It can be very confusing for owners in condominium, homeowners and cooperative communities to know what property belongs to them — and to the association. That's especially true when it comes to trying to figure out when you can paint your property, what color you can use and whether the association has a say it in it.
Here is a question from a Sun Sentinel reader and the answers that tackle these related issues with the help of the law firm Eisinger, Brown, Lewis, Frankel & Chaiet.
Can my association change the color of a townhouse or condo whenever it wants? Do board members have to notify the owners? When is it that I own the townhouse that I'm paying for? — James
The exterior color of a condominium is generally required to remain the same when repainting. Changes in shade may be acceptable, for example from a basic white to an off-white, provided that they are not a "material alteration" of the association's common elements.
The term "material alteration or addition" has been defined in Florida case law as to "palpably or perceptively vary" or change the form, shape, elements or specifications of a building from its original design, plan or existing condition. Translation: Changing from white to blue would be a material alteration. Determining whether a change in shade is a material alteration is generally decided on a case-by-case basis.
In general, a material alteration to a condominium building, including a change in exterior color, must be approved by 75 percent of the association's members, unless governing documents specify a different process. HOA declarations of covenants and other published guidelines and standards may contain restrictions on what exterior colors are acceptable within the community, and only those colors may be used. But Florida statutes prevent an HOA from limiting colors in the absence of published guidelines and standards.
When the color of a co-op is to be changed, that decision must be approved as required by governing documents. State statutes for co-ops do not contain a material alteration provision like the Florida Condominium Act.
A unit owner owns his or her unit the day he or she receives title to it, even where the purchaser borrows money and a mortgage is placed on the property. With regard to what a unit owner "owns," the constituent documents establish the dividing line between what belongs to the unit owner and what belongs to the association.
The condominium unit owner "owns" whatever is within the lines establishing his unit shown in the declaration, as well as an undivided interest in the common elements. Condominium association "common elements" are property not included within the units. In the typical HOA with non-attached structures, the individual structures are owned by the unit owner. Co-op owners do not "own" the unit, but rather a share in the cooperative association and hold a lease to their unit granted by the association.
dvasquez@tribune.com or 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6686. Daniel Vasquez's condo column runs Wednesdays in Your Money and at SunSentinel.com/condos. Check out Daniel's Condos & HOAs blog for news, information and tips related to life in community associations at SunSentinel.com/condoblog. You can also read his consumer column Mondays in Your Money and at sunsentinel.com/vasquez.