Start with the authority—not the application form
Buyer screening supports an association’s review of a proposed ownership transfer when its governing documents require approval. Occupant screening concerns the people who will reside in the unit, whether or not they own it.
Chapter 718 does not give every condominium board unlimited authority to reject buyers. Review your declaration and other governing documents for the transactions covered, information permitted, approval criteria, deadlines, exceptions, and any right of first refusal.
Recommended intake: ask whether the buyer plans to reside in the unit. Identify proposed residents where the applicable approval process requires that information. Whether ownership and occupancy can be addressed in one application, or require separate approvals, depends on the association’s governing documents, the transaction and applicable law; this page does not impose a universal screening duty.
What is unique about screening buyers?
| Issue | Buyer / ownership review | Occupant / residency review |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | Who is acquiring title, and does the proposed transfer meet applicable approval requirements? | Who will actually live in the unit, and does that occupancy meet applicable requirements? |
| Legal relationship | The owner holds title and has association obligations, including assessments. | A resident may be an owner, tenant, family member, or other authorized occupant. |
| Financial relevance | Ask counsel what financial information and criteria, if any, the association is authorized to use for this ownership transaction. | Ask counsel whether financial review is authorized and relevant to the proposed occupancy; do not assume a family occupant, tenant and purchaser can be evaluated under identical criteria. |
| Transaction paperwork | Sale contract or deed-transfer information, proposed title holders, and relevant trust or entity documents. | Lease or request for occupancy, proposed residents, owner authorization, and applicable term. |
| 55+ requirements | Identify whether the buyer will be a resident; ownership alone does not answer the occupancy question. | Verify the actual household’s age eligibility under applicable community and association requirements. |
| Timing & consequences | Review may affect a closing; track contractual and governing-document deadlines. | Review may affect move-in, a lease, or continued occupancy; track the applicable dates and procedures. |
Three common examples
- Buyer moving in: evaluate the required transfer approval and the proposed household’s occupancy together.
- Buyer purchasing for a parent: review the proposed owner and the parent’s residency as distinct matters. The parent’s age does not automatically resolve all transfer requirements.
- Buyer planning to rent: confirm whether renting is permitted before assuming the future tenant can be approved. Ownership approval is not blanket permission for future occupants or rentals.
One person can have both roles; one approval need not cover every role. State clearly what your decision approves.
How UCO fits into Century Village screening
UCO publishes separate applications for unit purchasers, deed transferees, and trustee successors, and for rental applicants and occupants. Its forms page directs applicants to the association for board signatures before submission to UCO.
The purchaser form dated June 24, 2025 requests identity and income documentation, proof of funds for cash purchases, sale or deed-transfer information, and details about title holders and proposed occupants. It states that approval is decided solely by the association’s board.
Use UCO’s current instructions for investigation processing and certificates. Follow the application-to-access overview and its tracking checklist to connect the separate stages. UCO’s investigation support does not replace the board’s responsibility to apply lawful association criteria.
Florida Statutes §718.112(2)(k) conditions association transfer fees on approval authority and authorization in the governing documents. Check the current statute and any applicable inflation adjustment rather than relying on an old dollar limit.
Download current UCO applicationsA practical buyer-screening process
Board Synergy recommended practice
Label each instruction by its source: Florida law, governing-document requirement, UCO procedure, contractual duty, or recommended practice. Track actual deadlines and their sources rather than using the proposed closing date as a substitute.
- Confirm what is being requested. Identify the transaction and proposed owners, ask about intended use and whether the buyer plans to reside there, and record relevant dates or claimed exceptions. Request proposed-resident information only where appropriate to the applicable, counsel-reviewed approval process.
- Provide a written checklist. Explain the materials, criteria, fees and submission instructions established through the association’s authorized, counsel-reviewed process before the review begins.
- Check completeness and consent. Use the proper UCO form and obtain required authorizations. Collect only information appropriate to the approved process.
- Review verified facts. Check identity matches and material discrepancies, and review financial or proposed-household information only to the extent authorized and relevant under the established process. Give applicants an appropriate opportunity to address errors.
- Follow the association’s decision procedure. Keep the manager’s administrative role and the board’s decision authority clear. Have counsel explain how board action, meeting requirements, and confidential information should be handled.
- Document and communicate the result. Specify the transfer or occupancy approved, complete applicable certificates, and coordinate with the closing parties. Consult counsel before denying, imposing conditions, or exercising a right of first refusal.
- Protect the file. Secure financial, identity, and background information. Keep required records without exposing sensitive applicant details in public minutes or informal email chains.
The board’s approval certificate, an estoppel certificate reporting financial information, and a government-issued building certificate of occupancy serve different purposes. A closing professional can identify which documents the transaction needs. See The Association’s Role in a Unit Sale, Certificate of Approval, and government Certificate of Occupancy.
Decisions should rest on lawful criteria
A mortgage approval is not association approval
A lender evaluates its own lending risk. A cash purchase also does not eliminate association review where required. Apply your own authorized criteria consistently.
There is no universal minimum credit score
A score alone does not explain a person’s circumstances or establish the association’s authority. Do not invent a threshold during an interview or treat retirement as an inability to pay.
Age rules concern actual occupancy
HOPA’s 55+ exemption concerns occupancy, intent, and age verification. It does not automatically require every title holder to be 55. Association documents may impose additional lawful requirements; confirm them before deciding.
Reports can contain errors
Verify identity and relevant details. An arrest is not a conviction, and a name match is not proof. Obtain legal guidance on criminal-history criteria and fair-housing implications.
Consumer reports and adverse action
Before obtaining or using credit or background reports, have counsel and the screening provider establish whether the proposed use is permissible, what authorizations apply, how reports may be handled, and what adverse-action or other notices may be required if a report influences a decision. Buyer transactions need their own review; tenant-screening guidance is not a complete buyer-approval policy. This page does not determine that a particular report use or negative decision meets legal requirements.
Apply fair-housing requirements, including reasonable accommodation duties, throughout the process. A “good fit” impression, personal dislike, or rumor is not an appropriate substitute for objective, lawful criteria.
Fair screening protects applicants and strengthens board decisions.
Before a denial or conditional approval
Board Synergy recommended practice
Prepare a focused record for counsel before communicating a consequential decision. A recommendation from a screening provider does not establish the association’s authority or replace its decision process.
| Review point | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Actual authority | Which controlling provision applies to this transaction, and does it authorize the proposed ground or condition? |
| Criteria and consistency | Were the criteria identified in advance and applied consistently? Is the board relying on a new threshold, assumption, or informal custom? |
| Report accuracy | Does the information match the correct person? What is disputed or incomplete, and what clarification has been received? |
| Protected rights | Are there fair-housing, accommodation, or other protected-rights questions needing professional review? |
| Consumer-report duties | Was the report obtained for a permissible purpose, and what notices or additional steps apply if it influences a negative decision? Counsel should confirm the buyer-specific process. |
| Decision and communication | Who must authorize the action, what process and deadlines apply, and what factual explanation and recipients are appropriate? |
Keep the supporting file controlled. Do not attach financial records, identity documents, or background reports to a public meeting packet. Ask counsel to coordinate required records, confidentiality, retention, and secure disposal; preserve relevant material if a dispute develops.
If a complaint, legal demand, or potential claim arrives, use the claim-response guide and the actual policy’s reporting requirements promptly.
Approval is a milestone, not the end of the file
- State the scope. Identify the approved transaction, title holders, unit and any lawfully authorized conditions, and include proposed residents where the applicable approval process calls for them. Keep purchase approval distinct from permission for future tenants or household changes.
- Review changed details. If the buyer, ownership structure, intended residents, transaction terms, or timing changes, ask which application, review, or certificate must be updated. Do not reuse executed paperwork for a different arrangement without confirmation.
- Coordinate the closing documents. Confirm with the closing professional any required approval, first-refusal document, estoppel, and title records. Investigation completion does not prove that closing occurred.
- Update records and explain next steps. Confirm the title transfer before changing the owner roster; maintain actual resident information, emergency contacts, and age verification separately using the records-maintenance checklist. Give residents the moving instructions and current ID/access requirements.
Track the responsible person, actual deadline, and completion evidence in the decision/action log and deadline register.
Official sources & further reading
- UCO Forms & Resources: current purchase and occupancy applications
- UCO purchaser / deed transferee / trustee successor form (June 2025 PDF)
- UCO rental applicant / occupant form (October 2025 PDF)
- Florida Condominium Act: including §718.112(2)(k)
- FTC consumer-report guidance for housing providers
- HUD Fair Housing overview, including housing for older persons
Resource and styling update October 16, 2026; original page October 11, 2026; intake and legal-scope qualifications revised October 18, 2026. Current UCO routing, transfer-fee provisions, and FTC housing-provider guidance were consulted. Dated application PDFs remain references; obtain the latest packet from UCO’s forms page. FTC tenant guidance does not by itself resolve buyer-transaction requirements. Independent educational guidance for Century Village West Palm Beach. Confirm current UCO instructions and obtain association-specific legal advice on authority, criteria, fees, deadlines, denials, and unusual title or occupancy arrangements.