Florida Statutes 718.403 – Phase condominiums
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(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 718.110, a developer may develop a condominium in phases, if the original declaration of condominium submitting the initial phase to condominium ownership or an amendment to the declaration which has been approved by all of the unit owners and unit mortgagees provides for and describes in detail all anticipated phases; the impact, if any, which the completion of subsequent phases would have upon the initial phase; and the time period within which all phases must be added to the condominium and comply with the requirements of this section and at the end of which the right to add additional phases expires.
(a) All phases must be added to the condominium within 7 years after the date of the recording of the certificate of a surveyor and mapper pursuant to s. 718.104(4)(e) or the recording of an instrument that transfers title to a unit in the condominium which is not accompanied by a recorded assignment of developer rights in favor of the grantee of such unit, whichever occurs first, unless the unit owners vote to approve an amendment extending the 7-year period pursuant to paragraph (b).
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 718.403
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Association: means , in addition to any entity responsible for the operation of common elements owned in undivided shares by unit owners, any entity which operates or maintains other real property in which unit owners have use rights, where membership in the entity is composed exclusively of unit owners or their elected or appointed representatives and is a required condition of unit ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Common elements: means the portions of the condominium property not included in the units. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Common expenses: means all expenses properly incurred by the association in the performance of its duties, including expenses specified in…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Common surplus: means the amount of all receipts or revenues, including assessments, rents, or profits, collected by a condominium association which exceeds common expenses. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Condominium: means that form of ownership of real property created pursuant to this chapter, which is comprised entirely of units that may be owned by one or more persons, and in which there is, appurtenant to each unit, an undivided share in common elements. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- declaration of condominium: means the instrument or instruments by which a condominium is created, as they are from time to time amended. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Developer: means a person who creates a condominium or offers condominium parcels for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business, but does not include:(a) An owner or lessee of a condominium or cooperative unit who has acquired the unit for his or her own occupancy;(b) A cooperative association that creates a condominium by conversion of an existing residential cooperative after control of the association has been transferred to the unit owners if, following the conversion, the unit owners are the same persons who were unit owners of the cooperative and no units are offered for sale or lease to the public as part of the plan of conversion;(c) A bulk assignee or bulk buyer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Land: means the surface of a legally described parcel of real property and includes, unless otherwise specified in the declaration and whether separate from or including such surface, airspace lying above and subterranean space lying below such surface. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- owner of a unit: means a record owner of legal title to a condominium parcel. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Residential condominium: means a condominium consisting of two or more units, any of which are intended for use as a private temporary or permanent residence, except that a condominium is not a residential condominium if the use for which the units are intended is primarily commercial or industrial and not more than three units are intended to be used for private residence, and are intended to be used as housing for maintenance, managerial, janitorial, or other operational staff of the condominium. See Florida Statutes 718.103
- Unit: means a part of the condominium property which is subject to exclusive ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
(b) An amendment to extend the 7-year period shall require the approval of the owners necessary to amend the declaration of condominium pursuant to s. 718.110(1)(a). An extension of the 7-year period may be submitted for approval only during the last 3 years of the 7-year period.(c) An amendment must describe the time period within which all phases must be added to the condominium, and such time period may not exceed 10 years from the date of the recording of the certificate of a surveyor and mapper pursuant to s. 718.104(4)(e) or the recording of an instrument that transfers title to a unit in the condominium which is not accompanied by a recorded assignment of developer rights in favor of the grantee of such unit, whichever occurs first.(d) An amendment that extends the 7-year period pursuant to this section is not subject to the requirements of s. 718.110(4).
(2) The original declaration of condominium, or an amendment to the declaration, which amendment has been approved by all unit owners and unit mortgagees and the developer, shall describe:
(a) The land which may become part of the condominium and the land on which each phase is to be built. The descriptions shall include metes and bounds or other legal descriptions of the land for each phase, plot plans, and surveys. Plot plans, attached as an exhibit, must show the approximate location of all existing and proposed buildings and improvements that may ultimately be contained within the condominium. The plot plan may be modified by the developer as to unit or building types but, in a residential condominium, only to the extent that such changes are described in the declaration. If provided in the declaration, the developer may make nonmaterial changes in the legal description of a phase.
(b) The minimum and maximum numbers and general size of units to be included in each phase. The general size may be expressed in terms of minimum and maximum square feet. In stating the minimum and maximum numbers of units, the difference between the minimum and maximum numbers shall not be greater than 20 percent of the maximum.
(c) Each unit’s percentage of ownership in the common elements as each phase is added. In lieu of describing specific percentages, the declaration or amendment may describe a formula for reallocating each unit’s proportion or percentage of ownership in the common elements and manner of sharing common expenses and owning common surplus as additional units are added to the condominium by the addition of any land. The basis for allocating percentage of ownership among units in added phases shall be consistent with the basis for allocation made among the units originally in the condominium.
(d) The recreational areas and facilities which will be owned as common elements by all unit owners and all personal property to be provided as each phase is added to the condominium and those facilities or areas which may not be built or provided if any phase or phases are not developed and added as a part of the condominium. The developer may reserve the right to add additional common-element recreational facilities if the original declaration contains a description of each type of facility and its proposed location. The declaration shall set forth the circumstances under which such facilities will be added.
(e) The membership vote and ownership in the association attributable to each unit in each phase and the results if any phase or phases are not developed and added as a part of the condominium.
(f) Whether or not timeshare estates will or may be created with respect to units in any phase and, if so, the degree, quantity, nature, and extent of such estates, specifying the minimum duration of the recurring periods of rights of use, possession, or occupancy that may be established with respect to any unit.
(3) The developer shall notify owners of existing units of the decision not to add one or more additional phases. Notice shall be by first-class mail addressed to each owner at the address of his or her unit or at his or her last known address.
(4) If one or more phases are not built, the units which are built are entitled to 100 percent ownership of all common elements within the phases actually developed and added as a part of the condominium.
(5) If the declaration requires the developer to convey any additional lands or facilities to the condominium after the completion of the first phase and he or she fails to do so within the time specified, or within a reasonable time if none is specified, then any owner of a unit or the association may enforce such obligations against the developer or bring an action against the developer for damages caused by the developer’s failure to convey to the association such additional lands or facilities.
(6) Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, any amendment by the developer which adds any land to the condominium shall be consistent with the provisions of the declaration granting such right and shall contain or provide for the following matters:
(a) A statement submitting the additional land to condominium ownership as an addition to the condominium.
(b) The legal description of the land being added to the condominium.
(c) An identification by letter, name, or number, or a combination thereof, of each unit within the land added to the condominium, to ensure that no unit in the condominium, including the additional land, will bear the same designation as any other unit.
(d) A survey of the additional land and a graphic description of the improvements in which any units are located and a plot plan thereof and a certificate of a surveyor, in conformance with s. 718.104(4)(e).
(e) The undivided share in the common elements appurtenant to each unit in the condominium, stated as a percentage or fraction which, in the aggregate, must equal the whole and must be determined in conformance with the manner of allocation set forth in the original declaration of condominium.
(f) The proportion or percentage of, and the manner of sharing, common expenses and owning common surplus, which for a residential unit must be the same as the undivided share in the common elements.
An amendment which adds phases to a condominium does not require the execution of such amendment or consent thereto by unit owners other than the developer, unless the amendment permits the creation of timeshare estates in any unit of the additional phase of the condominium and such creation is not authorized by the original declaration.
(7) An amendment to the declaration of condominium which adds land to the condominium shall be recorded in the public records of the county where the land is located and shall be executed and acknowledged in compliance with the same requirements as for a deed. All persons who have record title to the interest in the land submitted to condominium ownership, or their lawfully authorized agents, must join in the execution of the amendment. Every such amendment shall comply with the provisions of s. 718.104(3).
(8) Upon recording the declaration of condominium or amendments adding phases pursuant to this section, the developer shall file the recording information with the division within 120 calendar days on a form prescribed by the division.
(9) Paragraphs (2)(b)-(f) and subsection (8) do not apply to nonresidential condominiums.