Florida Condo Associations Begin Seeking Blanket Receiverships On Delinquent Vacant Units Not Yet In Foreclosure In Battle To Stay Financially Afloat

In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:

• Condo owners behind on maintenance fees, beware: Condo boards are becoming more aggressive in collecting delinquent fees. One board even wants to try an untested strategy -- forcing renters into empty units to pay off deadbeat accounts. The board at the Jade Residences at Brickell Bay, a luxury condo of 341 units, is asking a Miami-Dade judge for permission to rent vacant units belonging to owners who aren't facing foreclosure but are behind on fees, which pay for the basic needs of the building such as water, power, insurance or even a new roof. As the collection crises for condo boards deepens, the forced-rental program is the latest example of associations becoming pushier -- and more creative -- in their attempts to wring revenue from delinquent homeowners and idle units.

***

• Current renters in Jade already turn over rent payments to the association when their landlords fall behind, dictated by a lease addendum landlords must sign before renting their condos. But [association attorney Guillermo] Mancebo says Jade and other condos need help with units that are lying fallow. In Jade's petition, Mancebo is asking the court to appoint a blanket receiver to manage the forced rental program. He's also asking the court to include units not yet in foreclosure by the association.(1)

For more, see Condo board tries new tactic to collect delinquent fees (A condo association is trying a novel legal strategy to collect delinquent association fees).

(1) In a court order last week, one Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge has already allowed a blanket receiver for another condominium complex to collect rents on units not in foreclosure by the association, the story states.