate notice of intent to record a lien must follow the statutory form and delivery rules, including registered or certified mail and the required first class mail copies. Aaron Resnick checks each notice rather than treating one letter as every required step.
A foreclosure judgment generally cannot be entered until at least 45 days after the association gives written notice of its intention to foreclose. If that notice was not given at least 45 days before filing suit and the assessments, including later assessments, are paid before judgment, the association cannot recover attorney fees or costs.
Recording an owner's notice of contest satisfies this foreclosure notice requirement. Another exception applies when a mortgage foreclosure is pending, it affects the association's rights, and the owner has received the required service of process. These exceptions do not excuse every other required notice.
The Recorded Lien and a Notice of Contest
The claim of lien must describe the condominium parcel and state the record owner's name, the association's name and address, the amount due and its due dates. An officer or authorized agent must sign and acknowledge it.
To shorten the enforcement period, the owner records the statutory notice of contest. The clerk sends the recorded notice to the association by certified mail, return receipt requested; service is complete on mailing. An informal objection does not start the 90 day contest period.
Unpaid assessments bear interest at the declaration's rate, subject to the legal maximum. If the declaration states no rate, chapter 718 sets interest at 18 percent per year.
The lien generally relates back to the original declaration; for a phase condominium, it relates to the amendment creating the unit. Against a first mortgage of record, the lien generally takes effect when the claim of lien is recorded. Aaron Resnick checks priority and the statutory exceptions against the title record.
Aaron Resnick represents associations that record and foreclose assessment liens and unit owners who contest them. Read about fighting a condo special assessment.
Can a Florida Condo Association Fine a Unit Owner?
A Florida condo association can impose reasonable fines for violations of its declaration, bylaws or reasonable rules. Under chapter 718, Florida Statutes, a fine cannot exceed $100 per violation or $1,000 in the aggregate, and no fine can become a lien against the unit. Aaron Resnick reviews the violation and required procedure.
For a continuing violation, the board may levy daily fines using a single notice and hearing opportunity, but the aggregate cap remains. The condominium fines provision does not let the governing documents raise these caps or convert a fine into a unit lien.
Notice and Committee Review
Before imposing a fine or a suspension for a rule violation, the board must give at least 14 days' written notice to the owner and any applicable tenant, licensee or invitee being targeted. The recipient must have an opportunity for a hearing before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board.
Committee members cannot be association officers, directors or employees, or the spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of one. The committee confirms or rejects the proposed fine or suspension; without majority approval, it cannot be imposed. These are the committee limits, not a second board vote.
The association must give written notice of an approved fine or suspension by mail or hand delivery. An approved fine is due five days after that notice is provided to the owner and any applicable tenant, licensee or invitee. The payment clock does not start merely because the board first proposed the fine.
Suspensions for Unpaid Obligations
An owner more than 90 days delinquent on a fee, fine or other monetary obligation can face suspension of common area use until payment in full. The delinquency procedure does not require the rule violation hearing, but does require approval at a properly noticed board meeting and notice afterward to the owner and applicable occupants, licensees or invitees.
That notice must be sent by mail or hand delivery. Neither this suspension nor a rule violation suspension can remove access to the unit, utilities, parking, elevators or limited common elements intended only for that unit. Chapter 718 protects those uses.
Aaron Resnick advises boards and managers on compliance, drafts and amends bylaws and rules, and handles disputes inside the association. Read about Miami condo association representation. For a homeowners association, see Miami HOA representation.
How Are Florida Condo Disputes Resolved?
For a covered residential condo dispute other than an election or recall, chapter 718, Florida Statutes, generally requires nonbinding arbitration or presuit mediation before a lawsuit. Aaron Resnick identifies the dispute, follows the required process and represents the client in mediation, arbitration or court. Not every condo disagreement follows this route.
Which Disputes Follow This Process?
Covered disputes concern the board's authority to require action involving a unit or its related rights, or to alter or add to common areas. Covered disputes also include failures to conduct elections or meetings properly, give adequate notice, allow inspection of books and records, and disputes over a termination plan. The statutory definition controls.
The definition excludes disagreements primarily about title, warranties, levying fees or assessments, collecting assessments, tenant eviction or removal, and directors' alleged fiduciary breaches. It also excludes claims for damage to a unit based on alleged failure to maintain common elements or condominium property. Those exclusions remove this particular prerequisite; they do not require every claimant to sue instead of seeking another lawful resolution.
Election and recall disputes must go to division arbitration or a court with jurisdiction; they are not eligible for this presuit mediation route. The procedure generally does not apply to nonresidential condominiums unless the declaration adopts it. Aaron Resnick checks the applicable route before filing.
Before Arbitration and After the Decision
An arbitration petition must include proof of advance written notice describing the dispute, a demand for relief, a reasonable opportunity to resolve it, and notice of intended legal action. Filing the petition pauses the applicable statute of limitations under chapter 718. Aaron Resnick checks both the filing requirements and any other deadline that still applies.
Ordinary nonbinding arbitration becomes binding if all parties agree in a writing filed in the arbitration. Where a new trial remains available, a complaint generally must be filed in the proper court where the condominium is located within 30 days after the final order's mailing date. The division's final order rule identifies that starting date.
The time rule does not add five days for mailing to that court filing deadline. A timely rehearing motion, filed within 15 days after entry of the final order, postpones the start of the court filing period until the arbitrator denies it or enters an amended order. An untimely motion does not stop the clock under the rehearing rule.
Without a timely complaint where a new trial is available, the arbitration decision becomes final. A new trial means a complaint in the appropriate trial court, not an ordinary appeal to an appellate court. Aaron Resnick reviews the order, certificate of service and any rehearing order under the governing rules.
Aaron Resnick also represents owners and associations in disputes over construction defects. The firm's Miami condo lawyer page covers official records, board meetings and special assessment notice.
Why Hire Aaron Resnick for Condo Legal Work?
Aaron Resnick has represented unit owners, associations, boards, developers, investors, buyers and sellers in Miami condominium disputes. He is a past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association and has been named to Florida Super Lawyers every year since 2013.
His condominium cases have been covered in the press:
- The Real Deal reported that the Icon Brickell Condominium No. 1 Association agreed in April 2020 to settle a class action over the fees it charged. Miami attorney Aaron Resnick and Jordan Shaw represented the plaintiff, Brittany Wiggins. The case settled for $762,500, as The Real Deal reported. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
- South Florida Business Journal named Miami attorney Aaron Resnick as counsel for four NFL players seeking their W South Beach condominium deposits in July 2012.
- The Real Deal reported in November 2016 on a class action alleging illegal condominium fees at Quantum on the Bay. Miami attorney Aaron Resnick worked on the suit.
The condominium litigation record lists the matters by year.
What Should You Send Aaron First?
Send the declaration, bylaws, rules and any purchase contract, plus notices, demands, fines, liens or court papers. Include delivery dates and the next hearing or closing date. Aaron Resnick reviews those records to identify the applicable procedure and the deadline, whether the matter involves a purchase, association decision or payment dispute.
For a purchase, include document requests, receipts and amendments. For assessments, include the account ledger and estoppel certificate. For an arbitration decision, include the final order, its certificate of service and any rehearing motion or ruling.
Send the parties, the problem and the next date; the firm reviews every inquiry and tells you whether it can help. You can also reach the firm through the Contact Us page.
Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami attorney. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner.
We Don't Make Promises. We Have Results to Prove It.
The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents condominium associations, boards, managers, developers and unit owners in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in condominium governance, assessments, records, inspections and disputes. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
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