Selling: the association's approval, and the right of first refusal

Sellers are told the board has to approve the buyer as though that were a feature of Florida condominium law. It is not. No association has an automatic right to approve anything — the power exists only where the recorded declaration, the articles or the bylaws create it, and the fee an association may charge is capped by statute and may not be charged at all unless the same documents provide for it. Which means the first question is not what the board will do. It is whether the board has the power at all.

Published September 9, 2026

This is the part of a Miami condominium sale that consumes calendar and surprises sellers, and most of what is said about it is said from memory of one building's practice. The statute is narrower than the folklore.

1. The power has to exist before it can be exercised

Section 718.112(2)(k) does not grant associations a right to approve sales or leases. What it does is regulate the fee, and it does so conditionally:

"An association may not charge a fee in connection with the sale, mortgage, lease, sublease, or other transfer of a unit unless the association is required to approve such transfer and a fee for such approval is provided for in the declaration, articles, or bylaws."

Read the conditions in order. A fee is permitted only if the association is required to approve the transfer, and only if a fee for that approval is provided for in the governing documents. Both have to be true. The approval power itself comes from the recorded documents, not from Chapter 718 — so the question "can the board block my sale" is answered by reading the declaration, not by asking the board.

This is the document to pull first, and it is public. The declaration is recorded in the Miami-Dade County Official Records. It says whether approval is required, whether a right of first refusal exists, and what the board may charge. Everything a seller is told about the board's powers can be checked against it, and occasionally it does not say what the management office believes it says.

2. What it may charge, and the arithmetic of "per applicant"

Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(k)

Maximum: $150 per applicant, and the fee may be preset
Who counts as one applicant: Spouses, or a parent or parents and any dependent children, are considered one applicant
When nothing may be charged: Where approval is not required, or where the governing documents do not provide for a fee
Adjustment: The statute requires the amount to be adjusted every five years by the increase in the Consumer Price Index

The family rule does real work. A married couple buying together is one applicant, not two, and a couple with dependent children is still one. An association billing per adult on the application is billing on a reading the statute does not support.

A gap this site could not close, stated rather than glossed. Like the estoppel certificate cap, this figure carries a five-year inflation adjustment. Unlike the estoppel caps — where the Department of Business and Professional Regulation publishes an adjusted schedule, currently $299 — no published adjusted figure for the transfer fee could be found on the department's condominium pages or in its FAQ as of the date on this page. So $150 is the amount in the statute, the adjustment mechanism exists in the same subsection, and whether a higher published figure is in force is a question for the division or an attorney rather than something to assert here.

3. The right of first refusal is a separate thing

Some declarations go further than approval and reserve a right of first refusal — the association may step into the buyer's place on the same terms. It is a different mechanism from approval, it is also purely a creature of the recorded documents, and it is rarely exercised.

What it does reliably is consume time. A right of first refusal has a notice period and a window in which the association must decide, and that window sits inside your contract dates whether or not anyone intends to use it.

4. The real risk is the calendar, not the refusal

Boards refusing qualified buyers is not the common failure. The common failure is a contract written as though the approval were a formality: an inspection period, a financing contingency and a closing date that leave no room for an application that has to be submitted, screened, scheduled for a meeting a board holds monthly, and returned in writing.

Find out when the board actually meets. An approval that requires a board vote is bounded by the meeting calendar, not by how fast anyone reads the file.
Get the application package before you have a buyer. What it asks for, what it costs, and how long the association says it takes.
Put the approval in the contract dates rather than assuming it fits between them.
Order the estoppel with the timeline in mind. It is effective for 30 days if delivered electronically or by hand, 35 by mail, so an early order on a long contingency means paying twice.

The estoppel certificate — $299, ten business days, and free if the association is late
Selling a Miami property — the document sequence and the closing costs
The same machinery on a lease — approval, screening and the association's own deposit
What the association insures — a question a buyer's lender will ask

What this page does not cover

It does not cover the limits on what a board may consider when it screens, which is federal and state fair housing law rather than Chapter 718, and it does not address a specific refusal — a board that has declined a buyer is a matter for an attorney with the declaration and the correspondence in front of them. Homeowner associations are Chapter 720 and cooperatives Chapter 719; both have their own transfer provisions and this page has read the condominium one.

Can a Florida condo association reject my buyer?

Only if the recorded declaration, articles or bylaws give it the power to approve transfers. Chapter 718 does not grant that power — Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(k) assumes it may exist and regulates the fee that goes with it, conditioning any fee on the association being required to approve the transfer. Whether your association has the power is answered by reading the declaration, which is recorded and public.

How much can a condo association charge to approve a sale?

No more than $150 per applicant, and only where the association is required to approve the transfer and a fee for that approval is provided for in the declaration, articles or bylaws. If either condition is missing, no fee may be charged in connection with the sale, mortgage, lease, sublease or other transfer at all.

Do my spouse and I count as two applicants?

No. For the purpose of calculating the fee, spouses, or a parent or parents and any dependent children, are considered one applicant. A couple buying together is one $150 applicant, not two, and adding dependent children does not change that.

Has the $150 transfer fee been adjusted for inflation?

The subsection requires adjustment every five years by the increase in the Consumer Price Index. As of the date on this page, no published adjusted figure for the transfer fee could be found on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's condominium pages or in its FAQ — which is a contrast with estoppel certificate fees, where the department does publish adjusted amounts. So $150 is the statutory figure and the adjustment mechanism exists; confirm the operative amount with the division or an attorney rather than relying on either number.

What is a right of first refusal in a condominium?

A provision in some declarations allowing the association to purchase the unit on the same terms as the buyer, rather than approve the sale. It is separate from an approval right, it exists only where the recorded documents create it, and it is rarely exercised — but it carries a notice period and a decision window that sit inside the contract dates whether or not it is used.

How long does association approval take?

There is no single statutory answer, because it depends on the declaration and on the board's meeting calendar. Where approval requires a board vote, the timeline is bounded by how often the board meets rather than by how quickly the application is read. Get the application package and the meeting schedule before you have a buyer, and write the approval into the contract dates rather than assuming it fits between them.

Send the building before you set the contract dates. Whether the board approves, whether a right of first refusal exists, what the application asks for and how often the board meets are all knowable in advance — from the recorded declaration and the association's own package. Stefania will come back with what that specific building's documents actually say, so the timeline in your contract is built on the record rather than on an assumption.

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Where a rule changed, the date it changed is stated.

Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(k) — Bylaws; fees on transfer of a unitThe Florida Senateretrieved September 9, 2026
Estoppel certificate fees — the adjusted amounts DBPR does publishFlorida Department of Business and Professional Regulationretrieved September 9, 2026
Division of Condominiums — frequently asked questionsFlorida Department of Business and Professional Regulationretrieved September 9, 2026

Work with Stefania

Question about a specific building?

Send the building or the unit and Stefania will come back with the real numbers — the fee, the reserve position, and what comparable units actually traded at.