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TERMINATION: NOW YOU SHOULD BE SCARED TO DEATH OF IT
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published August 26, 2024
Wow! How quickly things change. We’ve spoken about on the
Condo Craze and HOAs show about a recent Miami case
involving the Biscayne 21 Condominium, where its’
declaration of condominium stated that the condominium can
only be terminated with a 100% vote of the owners. However,
the declaration could be amended by a vote of 80%. The
developer obtained 80% of the units and then changed the
declaration to now allow termination with a vote of only 80%
of the owners instead of 100%.
The owners took the case to court and won. The trial court
holding that the provision requiring a 100% vote of the
owners in order to amend means just that, 100% and that
language would be meaningless if it could be amended down to
80%. That decision was upheld by the 3rd
District Court of Appeals.
No sooner than we learned about that decision in Miami, a
new decision comes out in Palm Beach County that says
completely the opposite. In the Palm Beach County case, the
court ruled that regardless of the fact that the governing
documents require a 100% vote in order to terminate the
condominium, the developer was within its rights to change
that number to 80% by amending the declaration of
condominium. Here, 100% did not mean 100%.
It gets worse……..the decision was upheld on appeal by
Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals without a
written opinion. This decision also applies in Broward
County as Broward is within the jurisdiction of the 4th
DCA.
Well where are we now? Until a decision is reached by
Florida’s Supreme Court, it is apparent that we have a
conflict between Florida’s 3rd and 4th
District Courts of Appeal. So…..that is usually grounds to
get this issue before The Florida Supreme Court, if the
litigants choose to appeal there.
So what does that mean for you? It means that if your
documents only allow termination with a 100% vote of the
owners and you thought you were going to hold out until the
end, you may want to think again. It means that developers,
now more than ever, will be hunting for prey, no longer
being afraid to purchase condominium units in condominiums
where the docs require termination with a 100% vote, at
least in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. In Dade and
Monroe, you may be safe for now because you’re located in
the 3rd DCA. We need a final answer from The
Florida Supreme Court. Until then, buckle up. It’s going
to be a wild ride.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated
from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in
Condominium and Planned Development Law.
Since 2009, Eric
has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one-hour
radio show airing at 11 a.m. each Sunday on 850 WFTL. Recently,
he moved the show to YouTube, transforming it into a more
dynamic and interactive experience. This move not only allows
viewers to engage in live chats with Eric and other participants
but also enables a broader audience to access free advice,
making valuable insights more widely available.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
Eric is the first attorney in the State of
Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and
HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and
has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the
state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The
Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes
between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes
significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest
of Florida community association members.
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