Some condo associations are blocking leases and sales. Realtors argue it’s illegal.
Condo associations are overstepping their duties amid the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.
The Miami Association of Realtors are receiving complaints from members daily saying condo associations are disrupting the lease and sale process, said Daniel Guerra, the vice president of sales for Fortune International Realty and the Association’s 2021 residential president. Some condo associations are halting virtual approvals, move-ins, move-outs and interviews of potential residents.
Such actions fall in a gray zone because they are unprecedented, said Alessandra Stivelman, a partner at the Hollywood-based law firm Eisinger Law. “An association’s burden to justify the need and reasonableness for a restriction would be hard to prove.”
Said Guerra, “Many associations do not have policies in place to complete virtual applications, interviews, and approval,” Guerra wrote by email.
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“We need to create uniformity — so that all management companies and associations can have policies, systems, and technology in place to safely complete the approval and move-in process. We emphasize that real estate services are addressing the most basic need right now: housing. We can’t be ‘Safer-At-Home’ if we aren’t in one.”
For now, approvals and move-in are being handled on a case-by-case basis, he said. But some Realtors and would be residents have had to turn to attorneys to resolve the matter.
If it does go before a judge, said Stivelman, the condo association may not prevail because it is hindering the homeowner’s chance of leasing his home and earning income.
“How can you reasonably say to an owner you’re not doing interviews because they have been done in person and don’t want to do a Zoom call?,” she said. “They need to keep reevaluating their policies.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
