b'FeatureContinued from previous pageTHE FACT THAT REHABILITATION 4.Mortgage holders can object to the planIS COSTLY IS NO EXCUSE under certain circumstances;Manyolderassociationslackadequatereserves. 5.The proposed allocation of proceeds of theDeferredmaintenancemayhavealsobeenneglected. sale of the condominium property is subject toThen,majordamagemaybediscovered,sometimes legal challenge by any owner, which could tie upwhen a new owner is renovating a unit. The board then the termination for years;conducts an engineering investigation and gets the bad 6.There are multiple layers of costs which mustnewsthatmajorandverycostlyworkisrequired. be paid before the proceeds are distributed toOften, when repairs begin and the building is opened the owners; andup, the full extent of the problems are revealed and the 7.The association is not excused from itscost to rehabilitate the buildings correctly becomes exor- repair obligations while termination is attempted. bitant.Boardsthenoftentrytogetawaywithascaled- As far as the Tampa group mentioned above, despitedownprojectwhichmerelyputsthethumbinthe it being painfully obvious that termination was the farproverbial dike.Based upon the statutory mandate, the more logical solution to the associations predicament,language of most declarations and established case law, more than 5% of the membership made it clear thatthis wont cut it.So, for boards to be compliant, its they would block the termination, so it never got off theeither pass a special assessment that may be tens of thou- ground. sands of dollars a unit, or consider termination.INVOLUNTARY TERMINATIONVOLUNTARY TERMINATION AS AN Thereisalittleknown,shortprovisionoftheALTERNATIVE TO MAJOR REPAIRS FloridaCondominiumActwhichprovidesfortheThe author is aware of an older condominium in possibility of the involuntary termination of a condo-Tampa where the units sold for $35,000 to $75,000, minium. there had been little deferred maintenance performed,reserves were woefully inadequate and necessary repairs 718.118Equitable relief.In the event ofwere to cost $30,000 a unit, a figure that most of the substantial damage to or destruction of all or aowners could not afford.At the same time, the land substantial part of the condominium property,uponwhichthecondominiumsatwasveryvaluable, and if the property is not repaired, reconstructed,like $300,000 a unit valuable. The Board took a serious or rebuilt within a reasonable period of time, anylook at termination as an alternative to trying to collect unit owner may petition a court for equitablea huge special assessment. relief, which may include a termination of theAlthough termination may be an attractive alterna- condominium and a partition.tive under these circumstances, voluntary termination isnot easy to achieve. Voluntary termination of a condo- At first glance, it would appear that the statute wasminium in Florida is governed by 718.117, Fla. Stat. intended to cover board inaction in the wake of damageIt is not the authors intent in this article to unwind from a catastrophic weather event or fire.However, thewhat is a very complex statute, rather it is to focus on possibilitycertainlyexiststhatacreativeunitownertheelementsofthestatutewhichrendertermination could try to utilize the statute to seek the involuntaryquite difficult and expensive to achieve. These are the termination of a condominium where the condo build-major challenges in successfully initiating and complet- ings had been damaged as a result of longterm wearing a voluntary termination under 718.117, Fla. Stat. andtear,andtherewasasufficientminorityofthe1.A detailed, formal plan of termination must be membership who would not support voluntary termina-created by the Board; tion.Such was the case with The Colony.2.A high percentage of the membership must vote AdeveloperpurchasedaportionofTheColonyto terminate; whichwasthesubjectofarecreationallease.3.In an optional termination, which is the The developer then purchased several units, creatingalterative that most groups would be limited to, 5% standing for itself as a unit owner aggrieved by boardof the membership can block the termination; non-action on repairs. 10 - Suncoast Review Fall 2021 www.SuncoastCAI.com'