Does a Florida Condo Association Have to Approve the Buyer, and Can It Block Your Sale?

Not automatically. Section 718.104(5) of the Florida Statutes says a declaration “may include covenants and restrictions concerning the use, occupancy, and transfer of the units.” That wording allows approval rules. It does not require them. So the answer for your unit is in your own documents: the declaration and all of its amendments, plus the bylaws and rules.

Look for the section on sales, transfers or conveyances. It should tell you whether the board must consent, and whether the association or the owners can buy the unit first.

There is a quicker check. Section 718.116(8) requires the association’s estoppel certificate to answer both questions in writing. It must say whether the association’s rules require board approval for the transfer and, if so, whether the board has approved it. It must also say whether the members or the association have a right of first refusal and, if so, whether it has been exercised. Our Florida estoppel certificate guide covers how to request one and how long it lasts.

An approval right lets the board say yes or no to your buyer. If the board says yes, you close with that buyer. If it says no, you may lose that buyer unless your documents give you another remedy.

A right of first refusal works differently. In Old Port Cove Holdings v. Old Port Cove Condominium Association One (2008), the Florida Supreme Court quoted an earlier decision that defined it as “a right to elect to take specified property at the same price and on the same terms and conditions as those contained in a good faith offer by a third person if the owner manifests a willingness to accept the offer.” In plain terms, you find a buyer and agree on a deal, then the association or the owners can take that deal for themselves. You still sell at that price, but your buyer does not get the unit.

Some declarations blend the two. In Chianese v. Culley, a 1975 federal case from South Florida, the declaration let the association approve transfers but required it, within 60 days, to provide another purchaser or approve the original one. A Florida appeals court later described that as a preemptive right that kept the declaration from being an unlawful restraint.

The contract matters too. Under the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condominium rider, if a first refusal is exercised, the contract ends and the buyer gets the deposit back, unless the contract says otherwise. The same paragraph says the seller still pays the broker the full commission at closing. Other contract forms can differ.

Yes, within limits. Florida courts accept that condo living carries more restrictions than owning a single-family house. In Aquarian Foundation, Inc. v. Sholom House, Inc., 448 So. 2d 1166 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), the court said transfer restrictions are a valid way for an association to control who joins the community, and that a board has “considerable latitude” in withholding consent. It also said “the resulting restraint on alienation must be reasonable.”

In that case, the declaration required board consent to any sale and let the board withhold it “arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably.” An owner sold without consent. The association sued, and the trial court voided the sale and ejected the buyer. The appeals court reversed. It held that a power to reject any buyer for any reason or no reason is an absolute restraint that survives only if the association must buy the unit or find a buyer at fair market value. That declaration had no such duty, so the power was invalid and unenforceable.

The case has limits. It does not make every refusal invalid. The court said even an absolute restraint is lawful when the association must buy the unit or bring another buyer, and that rejecting a buyer under a reasonable, narrow restriction, one that still lets the owner sell to others, is a different situation. The result also turned on that declaration’s wording. Whether it applies to your building, or to a co-op, is a question for a Florida attorney. The case also shows the risk of closing without a required consent: that buyer lost at trial and won only on appeal.

There is no single answer, because neither chapter 718 nor chapter 719 sets a deadline for a board to decide on a buyer. Your documents set the timing. When you read them, check when the clock starts, how many days the board has, what happens if it misses the deadline, and how long a first refusal stays open.

Your contract adds its own dates. Under the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condominium rider, if the blanks are left empty, the seller starts the approval process within 5 days after the contract’s effective date, and the buyer must be approved at least 5 days before closing. If the buyer is not approved in time, the contract ends and the deposit goes back to the buyer. For first refusal, the sale moves forward once the holder confirms in writing that it will not use the right, or its time to use the right runs out. If your contract is a different form, these terms may not apply.

Two other clocks run alongside the board’s. The association has 10 business days to issue an estoppel certificate after a request. And under section 718.503(2), a resale buyer who did not receive the required association documents more than 7 days before signing can cancel within 7 days after signing and receiving them, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays.

An association can charge a fee on a sale only if it is required to approve the transfer and a fee for that approval is in the declaration, articles or bylaws. That is section 718.112(2)(k). The statute’s text says $150 per applicant, but it also requires inflation adjustments every 5 years, and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) currently lists the condo cap as $184 per applicant. Spouses count as one applicant, and so do a parent or parents with dependent children. For co-ops, section 719.106(1)(i) caps the fee at $100 per applicant, and DBPR says that amount is not adjusted. The estoppel fee is separate.

Neither chapter 718 nor chapter 719 mentions interviews. Whether a board can require one comes from your documents and rules. The condominium rider assumes they may happen: buyer and seller each agree to use diligent effort to get approval, “including making personal appearances if required.”

An interview can also be where a fair housing problem starts. In 2012, HUD announced a settlement valued at $25,000 with a condo association in Coconut Creek. The buyers alleged the association rejected them after making inappropriate inquiries and discriminatory remarks during a screening interview. The agreement required that association to stop all applicant screening interviews. That was a settlement of allegations with one association, not a general ban on interviews.

Other owners cannot inspect what the buyer gives the board. Section 718.111(12)(c) lists information obtained in connection with approving a sale among the records unit owners cannot access, and section 719.104(2)(c) does the same for co-ops.

An approval right is not permission to discriminate. The federal Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. Section 760.23 of the Florida Statutes makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, or to otherwise deny a dwelling, for those same reasons. Florida law also treats a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services as discrimination against a person with a disability, which can matter if a buyer needs a change to the application or interview process.

There is one exception worth knowing. Familial status protections do not apply to qualifying “housing for older persons” under section 760.29(4). That includes 55-and-older housing where at least 80 percent of occupied units have a resident 55 or older and the community publishes and follows policies showing that intent, among other requirements. The exception covers only familial status. It does not allow discrimination on the other grounds.

Discrimination complaints go to the Florida Commission on Human Relations or to HUD. The Commission says any person aggrieved by an unlawful housing practice may file a complaint within 1 year of the last alleged act, and that most cases are dual-filed with HUD. DBPR’s condominium division has a narrower role. After owners take control from the developer, section 718.501 limits its complaint authority to listed subjects such as finances, elections, records and meetings, and buyer approval is not on that list. A Florida attorney can explain which forum fits a dispute over your declaration.

In an older building, the first problem can be finding the documents. A condominium is created by recording its declaration in the county’s public records, but how far back you can search online varies. In Broward County, the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division’s online search indexes documents from January 1, 1978, with images from August 1998. Earlier images and the pre-1978 index are on microfilm at its offices. In Miami-Dade County, the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller keeps the records and says copies of documents older than 1974 are available only in person or by mail. In Palm Beach County, the Clerk’s digital images go back to 1968. The association must also keep copies of the declaration, bylaws and rules available for owners and prospective purchasers, so the manager may be the faster route.

Read every amendment, not just the original. Section 718.104(5) applies to the declaration “as originally recorded or as amended,” so the approval clause in an older building may no longer say what it first said.

Co-ops follow chapter 719, not chapter 718. In a co-op, legal title sits with a corporation or other entity, and you hold an ownership interest in the association plus a lease or similar document for your unit. Cooperative documents must be recorded in the county under section 719.1035. Section 719.108(6) requires the same estoppel questions about approval and first refusal, and the transfer fee cap is the $100 noted above. Because you are transferring a share and a lease, the title company can explain how the paperwork differs from a condo deed.

Local offices also take discrimination complaints, each with its own limits. Broward’s Human Rights Section works under the Fair Housing Act and the Broward County Human Rights Act. Miami-Dade’s Commission on Human Rights enforces Chapter 11A of the county code, which also covers categories such as age, marital status, sexual orientation and source of income. It says the provider in a housing case must own and rent more than three units, so ask whether it can take a dispute over a condo sale.

Older buildings may also be dealing with inspections, repairs or assessments. Those are separate from buyer approval, but they can affect who will buy and when. See our 40-year recertification guide and our page on selling with a condo special assessment.

No. Board approval applies to the buyer and the transfer, and it does not usually turn on how the buyer pays. A cash buyer applies like anyone else, and the association can still use a first refusal. Cash removes the buyer’s lender from the deal, not the association. If your documents limit sales to companies, or require the buyer to live in the unit, ask about that before signing, because a cash buyer has to fit those rules too.

A cash sale is not always the right choice. If approval in your building is routine, the unit is in good shape and you have time, a listing may net you more. Our cash offer vs. listing guide shows how to compare the two.

Florida Cash For Home buys condos as-is, with a written offer within 24 hours of the walkthrough and no seller commissions or closing costs. We can close in about 10 days when title is clear, but if your documents require approval or a first refusal period, the closing date has to allow for those steps. We can also close later if you prefer.