Creation of Condominiums

• Under the provisions of the Florida Condominium Act, a condominium is legally created when the developers record a declaration in the public records of the county where the land is situated. This declaration must be jointly executed by all the title-holders to the land where the condominium is to be built. The declaration must conform to certain required elements. For instance, it must contain a name by which the condominium will be known and a legal description of the land on which the condominium will be developed. This legal description includes a survey of the land that must conform to acceptable technical standards. The declaration must contain building plans, including the maps, sketches, floor plans and the number of units in the apartment. The units must be individually titled, either by letter, number or name.
  
  

Condominium Legal Identity

• Section 718.111 of the Condominium Act defines a condominium as a legal entity that must be operated by an association. The association may either be a nonprofit or for-profit Florida corporation. The directors and other officials of the association will have a fiduciary relationship with the owners of units in the condominium. Fiduciary relationship is a legal term denoting a relationship involving trust. As such, the association has a fiduciary duty of good faith toward the unit owners and the unit owners have the same duty toward the association. One of the good-faith duties expected of the association is the maintenance of the structural components of the building, like plumbing and roofing.
  
  

Types of Condominiums

• The Florida Condominium Act lists what it refers to as "special types of condominiums." These include leaseholds, mixed-use condominiums, multicondominiums and phase condominiums. Mixed condominiums are those that contain both commercial and residential units. Multicondominums refers to a situation in which one association operates more than one condominium. Phase condominiums denote a situation in which a developer may develop condominiums in phases, with a delineated number of units per phase.
  
  

Obligations of Developers

• The Condominium Act states that an implied warranty exists when a developer sells a condominium unit to a purchaser. This includes a three-year warranty from the date of purchase of the unit as to the fitness of the unit for the purpose for which it was bought. The warranty also includes a three-year warranty for maintenance of any structural component from the date of the completion of the unit. After three years, the maintenance of the building shall shift to the association.