I live in Florida and am a landord of a condo that is currently leased. It is my understanding that the lease survives a sale in Florida. In other words if I sell, the tenant would have possession and the lease would remain in tact until its expiration. Is this true?

The condo association says that the lease cannot be "transferred" to a new owner. The association rules state that "After transfer of a unit no lease may be approved for a period of 24 months subsequent to the date of transfer, as determined by the date of a deed as recorded in the public records of ----- County, FL."

Doesn't the current lease HAVE to be honored by the new buyer AND the association (that already approved the current tenant and lease)?:confused:

Hello j:

Well, you've got HOA rules that conflict with state law. I think state law will prevail. In fact, I KNOW state law prevails.

However, I've never seen a REASONABLE HOA board of directors, so I believe you're going to need an attorney.

excon

I agree with excon that state law will prevail. But more so, I disagree with the HOA's interpretaion of the rule.

"After transfer of a unit no lease may be approved for a period of 24 months subsequent to the date of transfer,..."

The problem here is that there is an EXISTING lease that was already approved. In my opinion this rule would take effect ONLY if the condo was sold and the new owner wanted to immediately rent it out. The rule is designed to prevent people from buying up units for the purpose of renting.

So I would suggest that you check Florida law (there is a link at the top of this forum) on the issue of a lease remaining in force after a sale. And then go back to the HOA and cite that law as well as my interpretation of the rule. Tell them if they want to take you to court go ahead.

Scott & Excon--Thanks for your replies. I tried looking up the statute of the Florida Law and am obviously not looking in the right place. What I'm trying to verify is IF that statute exists--I believe it does, as I'm a realtor and remember learning that (and so does my husband). If anyone knows how to easily locate that, I'd be very appreciative.
jmf