Florida Statutes 721.552 – Additions, substitutions, or deletions of component site accommodations or facilities; purchaser remedies for violations
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Additions, substitutions, or deletions of component site accommodations or facilities may be made only in accordance with the following:
(1) ADDITIONS.–
(a) The timeshare instrument must provide for:
1. The basis upon which new accommodations and facilities may be added to the multisite timeshare plan; by whom additions may be made; and the anticipated effect of the addition of new accommodations and facilities upon the reservation system, its priorities, its rules and regulations, and the availability of existing accommodations and facilities.
2. Any cap on annual increases in common expenses of the multisite timeshare plan that would apply in the event that additional accommodations and facilities are made a part of the plan.
3. The extent, if any, to which purchasers of the multisite timeshare plan will have the right to consent to any proposed additions.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 721.552
- Accommodation: means any apartment, condominium or cooperative unit, cabin, lodge, hotel or motel room, campground, cruise ship cabin, houseboat or other vessel, recreational or other motor vehicle, or any private or commercial structure which is real or personal property and designed for overnight occupancy by one or more individuals. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Common expenses: means :(a) Those expenses, fees, or taxes properly incurred for the maintenance, operation, and repair of the accommodations or facilities, or both, constituting the timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Component site: means a specific geographic site where a portion of the accommodations and facilities of the multisite timeshare plan are located. See Florida Statutes 721.52
- Developer: includes :
(a)1. See Florida Statutes 721.05- Facility: means any permanent amenity, including any structure, furnishing, fixture, equipment, service, improvement, or real or personal property, improved or unimproved, other than an accommodation of the timeshare plan, which is made available to the purchasers of a timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Managing entity: means the person who operates or maintains the timeshare plan pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Multisite timeshare plan: means any method, arrangement, or procedure with respect to which a purchaser obtains, by any means, a recurring right to use and occupy accommodations or facilities of more than one component site, only through use of a reservation system, whether or not the purchaser is able to elect to cease participating in the plan. See Florida Statutes 721.52
- offer: means the solicitation, advertisement, or inducement, or any other method or attempt, to encourage any person to acquire the opportunity to participate in a timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- One-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio: means that the sum of the nights that owners are entitled to use in a given 12-month period shall not exceed the number of nights available for use by those owners during the same 12-month period. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Purchaser: means any person, other than a developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a timeshare plan other than as security for an obligation. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Reservation system: means the method, arrangement, or procedure by which a purchaser, in order to reserve the use and occupancy of any accommodation or facility of the multisite timeshare plan for one or more use periods, is required to compete with other purchasers in the same multisite timeshare plan regardless of whether such reservation system is operated and maintained by the multisite timeshare plan managing entity, an exchange company, or any other person. See Florida Statutes 721.52
- Timeshare instrument: means one or more documents, by whatever name denominated, creating or governing the operation of a timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- timeshare plan: includes :
(a) A "personal property timeshare plan" which means a timeshare plan in which the accommodations are comprised of personal property that is not permanently affixed to real property; and(b) A "real property timeshare plan" which means a timeshare plan in which the accommodations of the timeshare plan are comprised of or permanently affixed to real property. See Florida Statutes 721.05- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) Any person who is authorized by the timeshare instrument to make additions to the multisite timeshare plan pursuant to this subsection shall act as a fiduciary in such capacity in the best interests of the purchasers of the plan as a whole and shall adhere to the demand balancing standard set forth in s. 721.56(6) in connection with such additions. Additions that are otherwise permitted may be made only so long as a one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio is maintained at all times.(2) SUBSTITUTIONS.–(a) Substitutions are available only for nonspecific multisite timeshare plans. Specific multisite timeshare plans may not contain an accommodation substitution right.(b) The timeshare instrument shall provide for the following:1. The basis upon which new accommodations and facilities may be substituted for existing accommodations and facilities of the multisite timeshare plan; by whom substitutions may be made; and the basis upon which the determination may be made to cause such substitutions to occur.2. The replacement accommodations and facilities must provide purchasers with an opportunity to enjoy a substantially similar or improved vacation experience as compared to the experience available at the replaced accommodation or facility. In determining whether the replacement accommodations and facilities will provide a substantially similar or improved vacation experience, all relevant factors must be considered, including, but not limited to, some or all of the following: size, capacity, furnishings, maintenance, location (geographic, topographic, and scenic), demand, and availability for purchaser use, and recreational capabilities.3. The extent, if any, to which purchasers will have the right to consent to any proposed substitutions.(c) No substitutions may be made during the first year after the developer begins to offer the multisite timeshare plan.(d)1. If the timeshare instrument provides that the developer, acting unilaterally, is the person authorized to make substitutions, the developer may not substitute available accommodations in the multisite timeshare plan in a given calendar year pursuant to paragraph (e) if the amount of such substituted accommodations provides more than 10 percent of the total annual use availability in the multisite timeshare plan calculated in 7-day increments.2. If the timeshare instrument provides that the managing entity is the person authorized to make substitutions, and the managing entity is under common ownership or control with the developer, the managing entity may not substitute available accommodations in the multisite timeshare plan in a given calendar year pursuant to paragraph (e) if the amount of such substituted accommodations provides more than 10 percent of the total annual use availability in the multisite timeshare plan calculated in 7-day increments.3. If the timeshare instrument provides that the managing entity is the person authorized to make substitutions, and the managing entity is not under common ownership or control with the developer, the managing entity may not substitute available accommodations in the multisite timeshare plan in a given calendar year pursuant to paragraph (e) if the amount of such substituted accommodations provides more than 25 percent of the total annual use availability in the multisite timeshare plan calculated in 7-day increments.4. If the person authorized to make substitutions receives, within 21 days after the date of the notice of substitution required by paragraph (e), a written objection to the proposed substitution from at least 10 percent of all purchasers in the multisite timeshare plan, a meeting of the purchasers must be conducted by the managing entity within 30 days after the end of such 21-day period. The proposed substitution is ratified unless it is rejected by a majority of purchasers voting in person or by proxy at the meeting, provided that at least 25 percent of all purchasers cast votes. This subparagraph does not apply if the timeshare instrument provides that purchasers do not have the right to consent to any proposed substitutions.5. This paragraph does not apply if the proposed substitution is approved in advance pursuant to paragraph (f).(e) The person authorized to make substitutions shall notify all purchasers of the multisite timeshare plan in writing of her or his intention to delete accommodations or facilities and to substitute them with other specified accommodations or facilities pursuant to this subsection. This notice must be given at least 6 months in advance of the date that the proposed substitution will occur; must state the last day after the end of the 6-month period on which reservations will be accepted from purchasers for use of the accommodations to be deleted; and must state that purchasers shall have 21 days after the date of the notice of substitution to file a written objection with the person authorized to make substitutions. The person authorized to make substitutions may delete accommodations for substitution only after such accommodations have no pending purchaser use reservations.(f) The person authorized to make substitutions may make unlimited substitutions in a given year without compliance with paragraphs (d) and (e) if a proposed substitution is approved in advance by a majority of purchasers of the multisite timeshare plan voting in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose, provided that at least 25 percent of the total number of purchasers cast votes. Substitutions made pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b)2.(g) If the person authorized to make substitutions has fully complied with the applicable provisions of this subsection and the timeshare instrument, the trustee of a timeshare trust qualified under s. 721.53(1)(e) may convey title to any accommodations and facilities that have been designated or approved for substitution as and when directed by the person authorized to make substitutions without any further vote or other authorization of the purchasers of the multisite timeshare plan.(h) The person who is authorized by the timeshare instrument to make substitutions to the multisite timeshare plan pursuant to this subsection shall act as a fiduciary in such capacity in the best interests of the purchasers of the plan as a whole and shall adhere to the demand balancing standard set forth in s. 721.56(6) in connection with such substitutions. Substitutions that are otherwise permitted may be made only so long as a one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio is maintained at all times.(3) DELETIONS.–(a) Deletion by casualty.–1. Pursuant to s. 721.165, the timeshare instrument creating the multisite timeshare plan must provide for casualty insurance for the accommodations and facilities of the multisite timeshare plan in an amount equal to the replacement cost of such accommodations or facilities. The timeshare instrument must also provide that in the event of a casualty that results in accommodations or facilities being unavailable for use by purchasers, the managing entity shall notify all affected purchasers of such unavailability of use within 30 days after the event of casualty.2. The timeshare instrument must also provide for the application of any insurance proceeds arising from a casualty to either the replacement or acquisition of additional similar accommodations or facilities or to the removal of purchasers from the multisite timeshare plan so that purchasers will not be competing for available accommodations on a greater than one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio.3. If the timeshare instrument does not provide for business interruption insurance, or if it is unavailable, or if the instrument permits the developer, the managing entity, or the purchasers to elect not to reconstruct after casualty under certain circumstances or to secure replacement accommodations or facilities in lieu of reconstruction, purchasers of the plan may temporarily compete for available accommodations on a greater than one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio. The decision whether or not to reconstruct shall be made as promptly as possible under the circumstances.4. Any replacement of accommodations or facilities pursuant to this paragraph shall be made upon the same basis as required for substitution as set forth in subparagraph (2)(b)2.(b) Deletion by eminent domain.–1. The timeshare instrument creating the multisite timeshare plan must also provide for the application of any proceeds arising from a taking under eminent domain proceedings to either the replacement or acquisition of additional similar accommodations or facilities or to the removal of purchasers from the multisite timeshare plan so that purchasers will not be competing for available accommodations on a greater than one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio.2. Any replacement of accommodations or facilities pursuant to this paragraph shall be made upon the same basis as required for substitution set forth in subparagraph (2)(b)2.(c) Automatic deletion.–The timeshare instrument may provide that a component site will be automatically deleted upon the expiration of its term or as otherwise provided in the timeshare instrument. However, the timeshare instrument must also provide that in the event a component site is deleted from the plan in this manner, a sufficient number of purchasers of the plan will also be deleted, or a sufficient number of replacement accommodations and facilities that comply with subparagraph (2)(b)2. will be substituted for the deleted accommodations and facilities, so as to maintain no greater than a one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio.(4) VIOLATIONS; PURCHASER REMEDIES.–All purchaser remedies pursuant to s. 721.21 shall be available for any violation of the provisions of this section.