Sales, Leases and Occupancy

Reviewed by Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA · September 23, 2026 · Florida Statutes as of July 1, 2026

Florida Community Association Sales, Leases & Occupancy Attorneys

Ownership transfers, leasing arrangements, occupancy standards, and tenant compliance issues affect nearly every community association. Boards must balance the rights of owners, residents, purchasers, tenants, and the wider community while complying with governing documents and applicable law. In Southwest Florida, where a large share of units are second homes, seasonal rentals, and investment properties, the approval desk is where many of an association's legal risks concentrate: fair housing exposure, statutory fee limits, estoppel deadlines, and amendments that bind some owners but not others.

Hamilton Mikes assists Florida community associations with legal issues arising from sales, leases, transfers, occupancy standards, and tenant relations. We draft the restrictions, build the approval procedures, and enforce them when residents and tenants do not comply.

Transfer and Lease Approval

An association may screen and approve purchasers and tenants only if its declaration or bylaws give it that authority, and the authority must be exercised within the limits Florida law imposes. The leading Florida decision, Aquarian Foundation, Inc. v. Sholom House, Inc., 448 So. 2d 1166 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), is routinely read for more than it holds. It is commonly cited for the rule that an association may not refuse a sale at all unless it takes on a corresponding obligation to buy the unit or produce another purchaser. The holding is conditional on the clause that was before the court. That declaration let the board withhold consent arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably, and the court held that "if, as here, the association is empowered to act arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably in rejecting a unit owner's prospective purchaser, it must in turn be accountable to the unit owner by offering payment or a substitute market for the property." The corresponding obligation is the cure for an unlimited veto. It is not a precondition to every disapproval.

The opinion says so itself. Footnote 4 describes two earlier cases in which, as the Third District read them, the rejection "was based on a reasonable and narrow restriction on transfer, enabling the unit owner to alienate the property to others who were not within the restriction," with the result that "the preemptive right of the association was not triggered." Lyons v. King, 397 So. 2d 964 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Coquina Club, Inc. v. Mantz, 342 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). That sentence is the Third District's characterization of those cases. Neither case holds it.

Lyons is a Fourth District affirmance of a factual finding, and a board should not read it as authority that a narrow, reasonable restriction leaves the preemptive obligation untriggered. The declaration in Lyons did contain the preemptive right. The court said the provisions "in effect, constituted a right of first refusal," and described the consequence: "Under the declaration, the Association, upon disapproval of a proposed sale, had to provide a purchaser within thirty days or the sale would be deemed approved." The facial question was conceded away, which is why footnote 4 of Aquarian says it was never reached: "The appellants admit that the restrictions are reasonable as written but contend that they were arbitrarily and unreasonably applied." What the Fourth District decided was the application. It affirmed because "we cannot say that the trial judge erred as a matter of law when he reached the factual conclusion that the Association did not act in an arbitrary and unreasonable manner in applying the approval provisions of the documents." Two further cautions. Hurley, J., dissented. And the court expressly declined to decide whether the rejected purchasers, who were the plaintiffs, had standing.

Coquina Club is cited here for its structure and not for its outcome, and the reason is worth stating. The restriction reached ownership, not occupancy alone. The Second District described the article at issue as "nothing more than a procedure for application of certain portions of the Declaration of Condominium restricting ownership of apartments in the condominium to persons without children under twelve years of age." It was not absolute either: another subsection allowed minors under twelve to "visit and temporarily occupy the premises for nonconsecutive periods of fifteen days." Familial status protections have since made a restriction of that kind unlawful. The court did not uphold the age restriction. It treated validity as "a subsidiary question" that was "not dispositive," and its footnote saying "there is reason to believe that their validity will be measured from the standpoint of reasonableness" is dictum. The opinion never uses the phrase restraint on alienation. What it decides is the transfer mechanism. The court found that "Section 11 was never invoked," and reversed the order directing specific performance because "the plaintiffs' purchaser failed to meet the basic requirements necessary to trigger the mechanism available in the financial responsibility section of the declaration of condominium."

The Florida Supreme Court has since cited Aquarian with approval for the proposition that increased controls on the transfer of units are a necessary incident of condominium living. Woodside Village Condominium Ass'n v. Jahren, 806 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 2002). We are not aware of a later Florida appellate decision squarely holding that an association may disapprove for cause without offering a substitute purchaser, and a board should be cautious of advice that describes one. The point does not need one. Aquarian never held otherwise.

What remains is a drafting question. A declaration that states specific, narrow, objective grounds for disapproval — a documented history of violating this association's documents or a prior community's rules, criminal convictions of a kind the documents identify, misstatements or omissions in the application, a refusal to complete the screening process — and that applies them uniformly is not the arbitrary veto Aquarian condemned, and no obligation to supply an alternative purchaser is triggered. A declaration that reserves discretion to withhold consent for any reason or no reason is that veto, and it needs a right of first refusal or an equivalent purchase obligation to survive. The grounds belong in the declaration itself. A Division arbitrator has held that a bare grant of approval authority in the articles, with no implementing provision in the declaration, gives an association no power to approve or disapprove a transfer and no power to charge a transfer fee. Richardson v. Jupiter Bay Condominium Ass'n, Arb. Case No. 02-4354 (Aug. 26, 2002). Arbitration orders bind only the parties to them and are not precedent, but they show how the Division reads these documents. Whatever the declaration says, screening remains subject to fair housing law. Every decision should be documented as if it will be examined in a fair housing investigation or a restraint-on-alienation challenge, because some will be.

Chapter 718 limits what a condominium association may charge in connection with a transfer. Under section 718.112(2)(k), no fee may be charged for the sale, mortgage, lease, sublease, or other transfer of a unit unless the association is required to approve the transfer and the fee is authorized by the declaration, articles, or bylaws. The statute caps the fee at $150 per applicant and requires that it be adjusted every five years for inflation, with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation calculating the adjusted amount and publishing it on its website. The figure to charge is the one the Department currently publishes, not the one printed in the statute. Spouses, and a parent and dependent child, are treated as a single applicant. No fee may be charged for renewing a lease with the same tenant. Where the documents permit, a condominium association may also require a prospective lessee to place a security deposit of up to one month's rent in an escrow account the association maintains. Cooperatives approve purchasers and occupants through the procedures in their cooperative documents, and their fee cap is not the same: section 719.106(1)(i) imposes the same conditions but still limits the charge to $100 per applicant and was not raised along with the condominium cap. Homeowners associations look to their governing documents for approval authority and fees.

We help boards write approval criteria that comply with fair housing and consumer reporting laws, structure background and credit checks with the required disclosures and adverse-action notices, calendar the deadlines many documents impose for acting on an application, and respond when an applicant is denied.

Leasing Restrictions and the Owners They Bind

Communities that want to limit rentals must understand who a new restriction actually binds. For condominiums, an amendment that prohibits owners from renting their units, alters the permitted duration of rental terms, or limits the number of times an owner may rent in a specified period applies only to owners who consent to the amendment and to owners who acquire title after its effective date. For homeowners associations, a governing document or amendment adopted after July 1, 2021 that prohibits or regulates rental agreements likewise applies only to owners who consent or who take title afterward, with two important exceptions: amendments that prohibit or regulate rentals for terms of less than six months, or that prohibit renting more than three times in a calendar year, apply to all owners, and associations of fifteen or fewer parcels are not subject to the limitation.

The result is that most communities operate under layered rules, with different owners subject to different restrictions depending on when they bought. We draft leasing amendments that achieve the community's goals within these rules, maintain the records that show which owners are bound, and advise on short-term and vacation rental restrictions, which local governments are largely preempted from regulating but which private covenants may.

Occupancy Standards

Occupancy rules address who may live in a unit, for how long, and under what conditions: single-family use, guest limits, age restrictions in housing for older persons, and residency qualifications. Each must be reconciled with fair housing law. Occupancy limits should be reasonable in relation to the size of the unit and local codes, guest rules should focus on duration and conduct rather than family relationships, and age restrictions require the verification and registration procedures the Housing for Older Persons exemption demands. Chapter 718 also gives a tenant, during the lease, the use rights in the common elements and association property that owners otherwise enjoy, with the owner retaining access only as a guest unless the tenant waives those rights in writing. Guest and occupancy rules that ignore that allocation are difficult to enforce.

Tenant Compliance and Remedies

Tenants are bound by the governing documents, and associations have direct remedies when they do not comply. Both Chapter 718 and Chapter 720 allow the association to bring actions for damages or injunctive relief against a tenant, to fine tenants and suspend their use rights after notice and a hearing, and, when the owner is delinquent, to demand that the tenant pay rent directly to the association until the owner's obligation is satisfied, with the tenant protected from the owner for doing so. An owner who ignores the tenant's violations remains responsible for them. We prepare rent-demand letters, violation notices, and hearing packages, and we pursue eviction or injunctive relief when a tenant's conduct requires it.

Estoppel Certificates and Resale Disclosures

Every sale and refinancing triggers an estoppel certificate request. Florida law requires the association to deliver the certificate within ten business days after receiving a written or electronic request, prescribes its content, sets the period during which the association is bound by it, caps the fee the association may charge, and prohibits charging any fee if the certificate is not delivered on time. A certificate that understates the balance binds the association as to anyone who relies on it in good faith, so the accuracy of the ledger matters. Condominium sellers must also provide purchasers the governing documents, financial information, the frequently asked questions and answers sheet, and, since 2022, the milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study materials, and homeowners association purchasers must receive the statutory disclosure summary; contracts may be voidable when those disclosures are missed. We help managers and boards produce accurate estoppels, respond to closing agents and lenders, and maintain the disclosure documents purchasers are entitled to receive.

Communities We Serve

Condominium Associations

We assist Condominium Associations with leasing limitations, transfer approvals, screening procedures, occupancy requirements, and tenant compliance issues.

Homeowners Associations

We advise Homeowners Associations (HOAs) concerning resale disclosures, estoppels, leasing restrictions, occupancy standards, capital contributions, transfer procedures, and purchaser approvals.

Cooperative Associations

We help Cooperative Associations navigate stock transfers, purchaser screening, occupancy rights, succession matters, leasing provisions, and transfer restrictions.

Mobile Home Communities

We advise Mobile Home Communities regarding residency qualifications, occupancy restrictions, age requirements, purchaser approvals, and leasing issues.

RV Resorts

We assist Recreational Vehicle Resorts with seasonal residency, leasing policies, occupancy standards, and guest-use requirements.

Contact Hamilton Mikes

Contact Hamilton Mikes, P.A. at 239-594-7227 to discuss transfer approvals, leasing restrictions, occupancy issues, and tenant compliance matters. Related services: Fair Housing, Covenant Enforcement, Assessment Collection, and Governing Documents.