80/20 Rule
In recent years, more and more of the residents of not just Century Village, but all “age-restricted” communities, are under the age of fifty-five (55). Although it is not unheard of for a spouse to be under fifty-five, now more than ever unit owners are cohabitating with children, grandchildren, or other relatives.
This influx of “underaged” residents is for a variety of factors, but the main concern of many of the Association is what their ability to mitigate this growing population may be. The short answer is often very little, and while some Associations may have language in their governing documents to enforce more restrictions, most will not.
Century Village, as an “age restricted” community, maintains its status by ensuring that at least one of the residents in each unit is over the age of fifty-five. Your governing documents should have language that explicitly restrict children under the age of eighteen (18). Over the years, these restrictions against young children have been challenged in the courts, as a “Senior Living” community, your association is exempt from certain court rulings which is why it is vital to protect your age restricted status.
But for the circumstances as described previously, the adult children or relatives of unit owners are starting to reside with them. Your governing documents will have limitations on how long a guest may stay with an approved resident in the unit. This limit will be laid out in your documents, typically only allowing for a guest to stay a maximum of thirty (30) collective days in a single calendar year.
Any person that exceeds that limit would be considered an occupant, and under the terms of your documents would be obligated to submit a residence application, pay the application fee, and pass a background check. There will only be certain findings in these applications that would allow your Association to deny an applicant, a specific example would be someone who has been convicted of committing a “Crime against the elderly”. You should always consult your association attorney before denying an application.
Your documents may have language which explicitly restricts roommates, short term, sublet, or transient tenants. When a unit owner or resident submits an application for someone to reside with them in the unit, someone who is considered to be under “Familial status” may not be considered a “roommate” and may not be held to that restriction.
You do not want an applicant or unit owner to file a complaint with the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), the organization which has been granted the authority to pursue federal regulations in the state of Florida. It is vital that you familiarize yourself with your Association’s Governing Documents and the recorded restrictions, you should consider working with your Association attorney to amend or restate the documents to have more specific and strict restrictions to better protect the interests of the community.
For more information, consider reading the following articles:
https://flcondotips.com/florida/condo-guests.html
https://beckerlawyers.com/55-and-over-housing-explained-news-press/
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