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Can the homeowners association require me by Florida State Law to Pay my rent to them to satisfy outstanding HOA dues?
Anonymous14 views1 answers
I signed a lease agreement w/ a management co. & the following information was not disclosed to me. The Condo was in foreclosure proceedings but prior to the foreclosure being completed the management co. signed an agreement to purchase the Condo as a Short Sale w/ the Bank. The management co. & the Bank have an agreement that allows them to lease the property. Now we are receiving biweekly letters from the HOA attorney & knocks on our door from the HOA president demanding we pay our rent to the HOA for past due HOA fees or we could be evicted.
This Condo property no longer is involved w/ a developer but the letters refer to a Florida law that references a developers involvement. What are my rights and what law should I refer to regarding my situation.
The Florida legislature has indeed passed a law vesting certain rights in the homeowners associations which under appropriate conditions will empower the association to collect the rent dueon a unit. The purpose for such a statute, of course, was to prevent owners in foreclosure who were not paying homeowners association fees or assessments from renting out property, collecting the rent from tenants in the property, while not paying any of the obligations associated with the operation and maintenance of the community. The failure of a unit owner to pay his/her share of assessments places the burden of that unit owner's share of common expenses and maintenance borne by the association upon all other unit owners in the association. You should consult real estate counsel about the correct party to whom you should remit rent because if the HOA meets the requirements of the statute recently passed, your failing to comply with proper notices from their attorney about where to pay rent due on the unit could cause you a lot of difficulties. You have described a factual situation involving a management company, a foreclosing lender, an owner who has contracted with a management company, and yourself as a tenant. It is unclear what you are describing in regards to a potential short sale with the bank. Your post sounds like the management company itself contracted to buy the condo from the owner as a short sale the bank was approving, but it is possible you meant something else by the wording you chose. This situation would best be evaluated by an attorney in your area who can actually review all of the many documents in question in order to determine the applicability of the new state. Homeowners associations are now going aggressively after the rents from these units because the paying members of the association have grown weary of bearing the burden for property owners leasing out the property while paying nothing of the obligations which should be paid by him/her in regards to the property. The Florida legislature has made an effort to address this problem with the new statute, which chances are, apply to your situation. To be sure, further review of all the facts and documents should be conducted by an attorney accustomed to real estate practice.
