Miami Condo Associations Are Charging Illegal Application Fees
If you’ve paid more than $150 to apply to live in a condo in Florida, you’ve been ripped off.
Miami Condo Listings with Illegal Application Fees. Courtesy of Miami Herald.
Last month I was reading the latest issue of ‘Florida Realtors’ magazine and I came across an article that informed Florida Realtors that condominium associations are not permitted to charge any transfer fee or application fee that exceeds $100 per applicant, (and that any husband, wife and child are always considered one applicant). Whether this fee is a transfer fee, an application fee, or a tenant screening fee; the maximum fee allowed by Florida state law is $150. This came as a complete surprise to me, considering I had assisted many clients with rentals and sales of condo properties in Miami in which the condo management fees ranged from $150 to $250. Almost every client that I have ever had has complained to me about these illegal application fees, but until reading the article in the ‘Florida Realtors’ magazine, I was completely unaware that any fee exceeding $150 was illegal.
I decided that something should be done about it.
I called the Florida Realtors Legal Hotline to clarify that these fees were illegal, and to get more information for my clients about what kind of recourse they would have to get their money back. The Florida Realtors Legal Hotline is an invaluable resource for Realtors that allows us to instantly speak to an attorney about various real estate topics. The attorney that assisted me informed me that, yes, any fee exceeding $100 is illegal, and that my clients have 4 options to get their money back and to report this illegal activity. Those 4 options are listed below.
I then reached out to the Miami Herald to see if they’d like to investigate this issue, and to help get the word out to consumers statewide. Real Estate reporter Nick Nehamas did an amazing job researching how widespread this illegal activity really is, and helped consumers statewide by publishing it on the cover of the Miami Herald on Friday, June 3, 2016:
“South Florida condo boards rip off consumers with high application fees” – Miami Herald
The Miami Herald (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article81430117.html) analyzed the current listings in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and found that in Miami-Dade county, 46% of the condominiums listed for rent or sale show that they require a fee of more than $150 per applicant. The issue here is that Realtors are the ones entering the fee into the MLS system; so they are exacerbating the problem by allowing the activity to continue, and by publishing it for their clients and other Realtors to see. In my opinion, Realtors should be highly aware that any application fee over $150 is illegal, and thus, they should never be entering any number higher than that into the MLS, and they should be reporting any condo that’s attempting to charge an excessive fee to their clients, and to the State of Florida. For those Realtors that are unaware that these fees are illegal, the MLS system itself should be set up to stop any Realtor from entering a number higher than $150 into the application fee field. This is an issue that myself, and some other Realtors, are taking up with the Miami Association of Realtors.
Clearly, this is a HUGE issue, and it’s going to take a LOT of work, by a lot of people, to resolve it. If Realtors are educated properly they can inform their clients to never pay illegal fees. If condo boards are educated properly they can change their policy on fees to comply with Florida State law.
“You’ve single-handedly changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Florida residents by exposing this”
– B. Hunt
The Miami Herald investigation found that Quantum on the Bay in Miami charges renters $625 to apply and move in.
If you’ve been the victim of illegal condo fees, do these 4 things:
Inform the condo board that the fee is illegal.
Consumers should inform condo associations that they are breaking the law. If you have already paid an illegal fee, you are entitled to a refund. Section 718.112(2)(i) of the Florida Statutes prohibits condos from charging more than $150 in transfer fees per person or married couple. That includes application fees, credit checks, background screenings, move-in fees, pet registration and other charges related to the sale or lease of a condo unit.
File a complaint with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.
If the association insists on charging more than what is allowed by law, you must file a written complaint with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/condos-timeshares-mobile-homes/
File a complaint with the Florida Attorney General.
The Florida Attorney General’s office accepts consumer complaints. Visit the following website for information: http://myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/Contact?OpenForm&Section=Consumer_Protection_Division
File a civil lawsuit, or join a class-action lawsuit.
Consumers can also file civil lawsuits against condo associations. After the publication of the article in the Miami Herald, many attorneys have begun investigating claims. One such attorney is Aaron Resnick, P.A.
