Three categories to keep distinct
| Category | Meaning | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | The part of the condominium subject to exclusive ownership, with boundaries specified in the declaration. | Do not assume everything inside or beside a residence is part of the unit. |
| Common elements | Condominium property outside the units. | Owners hold an undivided share associated with their units; the association administers common property. |
| Limited common elements | Common elements reserved by the declaration for certain units’ use, excluding other units. | Exclusive use does not make the area individually owned unit property. |
Definitions: section 718.103. Section 718.108 also addresses common-element components and ownership interests.
Examples you may encounter in Century Village
These examples illustrate questions to investigate. Each association’s recorded documents and plans determine the actual classification.
| Area or component | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Roof, structure & exterior | Unit boundaries, common-element definitions, and maintenance provisions. |
| Stairs, walkways & laundry rooms | Whether they are condominium common elements or other property, and any particular use restrictions. |
| Parking spaces | Whether spaces are common, limited common, separately owned, or subject to revocable assignments. |
| Patios, balconies & porches | Whether the area is within the unit, limited common, or ordinary common property. Check boundaries and recorded amendments. |
| Pipes, wires & other systems | The system’s function, units served, location, and document provisions; proximity alone does not answer responsibility. |
| Roads, canals & recreation facilities | Ownership, leases, agreements, and the responsible entity. Shared Village use does not make them your association’s common elements. |
Association property is another legal category: property owned or leased by the association for members’ benefit. Do not automatically treat it as identical to common elements.
Know the property before deciding the responsibility.
Practical examples: apply the documents to the task
These are hypothetical situations, not findings about your building. The same component can have different classifications or responsibilities in different declarations. Break a project into its parts before assigning the entire job to the association or an owner.
| Situation | Practical analysis | Declaration provisions to check |
|---|---|---|
| A balcony needs cleaning, tile repair, and concrete restoration | Separate routine cleaning, surface finishes, waterproofing, and structural work. If the declaration assigns cleaning to the exclusive user but structural maintenance to the association, those are different duties. Do not infer either allocation from the balcony’s location. | Balcony boundaries; limited-common-element designation; finishes and structural maintenance; expense allocation; owner improvements. |
| An owner wants to enlarge a patio or enclose a porch | Identify the existing legal boundaries and proposed footprint. Approval to use an area does not necessarily authorize expansion, enclosure, or a new exclusive-use right. Establish the required approvals before work or a contractor deposit. | Recorded plans; exclusive-use rights; alteration restrictions; amendment and consent procedures. Check applicable law and permits as well. |
| A numbered parking space needs resurfacing—or a resident wants to swap it | Maintaining pavement and changing who may use a space are separate decisions. A painted number alone does not establish a recorded property right. Determine whether the space is assigned, limited common, or another category before approving a swap. | Parking exhibits; assignment authority; recorded allocations; paving maintenance; costs and restrictions on transfers. |
| A pipe inside a unit leaks | Identify the failed segment and the units it serves. Ask a qualified plumber to distinguish a shared line from a unit-serving branch. Separately analyze pipe repair, access, restoration, and resulting damage; they may not have the same payer. | Unit boundaries; utility definitions; repair and access clauses; restoration obligations. Review insurance and any negligence issue separately. |
| A window leaks or an exterior door needs replacement | Do not decide responsibility solely because only one unit uses it or because it is on an exterior wall. Identify the frame, glass, seals, surrounding wall, and cause of failure. Confirm specifications and approvals for replacement; hurricane protection can involve special statutory rules. | Boundary definitions; windows and doors; exterior maintenance; alteration standards; applicable hurricane-protection provisions. |
| An owner-installed awning or fixture must be removed for building work | Find the original authorization and any recorded agreement addressing maintenance, removal, reinstallation, and successors. Do not assume the installer’s payment established permanent alteration rights or resolved every future cost. | Owner improvements; alteration approvals; maintenance agreements; removal and restoration clauses, subject to applicable law. |
Who maintains it—and who pays?
Under section 718.113(1), common-element maintenance is the association’s responsibility, subject to the declaration’s provisions for limited common elements. The declaration can allocate specified limited-common-element maintenance duties or expenses differently.
Do not assume that exclusive use means the owner pays for every repair. Conversely, do not assume the association pays for every finish, accessory, or improvement placed in the area.
Ask separate questions
- Classification: What is the area or component legally?
- Maintenance: Who must clean, maintain, repair, or replace it?
- Cost allocation: Who bears the expense under the applicable provisions?
- Damage or insurance: Does a casualty, negligence issue, or insurance rule change the analysis?
Document the basis for significant decisions. If the documents are unclear or the repair affects several units, obtain legal and technical guidance.
Exclusive use does not mean unrestricted alteration
Before an owner encloses a porch, expands a patio, installs a fixture, or changes a parking arrangement, identify the property category and the required approvals. A building permit does not replace condominium approval.
Section 718.113 governs material alterations and substantial additions. The applicable governing-document procedure matters; subject to statutory exceptions, if the declaration specifies no procedure, the default for a single-condominium association is approval by 75% of its total voting interests before work begins. For common elements in a multicondominium association, the default applies to each affected condominium. Confirm the applicable subsection and any special statutory rule for the project.
Changing ownership boundaries or allocating exclusive use can involve separate declaration-amendment and consent requirements. An ordinary board permission letter may not be enough. Have counsel distinguish an alteration approval from a change in property rights.
Do not treat a former owner’s verbal permission or a long-standing practice as proof that a change was properly authorized.
Government permitsAuthority & scope of rulesCan the association regulate use?
The association may have authority to adopt reasonable rules within the law and governing documents. Rules can address safety, access, storage, and conduct, but should not casually change ownership or recorded exclusive-use rights.
For example, keeping a common walkway clear is different from permanently assigning it to a unit. Distinguish day-to-day administration from a change requiring an amendment or owner approval.
Owners should respect access needed for authorized maintenance. Boards should follow applicable access procedures and avoid unnecessary interference with a resident’s use.
Shared rights work best with clear boundaries.
A practical document-checking process
- Identify the exact area. Use a photo, plan, or description that distinguishes the component involved.
- Read the recorded declaration. Locate unit boundaries and definitions of common and limited common elements.
- Check exhibits and amendments. Look for plans, assignments, restrictions, and later recorded changes.
- Find maintenance and expense clauses. Read cleaning, maintenance, repair, replacement, removal, and restoration provisions separately. Do not stop after finding the ownership definition.
- Write down the proposed allocation. For each component, identify who arranges the work, who pays, and the exact declaration section or other authority supporting that conclusion. Mark unresolved issues instead of assigning them by habit.
- Review the proposed action. Is it maintenance, an alteration, a new exclusive-use arrangement, or a change in property rights?
- Obtain needed advice and approvals. Ask the manager for the current recorded documents and counsel to resolve ambiguity or conflicting provisions. Use qualified technical advice to identify the component and work needed. Obtain required approval before an alteration, and preserve the decision and supporting clauses.
Keep a responsibility chart for frequently disputed components, with references to the actual document clauses. Have it reviewed before relying on it, and update it after amendments.
Questions worth resolving early
- Is a patio legally reserved for this unit, or merely used by its resident?
- Is a numbered parking space an assignment or a recorded exclusive-use right?
- Who repairs a shared pipe that passes through a unit?
- Who maintains an owner-installed improvement on common property?
- Does a Village-wide agreement place responsibility with another entity?
Resolving these questions before work begins can prevent duplicate expenses, unauthorized changes, and conflict between neighbors.
Back to Property & SafetyWater damageBuilding maintenanceSources & guidance
- Florida Statutes 718.103—definitions
- Florida Statutes 718.108—common elements
- Florida Statutes 718.113—maintenance and alterations
Practical examples and declaration checklist updated October 16, 2026; statutory references reviewed for this update. Originally prepared October 10, 2026, for Century Village West Palm Beach. General education; examples are conditional. The association’s recorded documents and applicable law control. Obtain legal advice for disputed classifications, expenses, or changes in rights.
Record the basis for each responsibility decision
Use a component-by-component worksheet: exact item, legal classification, declaration section and amendment, person arranging work, expense allocation, access, alteration approval, and unresolved questions. Have counsel review disputed interpretations.
- Attach the relevant plan or photograph without treating it as a substitute for recorded boundaries.
- Separate original components from later owner improvements.
- Record whether the decision concerns routine maintenance, casualty repair, or an alteration.
- Update the reference chart after amendments or a clarified interpretation.
Provide owners an understandable explanation with the supporting provision. UCO or WPRF arrangements may concern separate property and contractual duties; village-wide use alone does not classify an association component.
Common Areas and Elements
Understanding shared property helps boards and owners ask better questions about use, upkeep, and proposed changes. Use this BrainyBoard program as a discussion resource while considering unit boundaries, common elements, limited common elements, and the recorded documents that describe them. Keep ownership, exclusive-use rights, maintenance, repair costs, and alteration authority as separate questions rather than assuming one answer settles them all.
Common Areas and ElementsWatch on BrainyBoard ↗This program opens on BrainyBoard. Access is subject to the provider’s current sign-in and viewing requirements.
Education, not an individual decision. This externally hosted program is offered as a discussion resource; its contents have not been independently verified for this webpart. Program information may reflect requirements or practices in effect when recorded and may address association types with different rules. Have qualified Florida counsel review the declaration, exhibits, amendments, and actual property before classifying a disputed area or determining rights and responsibilities. Obtain appropriate technical and insurance advice where needed. This webpart does not determine ownership, authorize exclusive use or alterations, or allocate a particular repair bill. Viewing the program does not by itself establish required director education credit. An embedded video does not establish official UCO or WPRF policy.
Identify the property. Read the documents. Clarify responsibilities.
Limited Common Areas and Elements
Limited common elements raise questions about property reserved for the use of particular units and how its upkeep is handled. Use this BrainyBoard program as a discussion resource while considering the declaration, exhibits, and amendments that identify the area and its associated rights. Keep exclusive use, maintenance duties, repair costs, insurance, and alteration approval separate; exclusive use alone should not be treated as the answer to every question.
Limited Common Areas and ElementsWatch on BrainyBoard ↗This program opens on BrainyBoard. Access is subject to the provider’s current sign-in and viewing requirements.
Education, not an individual decision. This externally hosted program is offered as a discussion resource; its contents have not been independently verified for this webpart. Program information may reflect requirements or practices in effect when recorded and may address association types with different rules. Have qualified Florida counsel review the declaration, exhibits, amendments, and actual property before classifying a disputed area or determining rights and responsibilities. Obtain appropriate technical and insurance advice where needed. This webpart does not determine ownership, authorize exclusive use or alterations, or allocate a particular repair bill. Viewing the program does not by itself establish required director education credit. An embedded video does not establish official UCO or WPRF policy.
Clarify use rights. Confirm responsibilities. Document approvals.
Connected maintenance and community resources
Authority matters: Florida law establishes statutory duties; governing documents define association authority subject to law; contractual duties come from applicable agreements. UCO procedures address separate UCO functions. The added registers and workflows are Board Synergy recommended practices, not prescribed statutory forms. Historical articles provide background rather than current legal instructions.