(a) Condominiums are created as authorized by statute and are subject to covenants that encumber the land and restrict the use of real property.
(b) In some circumstances, the continued enforcement of those covenants may create economic waste and areas of disrepair which threaten the safety and welfare of the public or cause obsolescence of the property for its intended use and thereby lower property tax values, and it is the public policy of this state to provide by statute a method to preserve the value of the property interests and the rights of alienation thereof that owners have in the condominium property before and after termination.
(c) It is contrary to the public policy of this state to require the continued operation of a condominium when to do so constitutes economic waste or when the ability to do so is made impossible by law or regulation.
(d) It is in the best interest of the state to provide for termination of the covenants of a declaration of condominium in certain circumstances in order to:
1. Ensure the continued maintenance, management, and repair of stormwater management systems, conservation areas, and conservation easements.
2. Avoid transferring the expense of maintaining infrastructure serving the condominium property, including, but not limited to, stormwater systems and conservation areas, to the general tax bases of the state and local governments.
3. Prevent covenants from impairing the continued productive use of the property.
4. Protect state residents from health and safety hazards created by derelict, damaged, obsolete, or abandoned condominium properties.
5. Provide fair treatment and just compensation for individuals and preserve property values and the local property tax base.
6. Preserve the state’s long history of protecting homestead property and homestead property rights by ensuring that such protection is extended to homestead property owners in the context of a termination of the covenants of a declaration of condominium.
(2) TERMINATION BECAUSE OF ECONOMIC WASTE OR IMPOSSIBILITY.—
(a) Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration, the condominium form of ownership of a property may be terminated by a plan of termination approved by the lesser of the lowest percentage of voting interests necessary to amend the declaration or as otherwise provided in the declaration for approval of termination if:
1. The total estimated cost of construction or repairs necessary to construct the intended improvements or restore the improvements to their former condition or bring them into compliance with applicable laws or regulations exceeds the combined fair market value of the units in the condominium after completion of the construction or repairs; or
2. It becomes impossible to operate or reconstruct a condominium to its prior physical configuration because of land use laws or regulations.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a condominium in which 75 percent or more of the units are timeshare units may be terminated only pursuant to a plan of termination approved by 80 percent of the total voting interests of the association and the holders of 80 percent of the original principal amount of outstanding recorded mortgage liens of timeshare estates in the condominium, unless the declaration provides for a lower voting percentage.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a condominium that includes units and timeshare estates where the improvements have been totally destroyed or demolished may be terminated pursuant to a plan of termination proposed by a unit owner upon the filing of a petition in court seeking equitable relief. Within 10 days after the filing of a petition as provided in this paragraph and in lieu of the requirements of paragraph (15)(a), the petitioner shall record the proposed plan of termination and mail a copy of the proposed plan and a copy of the petition to:
1. If the association has not been dissolved as a matter of law, each member of the board of directors of the association identified in the most recent annual report filed with the Department of State and the registered agent of the association;
2. The managing entity as defined in s. 721.05(22);
3. Each unit owner and each timeshare estate owner at the address reflected in the official records of the association, or, if the association records cannot be obtained by the petitioner, each unit owner and each timeshare estate owner at the address listed in the office of the tax collector for tax notices; and
4. Each holder of a recorded mortgage lien affecting a unit or timeshare estate at the address appearing on the recorded mortgage or any recorded assignment thereof.
The association, if it has not been dissolved as a matter of law, acting as class representative, or the managing entity as defined in s. 721.05(22), any unit owner, any timeshare estate owner, or any holder of a recorded mortgage lien affecting a unit or timeshare estate may intervene in the proceedings to contest the proposed plan of termination brought pursuant to this paragraph. The provisions of subsection (9), to the extent inconsistent with this paragraph, and subsection (16) are not applicable to a party contesting a plan of termination under this paragraph. If no party intervenes to contest the proposed plan within 45 days after the filing of the petition, the petitioner may move the court to enter a final judgment to authorize implementation of the plan of termination. If a party timely intervenes to contest the proposed plan, the plan may not be implemented until a final judgment has been entered by the court finding that the proposed plan of termination is fair and reasonable and authorizing implementation of the plan.
(3) OPTIONAL TERMINATION.—The condominium form of ownership may be terminated for all or a portion of the condominium property pursuant to a plan of termination meeting the requirements of this section and approved by the division. Before a residential association submits a plan to the division, the plan must be approved by at least 80 percent of the total voting interests of the condominium. However, if 5 percent or more of the total voting interests of the condominium have rejected the plan of termination by negative vote or by providing written objections, the plan of termination may not proceed.
(a) The termination of the condominium form of ownership is subject to the following conditions:
1. The total voting interests of the condominium must include all voting interests for the purpose of considering a plan of termination. A voting interest of the condominium may not be suspended for any reason when voting on termination pursuant to this subsection.
2. If 5 percent or more of the total voting interests of the condominium reject a plan of termination, a subsequent plan of termination pursuant to this subsection may not be considered for 24 months after the date of the rejection.
(b) This subsection does not apply to any condominium created pursuant to part VI of this chapter until 5 years after the recording of the declaration of condominium, unless there is no objection to the plan of termination.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term “bulk owner” means the single holder of such voting interests or an owner together with a related entity or entities that would be considered an insider, as defined in s. 726.102, holding such voting interests. If the condominium association is a residential association proposed for termination pursuant to this section and, at the time of recording the plan of termination, at least 80 percent of the total voting interests are owned by a bulk owner, the plan of termination is subject to the following conditions and limitations:
1. If the former condominium units are offered for lease to the public after the termination, each unit owner in occupancy immediately before the date of recording of the plan of termination may lease his or her former unit and remain in possession of the unit for 12 months after the effective date of the termination on the same terms as similar unit types within the property are being offered to the public. In order to obtain a lease and exercise the right to retain exclusive possession of the unit owner’s former unit, the unit owner must make a written request to the termination trustee to rent the former unit within 90 days after the date the plan of termination is recorded. Any unit owner who fails to timely make such written request and sign a lease within 15 days after being presented with a lease is deemed to have waived his or her right to retain possession of his or her former unit and shall be required to vacate the former unit upon the effective date of the termination, unless otherwise provided in the plan of termination.
2. Any former unit owner whose unit was granted homestead exemption status by the applicable county property appraiser as of the date of the recording of the plan of termination shall be paid a relocation payment in an amount equal to 1 percent of the termination proceeds allocated to the owner’s former unit. Any relocation payment payable under this subparagraph shall be paid by the single entity or related entities owning at least 80 percent of the total voting interests. Such relocation payment shall be in addition to the termination proceeds for such owner’s former unit and shall be paid no later than 10 days after the former unit owner vacates his or her former unit.
3. For their respective units, all unit owners other than the bulk owner must be compensated at least 100 percent of the fair market value of their units. The fair market value shall be determined as of a date that is no earlier than 90 days before the date that the plan of termination is recorded and shall be determined by an independent appraiser selected by the termination trustee. For a person whose unit was granted homestead exemption status by the applicable county property appraiser, or was an owner-occupied operating business, as of the date that the plan of termination is recorded and who is current in payment of both assessments and other monetary obligations to the association as of the date the plan of termination is recorded, the fair market value shall be at least the original purchase price paid for the unit. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “fair market value” means the price of a unit that a seller is willing to accept and a buyer is willing to pay on the open market in an arms-length transaction based on similar units sold in other condominiums, including units sold in bulk purchases but excluding units sold at wholesale or distressed prices. The purchase price of units acquired in bulk following a bankruptcy or foreclosure shall not be considered for purposes of determining fair market value.
4. The plan of termination must provide for payment of a first mortgage encumbering a unit to the extent necessary to satisfy the lien, but the payment may not exceed the unit’s share of the proceeds of termination under the plan. If the unit owner is current in payment of both assessments and other monetary obligations to the association and any mortgage encumbering the unit as of the date the plan of termination is recorded, the receipt by the holder of the unit’s share of the proceeds of termination under the plan or the outstanding balance of the mortgage, whichever is less, shall be deemed to have satisfied the first mortgage in full.
5. Before a plan of termination is presented to the unit owners for consideration pursuant to this paragraph, the plan must include the following written disclosures in a sworn statement:
a. The identity of any person or entity that owns or controls 25 percent or more of the units in the condominium and, if the units are owned by an artificial entity or entities, a disclosure of the natural person or persons who, directly or indirectly, manage or control the entity or entities and the natural person or persons who, directly or indirectly, own or control 10 percent or more of the artificial entity or entities that constitute the bulk owner.
b. The units acquired by any bulk owner, the date each unit was acquired, and the total amount of compensation paid to each prior unit owner by the bulk owner, regardless of whether attributed to the purchase price of the unit.
c. The relationship of any board member to the bulk owner or any person or entity affiliated with the bulk owner subject to disclosure pursuant to this subparagraph.
d. The factual circumstances that show that the plan complies with the requirements of this section and that the plan supports the expressed public policies of this section.
(d) If the members of the board of administration are elected by the bulk owner, unit owners other than the bulk owner may elect at least one-third of the members of the board of administration before the approval of any plan of termination.
(e) The division shall examine the plan of termination to determine its procedural sufficiency and, within 45 days after receipt of the initial filing, the division shall notify the association by mail of any procedural deficiencies or that the filing is accepted. If the notice is not given within 45 days after the receipt of the filing, the plan of termination is presumed to be accepted. If the division determines that the conditions required by this section have been met and that the plan complies with the procedural requirements of this section, the division shall authorize the termination, and the termination may proceed pursuant to this section.
(f) Subsection (2) does not apply to optional termination pursuant to this subsection.
(4) EXEMPTION.—A plan of termination is not an amendment subject to s. 718.110(4). In a partial termination, a plan of termination is not an amendment subject to s. 718.110(4) if the ownership share of the common elements of a surviving unit in the condominium remains in the same proportion to the surviving units as it was before the partial termination.
(5) MORTGAGE LIENHOLDERS.—Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the declaration or this chapter, approval of a plan of termination by the holder of a recorded mortgage lien affecting a condominium parcel in which fewer than 75 percent of the units are timeshare units is not required unless the plan of termination will result in less than the full satisfaction of the mortgage lien affecting the condominium parcel. If such approval is required and not given, a holder of a recorded mortgage lien who objects to the plan of termination may contest the plan as provided in subsection (16). At the time of sale, the lien shall be transferred to the proportionate share of the proceeds assigned to the condominium parcel in the plan of termination or as subsequently modified by the court.
(6) POWERS IN CONNECTION WITH TERMINATION.—The approval of the plan of termination does not terminate the association. It shall continue in existence following approval of the plan of termination with all powers and duties it had before approval of the plan. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the declaration or bylaws, after approval of the plan the board shall:
(a) Employ directors, agents, attorneys, and other professionals to liquidate or conclude its affairs.
(b) Conduct the affairs of the association as necessary for the liquidation or termination.
(c) Carry out contracts and collect, pay, and settle debts and claims for and against the association.
(d) Defend suits brought against the association.
(e) Sue in the name of the association for all sums due or owed to the association or to recover any of its property.
(f) Perform any act necessary to maintain, repair, or demolish unsafe or uninhabitable improvements or other condominium property in compliance with applicable codes.
(g) Sell at public or private sale or exchange, convey, or otherwise dispose of assets of the association for an amount deemed to be in the best interests of the association, and execute bills of sale and deeds of conveyance in the name of the association.
(h) Collect and receive rents, profits, accounts receivable, income, maintenance fees, special assessments, or insurance proceeds for the association.
(i) Contract and do anything in the name of the association which is proper or convenient to terminate the affairs of the association.
(7) NATURAL DISASTERS.—
(a) If, after a natural disaster, the identity of the directors or their right to hold office is in doubt, if they are deceased or unable to act, if they fail or refuse to act, or if they cannot be located, any interested person may petition the circuit court to determine the identity of the directors or, if found to be in the best interests of the unit owners, to appoint a receiver to conclude the affairs of the association after a hearing following notice to such persons as the court directs. Lienholders shall be given notice of the petition and have the right to propose persons for the consideration by the court as receiver. If a receiver is appointed, the court shall direct the receiver to provide to all unit owners written notice of his or her appointment as receiver. Such notice shall be mailed or delivered within 10 days after the appointment. Notice by mail to a unit owner shall be sent to the address used by the county property appraiser for notice to the unit owner.
(b) The receiver shall have all powers given to the board pursuant to the declaration, bylaws, and subsection (6), and any other powers that are necessary to conclude the affairs of the association and are set forth in the order of appointment. The appointment of the receiver is subject to the bonding requirements of such order. The order shall also provide for the payment of a reasonable fee to the receiver from the sources identified in the order, which may include rents, profits, incomes, maintenance fees, or special assessments collected from the condominium property.
(8) REPORTS AND REPLACEMENT OF RECEIVER.—
(a) The association, receiver, or termination trustee shall prepare reports each quarter following the approval of the plan of termination setting forth the status and progress of the termination, costs and fees incurred, the date the termination is expected to be completed, and the current financial condition of the association, receivership, or trusteeship and provide copies of the report by regular mail to the unit owners and lienors at the mailing address provided to the association by the unit owners and the lienors.
(b) The unit owners of an association in termination may recall or remove members of the board of administration with or without cause at any time as provided in s. 718.112(2)(l).
(c) The lienors of an association in termination representing at least 50 percent of the outstanding amount of liens may petition the court for the appointment of a termination trustee, which shall be granted upon good cause shown.
(9) PLAN OF TERMINATION.—The plan of termination must be a written document executed in the same manner as a deed by unit owners having the requisite percentage of voting interests to approve the plan and by the termination trustee. A copy of the proposed plan of termination shall be given to all unit owners, in the same manner as for notice of an annual meeting, at least 14 days prior to the meeting at which the plan of termination is to be voted upon or prior to or simultaneously with the distribution of the solicitation seeking execution of the plan of termination or written consent to or joinder in the plan. A unit owner may document assent to the plan by executing the plan or by consent to or joinder in the plan in the manner of a deed. A plan of termination and the consents or joinders of unit owners must be recorded in the public records of each county in which any portion of the condominium is located. The plan is effective only upon recordation or at a later date specified in the plan. If the plan of termination fails to receive the required approval, the plan shall not be recorded and a new attempt to terminate the condominium may not be proposed at a meeting or by solicitation for joinder and consent for 18 months after the date that such failed plan of termination was first given to all unit owners in the manner as provided in this subsection.
(a) If the plan of termination is voted on at a meeting of the unit owners called in accordance with this subsection, any unit owner desiring to reject the plan must do so by either voting to reject the plan in person or by proxy, or by delivering a written rejection to the association before or at the meeting.
(b) If the plan of termination is approved by written consent or joinder without a meeting of the unit owners, any unit owner desiring to object to the plan must deliver a written objection to the association within 20 days after the date that the association notifies the nonconsenting owners, in the manner provided in paragraph (15)(a), that the plan of termination has been approved by written action in lieu of a unit owner meeting.
(10) PLAN OF TERMINATION; REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—The plan of termination must specify:
(a) The name, address, and powers of the termination trustee.
(b) A date after which the plan of termination is void if it has not been recorded.
(c) The interests of the respective unit owners in the association property, common surplus, and other assets of the association, which shall be the same as the respective interests of the unit owners in the common elements immediately before the termination, unless otherwise provided in the declaration.
(d) The interests of the respective unit owners in any proceeds from the sale of the condominium property. The plan of termination may apportion those proceeds pursuant to any method prescribed in subsection (12). If, pursuant to the plan of termination, condominium property or real property owned by the association is to be sold following termination, the plan must provide for the sale and may establish any minimum sale terms.
(e) Any interests of the respective unit owners in insurance proceeds or condemnation proceeds that are not used for repair or reconstruction at the time of termination. Unless the declaration expressly addresses the distribution of insurance proceeds or condemnation proceeds, the plan of termination may apportion those proceeds pursuant to any method prescribed in subsection (12).
(11) PLAN OF TERMINATION; OPTIONAL PROVISIONS; CONDITIONAL TERMINATION; WITHDRAWAL; ERRORS.—
(a) Unless the plan of termination expressly authorizes a unit owner or other person to retain the exclusive right to possess that portion of the real estate which formerly constituted the unit after termination or to use the common elements of the condominium after termination, all such rights in the unit and common elements automatically terminate on the effective date of termination. Unless the plan expressly provides otherwise, all leases, occupancy agreements, subleases, licenses, or other agreements for the use or occupancy of any unit or common elements of the condominium automatically terminate on the effective date of termination. If the plan expressly authorizes a unit owner or other person to retain exclusive right of possession for that portion of the real estate that formerly constituted the unit or to use the common elements of the condominium after termination, the plan must specify the terms and conditions of possession. In a partial termination, the plan of termination as specified in subsection (10) must also identify the units that survive the partial termination and provide that such units remain in the condominium form of ownership pursuant to an amendment to the declaration of condominium or an amended and restated declaration. In a partial termination, title to the surviving units and common elements that remain part of the condominium property specified in the plan of termination remain vested in the ownership shown in the public records and do not vest in the termination trustee.
(b) In a conditional termination, the plan must specify the conditions for termination. A conditional plan does not vest title in the termination trustee until the plan and a certificate executed by the association with the formalities of a deed, confirming that the conditions in the conditional plan have been satisfied or waived by the requisite percentage of the voting interests, have been recorded. In a partial termination, the plan does not vest title to the surviving units or common elements that remain part of the condominium property in the termination trustee.
(c) Unless otherwise provided in the plan of termination, at any time before the sale of the condominium property, a plan may be withdrawn or modified by the affirmative vote or written agreement of at least the same percentage of voting interests in the condominium as that which was required for the initial approval of the plan.
(d) Upon the discovery of a scrivener’s error in the plan of termination, the termination trustee may record an amended plan or an amendment to the plan for the purpose of correcting the error, and the amended plan or amendment to the plan must be executed by the termination trustee in the same manner as required for the execution of a deed.
(12) ALLOCATION OF PROCEEDS OF SALE OF CONDOMINIUM PROPERTY.—
(a) Unless the declaration expressly provides for the allocation of the proceeds of sale of condominium property, the plan of termination may require separate valuations for the common elements. However, in the absence of such provision, it is presumed that the common elements have no independent value but rather that their value is incorporated into the valuation of the units. In a partial termination, the aggregate values of the units and common elements that are being terminated must be separately determined, and the plan of termination must specify the allocation of the proceeds of sale for the units and common elements being terminated.
(b) The portion of proceeds allocated to the units shall be apportioned among the individual units. The apportionment is deemed fair and reasonable if it is determined by any of the following methods:
1. The respective values of the units based on the fair market values of the units immediately before the termination, as determined by one or more independent appraisers selected by the association or termination trustee;
2. The respective values of the units based on the most recent market value of the units before the termination, as provided in the county property appraiser’s records; or
3. The respective interests of the units in the common elements specified in the declaration immediately before the termination.
(c) The methods of apportionment in paragraph (b) do not prohibit any other method of apportioning the proceeds of sale allocated to the units or any other method of valuing the units agreed upon in the plan of termination. Any portion of the proceeds separately allocated to the common elements shall be apportioned among the units based upon their respective interests in the common elements as provided in the declaration.
(d) Liens that encumber a unit shall, unless otherwise provided in the plan of termination, be transferred to the proceeds of sale of the condominium property and the proceeds of sale or other distribution of association property, common surplus, or other association assets attributable to such unit in their same priority. In a partial termination, liens that encumber a unit being terminated must be transferred to the proceeds of sale of that portion of the condominium property being terminated which are attributable to such unit. The proceeds of any sale of condominium property pursuant to a plan of termination may not be deemed to be common surplus or association property. The holder of a lien that encumbers a unit at the time of recording a plan must, within 30 days after the written request from the termination trustee, deliver a statement to the termination trustee confirming the outstanding amount of any obligations of the unit owner secured by the lien.
(e) The termination trustee may setoff against, and reduce the share of, the termination proceeds allocated to a unit by the following amounts, which may include attorney fees and costs:
1. All unpaid assessments, taxes, late fees, interest, fines, charges, and other amounts due and owing to the association associated with the unit, its owner, or the owner’s family members, guests, tenants, occupants, licensees, invitees, or other persons.
2. All costs of clearing title to the owner’s unit, including, but not limited to, locating lienors, obtaining statements from such lienors confirming the outstanding amount of any obligations of the unit owner, and paying all mortgages and other liens, judgments, and encumbrances and filing suit to quiet title or remove title defects.
3. All costs of removing the owner or the owner’s family members, guests, tenants, occupants, licensees, invitees, or other persons from the unit in the event such persons fail to vacate a unit as required by the plan.
4. All costs arising from, or related to, any breach of the plan by the owner or the owner’s family members, guests, tenants, occupants, licensees, invitees, or other persons.
5. All costs arising out of, or related to, the removal and storage of all personal property remaining in a unit, other than personal property owned by the association, so that the unit may be delivered vacant and clear of the owner or the owner’s family members, guests, tenants, occupants, licensees, invitees, or other persons as required by the plan.
6. All costs arising out of, or related to, the appointment and activities of a receiver or attorney ad litem acting for the owner in the event that the owner is unable to be located.
(13) TERMINATION TRUSTEE.—The association shall serve as termination trustee unless another person is appointed in the plan of termination. If the association is unable, unwilling, or fails to act as trustee, any unit owner may petition the court to appoint a trustee. Upon the date of the recording or at a later date specified in the plan, title to the condominium property vests in the trustee. Unless prohibited by the plan, the termination trustee shall be vested with the powers given to the board pursuant to the declaration, bylaws, and subsection (6). If the association is not the termination trustee, the trustee’s powers shall be coextensive with those of the association to the extent not prohibited in the plan of termination or the order of appointment. If the association is not the termination trustee, the association shall transfer any association property to the trustee. If the association is dissolved, the trustee shall also have such other powers necessary to conclude the affairs of the association.
(14) TITLE VESTED IN TERMINATION TRUSTEE.—If termination is pursuant to a plan of termination under subsection (2) or subsection (3), title to the condominium property being terminated vests in the termination trustee when the plan is recorded or at a later date specified in the plan. The unit owners thereafter become the beneficiaries of the proceeds realized from the plan of termination as set forth in the plan. The termination trustee may deal with the condominium property being terminated or any interest therein if the plan confers on the trustee the authority to protect, conserve, manage, sell, or dispose of the condominium property. The trustee, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract for the sale of real property being terminated, but the contract is not binding on the unit owners until the plan is approved pursuant to subsection (2) or subsection (3).
(15) NOTICE.—
(a) Within 30 days after a plan of termination has been recorded, the termination trustee shall deliver by certified mail, return receipt requested, notice to all unit owners, lienors of the condominium property, and lienors of all units at their last known addresses that a plan of termination has been recorded. The notice must include the book and page number of the public records in which the plan was recorded, notice that a copy of the plan shall be furnished upon written request, and notice that the unit owner or lienor has the right to contest the fairness of the plan.
(b) The trustee, within 90 days after the effective date of the plan, shall provide to the division a certified copy of the recorded plan, the date the plan was recorded, and the county, book, and page number of the public records in which the plan is recorded.
(16) RIGHT TO CONTEST.—A unit owner or lienor may contest a plan of termination by initiating a petition in accordance with s. 718.1255 within 90 days after the date the plan is recorded. A unit owner or lienor may only contest the fairness and reasonableness of the apportionment of the proceeds from the sale among the unit owners, that the liens of the first mortgages of unit owners other than the bulk owner have not or will not be satisfied to the extent required by subsection (3), or that the required vote to approve the plan was not obtained. A unit owner or lienor who does not contest the plan within the 90-day period is barred from asserting or prosecuting a claim against the association, the termination trustee, any unit owner, or any successor in interest to the condominium property. In an action contesting a plan of termination, the person contesting the plan has the burden of pleading and proving that the apportionment of the proceeds from the sale among the unit owners was not fair and reasonable or that the required vote was not obtained. The apportionment of sale proceeds is presumed fair and reasonable if it was determined pursuant to the methods prescribed in subsection (12). If the petition is filed with the division for arbitration, the arbitrator shall determine the rights and interests of the parties in the apportionment of the sale proceeds. If the arbitrator determines that the apportionment of sales proceeds is not fair and reasonable, the arbitrator may void the plan or may modify the plan to apportion the proceeds in a fair and reasonable manner pursuant to this section based upon the proceedings and order the modified plan of termination to be implemented. If the arbitrator determines that the plan was not properly approved, or that the procedures to adopt the plan were not properly followed, the arbitrator may void the plan or grant other relief it deems just and proper. The arbitrator shall automatically void the plan upon a finding that any of the disclosures required in subparagraph (3)(c)5. are omitted, misleading, incomplete, or inaccurate. Any challenge to a plan, other than a challenge that the required vote was not obtained, does not affect title to the condominium property or the vesting of the condominium property in the trustee, but shall only be a claim against the proceeds of the plan. In any such action, the prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.
(17) DISTRIBUTION.—
(a) Following termination of the condominium, the condominium property, association property, common surplus, and other assets of the association shall be held by the termination trustee pursuant to the plan of termination, as trustee for unit owners and holders of liens on the units, in their order of priority unless otherwise set forth in the plan of termination.
(b) Not less than 30 days before the first distribution, the termination trustee shall deliver by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice of the estimated distribution to all unit owners, lienors of the condominium property, and lienors of each unit at their last known addresses stating a good faith estimate of the amount of the distributions to each class and the procedures and deadline for notifying the termination trustee of any objections to the amount. The deadline must be at least 15 days after the date the notice was mailed. The notice may be sent with or after the notice required by subsection (15). If a unit owner or lienor files a timely objection with the termination trustee, the trustee need not distribute the funds and property allocated to the respective unit owner or lienor until the trustee has had a reasonable time to determine the validity of the adverse claim. In the alternative, the trustee may interplead the unit owner, lienor, and any other person claiming an interest in the unit and deposit the funds allocated to the unit in the court registry, at which time the condominium property, association property, common surplus, and other assets of the association are free of all claims and liens of the parties to the suit. In an interpleader action, the trustee and prevailing party may recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
(c) The proceeds from any sale of condominium property or association property and any remaining condominium property or association property, common surplus, and other assets shall be distributed in the following priority:
1. To pay the reasonable termination trustee’s fees and costs and accounting fees and costs.
2. To lienholders of liens recorded prior to the recording of the declaration.
3. To purchase-money lienholders on units to the extent necessary to satisfy their liens; however, the distribution may not exceed a unit owner’s share of the proceeds.
4. To lienholders of liens of the association which have been consented to under s. 718.121(1).
5. To creditors of the association, as their interests appear.
6. To unit owners, the proceeds of any sale of condominium property subject to satisfaction of liens on each unit in their order of priority, in shares specified in the plan of termination, unless objected to by a unit owner or lienor as provided in paragraph (b).
7. To unit owners, the remaining condominium property, subject to satisfaction of liens on each unit in their order of priority, in shares specified in the plan of termination, unless objected to by a unit owner or a lienor as provided in paragraph (b).
8. To unit owners, the proceeds of any sale of association property, the remaining association property, common surplus, and other assets of the association, subject to satisfaction of liens on each unit in their order of priority, in shares specified in the plan of termination, unless objected to by a unit owner or a lienor as provided in paragraph (b).
(d) After determining that all known debts and liabilities of an association in the process of termination have been paid or adequately provided for, the termination trustee shall distribute the remaining assets pursuant to the plan of termination. If the termination is by court proceeding or subject to court supervision, the distribution may not be made until any period for the presentation of claims ordered by the court has elapsed.
(e) Assets held by an association upon a valid condition requiring return, transfer, or conveyance, which condition has occurred or will occur, shall be returned, transferred, or conveyed in accordance with the condition. The remaining association assets shall be distributed pursuant to paragraph (c).
(f) Distribution may be made in money, property, or securities and in installments or as a lump sum, if it can be done fairly and ratably and in conformity with the plan of termination. Distribution shall be made as soon as is reasonably consistent with the beneficial liquidation of the assets.
(18) ASSOCIATION STATUS.—The termination of a condominium does not change the corporate status of the association that operated the condominium property. The association continues to exist to conclude its affairs, prosecute and defend actions by or against it, collect and discharge obligations, dispose of and convey its property, and collect and divide its assets, but not to act except as necessary to conclude its affairs. In a partial termination, the association may continue as the condominium association for the property that remains subject to the declaration of condominium.
(19) CREATION OF ANOTHER CONDOMINIUM.—The termination or partial termination of a condominium does not bar the filing of a new declaration of condominium by the termination trustee, or the trustee’s successor in interest, for the terminated property or any portion thereof. The partial termination of a condominium may provide for the simultaneous filing of an amendment to the declaration of condominium or an amended and restated declaration of condominium by the condominium association for any portion of the property not terminated from the condominium form of ownership.
(20) EXCLUSION.—This section does not apply to the termination of a condominium incident to a merger of that condominium with one or more other condominiums under s. 718.110(7).
(21) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all condominiums in this state in existence on or after July 1, 2007.
History.—s. 1, ch. 76-222; s. 4, ch. 88-148; s. 47, ch. 95-274; s. 3, ch. 98-195; s. 57, ch. 2000-302; s. 1, ch. 2007-226; s. 11, ch. 2008-28; s. 2, ch. 2008-202; s. 6, ch. 2008-240; s. 13, ch. 2010-174; s. 7, ch. 2011-196; s. 11, ch. 2014-133; s. 1, ch. 2015-175; s. 1, ch. 2017-122; s. 6, ch. 2021-99; s. 8, ch. 2022-269.
