Who can purchase first?
The documents might name the association, other owners, or another holder. Some provisions establish priorities among holders.
What does the term mean?
A right of first refusal, often called ROFR, generally gives a named holder an opportunity to purchase property on the terms of a proposed third-party sale before that sale proceeds.
The exact trigger, matching terms, notice requirements, deadlines, exceptions, and closing obligations depend on the provision creating the right. Do not assume every clause works the same way.
There is no single Century Village rule for every association.
Review the association’s recorded declaration, amendments, and related documents. A neighboring building’s practice or a historical model does not establish the rights that apply to your unit.
Three questions that should stay separate
Who administers the process?
The board may receive notices, circulate information, and document the outcome. Administrative responsibility does not necessarily make the association the holder.
Who approves the transfer?
Buyer or transfer approval is a separate authority that must also be found in the applicable documents and law.
Board Synergy Club · Identify the right before responding
Right of First Refusal versus Right of Approval
These terms describe different questions. A right of first refusal concerns a purchase opportunity under a defined clause. A right of approval concerns review of a proposed buyer, occupant, or transfer under applicable authority. Some documents connect the processes; others do not. Read the actual provisions together.
| Question | Right of first refusal | Right of approval |
|---|---|---|
| What is being decided? | Whether the named holder will exercise a contractual purchase opportunity on the required terms. | Whether the proposed transaction or person satisfies applicable approval requirements. |
| Who holds the right? | The holder identified by the creating document; verify any assignment or designation authority. | The party granted approval authority; identify who acts for it. |
| What starts review? | The clause’s specified notice and supporting transaction documents. | The applicable application, documents, and submission requirements. |
| What response is needed? | Counsel confirms exercise or waiver requirements, delivery, timing, and any purchase obligations. | Counsel confirms lawful criteria, procedure, decision, notice, and any consequences of denial or silence. |
Do not substitute one decision for the other. A waiver should not be treated as buyer or occupant approval without checking its wording and the governing provisions. A disapproval should not be treated as exercising a purchase right. Ask counsel whether either process requires a substitute purchaser or another linked step in the actual documents.
Document-review checklist
- Identify the actual right. Gather the recorded declaration, all relevant amendments, exhibits, and any separate instrument creating the right. Record the exact article, paragraph, and recording reference. Ask counsel to resolve missing documents, overlapping terms, or an unclear label.
- Identify the holder and administrator separately. Name the legal holder, any documented successor or assignee, and the person receiving submissions. A manager processing paperwork is not thereby the right-holder. Do not infer UCO, WPRF, association, or individual authority from historical practice.
- Identify the trigger and required package. Collect the signed contract, amendments, addenda, buyer identity, proposed occupants where required, and other specified material. Ask counsel whether the package triggers review and whether a later change requires renewed review.
- Confirm the response requirements. Have counsel identify applicable periods, triggering receipt, delivery recipients and methods, form, signature, conditions, and consequences of a missing or late response. Record facts without choosing a legal start date yourself.
- Identify the authorized decision-maker. Confirm which board, holder, owners, or other body must act, with what approvals and meeting process. Distinguish authority to decide from authority to sign and from authority to arrange funding.
- Preserve the result. Keep the submission, receipt evidence, advice reference, approvals, signed response, delivery proof, and unresolved conditions together. Have the closing professionals confirm the document they need.
Transaction review worksheet
Print or copy into a secure working file. This webpart does not save or submit information. Use separate entries when both rights apply.
| Review field | Document / facts / counsel-confirmed instruction |
|---|---|
| Unit / transaction / coordinator | [Unit, seller, buyer, transaction type, contact and backup] |
| Actual right and source | [ROFR, approval, both, or unresolved; exact recorded clause and amendments] |
| Holder / administrator / decision-maker | [Separate names and source of each role; assignment or delegation documents] |
| Triggering package and receipt | [Contract version, addenda, notices, required application, missing material, dates and delivery evidence] |
| Counsel referral and instructions | [Referral/acknowledgment date; advice reference; scope, timing, recipients, response form, and unresolved questions] |
| Required approvals and execution | [Decision body, approval record, authorized signer, funding or purchase steps if applicable] |
| Response and follow-up | [Exact document, date, recipient, delivery proof, conditions, changed terms, and responsible contact] |
Keep other transaction paperwork distinct
An estoppel, screening report, association approval certificate, waiver, and lender questionnaire serve different purposes. Ask counsel and the closing professional which documents are required and what each one actually states. A familiar form title does not establish authority or settle its legal effect.
No universal Century Village procedure. This checklist does not determine who holds a right for a particular association, whether a submission is complete, whether a buyer may be denied, or whether a right was validly exercised, waived, or expired. Have qualified Florida counsel review the actual documents and facts before a disputed decision or commitment.
Further reading: Jose Luis Baloyra, “Condominium Association Preemptive Rights Explained”, July 28, 2026. This is general commentary, not an interpretation of your association’s documents. Reviewed October 19, 2026.
Identify the right. Confirm the authority. Document the response.
How the process might work
This is an illustrative sequence, not a universal procedure:
- The seller submits the proposed transaction and required information.
- The administrator verifies the applicable clause, holder, and completeness of notice.
- Required notices go to the people entitled to receive them.
- The holder decides whether to exercise the right within the specified period.
- The outcome is documented in the manner the provision requires.
- The closing professional confirms the necessary documentation before closing.
Some provisions address changed terms, competing holders, exempt transfers, or failure to close. Review those issues before issuing a certificate.
A simple example
A seller accepts a proposed $100,000 sale. If the applicable clause gives another owner the right to match that transaction, the board may need to administer notice to the eligible owner. The board should not assume it can substitute the association as purchaser.
Matching the deal may involve more than price: financing, contingencies, deposits, timing, and other terms can matter. Counsel and the closing professional should review the actual contract.
Board review checklist
Board Synergy recommended practice The actual recorded provision and legal interpretation determine the requirement; this checklist organizes the review.
- What document and provision create the right?
- Who holds it, and is there an order of priority?
- Which transactions trigger it, and which are exempt?
- What information must be submitted?
- When does the response period begin?
- Who receives notice, by what method, and when?
- What constitutes valid exercise or waiver?
- What happens if price or terms change?
- Who may sign the required certificate?
- If the association is the purchaser, what approvals, funding, and conflict review are needed?
Keep a separate ROFR transaction record
Board Synergy recommended practice
Assign a coordinator, backup, and reviewer. A receipt log records facts; counsel should determine when a contractual response period begins and how it is calculated.
| Record | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Authority and holder | Recorded provision and amendments, property covered, actual holder, priority among holders, and authority of the administrator and signers. |
| Transaction and completeness | Contract and relevant terms, parties, triggering event, required submission materials, receipt date, and missing information. |
| Notices and deadline | Required recipients and delivery method, delivery evidence, counsel-confirmed start and due dates, and assigned follow-up. |
| Response and authorization | Exercise, waiver, expiration, or unresolved issue; actual supporting documents and any necessary board or owner action. |
| Changed terms and closing | Revised contract details, counsel’s advice on renewed notice or review, document delivered to the closing agent, and final outcome. |
If terms change or a deadline is close: send the revised transaction and chronology to counsel promptly. Do not assume a price change is the only material change, that silence always means waiver, or that an earlier certificate covers a revised deal.
If the association may purchase, obtain advice on authority, required approvals, funding, actual purchase obligations, and conflicts of interest before making a commitment. Administration alone does not authorize the board to waive another holder’s right.
Use the deadline register and decision/action log. Keep financial, personal, and privileged material in controlled files and give the closing professional the appropriate executed documentation.
Estoppel certificates ask separate questions
Florida Statutes §718.116(8) requires an estoppel certificate to state whether transfer approval is required and, if so, whether it has been given. Separately, it asks whether members or the association have a right of first refusal and whether that right has been exercised.
The statute’s questions do not create a right that the governing documents lack. Have counsel help establish accurate answers and certificate procedures for your association.
Read §718.116(8) →Keep recreation agreements distinct
A right affecting an individual unit sale is different from a right contained in a recreation, land, or other community agreement. If a document uses the same phrase, identify the property, parties, and transaction it addresses before applying it.
Do not assume a WPRF-related provision answers who holds a right over a condominium unit sale. Review each agreement on its own terms.
Common mistakes to avoid
Assuming authority
A board should not promise a purchase, waive someone else’s right, or refuse a transfer based on custom alone. Confirm the source of authority first.
Missing deadlines
Record receipt dates, notice evidence, responses, and contract changes. Use a written tracking process so a time-sensitive transaction does not depend on one volunteer’s memory.
Educational overview for Century Village condominium boards and owners. Resource and styling update October 16, 2026; original page October 3, 2026. The estoppel distinction was checked against §718.116(8). No particular association’s ROFR clause has been interpreted here. Obtain association counsel’s review of the recorded documents and proposed transaction before exercising, waiving, certifying, or disputing a right.