Do I Really Have To Turn Over A Copy Of The Key To My Castle?

For anyone who lives in a condominium you know that there are certain trade offs that are made as compared to living in a single family home. For instance, you don’t have to mow your own grass, you don’t have to paint your own home, and you don’t have to maintain your own landscaping. But you do have to allow your condominium association into your unit and sometimes you even have to give them a copy of the key. Yes, the State of Florida requires that all condominium associations have the irrevocable right to access all condominium units. Recall that an association has a duty to protect the common elements of the condominium and preclude damage to owner’s units caused by the common elements. As such, the legislature has recognized this duty and codified the duty in Section 718.111(5), Florida Statutes. While an association’s right of access to the units is broad and not restricted to instances in which an emergency is presented, it comes into play whenever the association’s related functions of maintenance, repair, or replacement of property are implicated, and, although the statute does not require that each owner turn over a copy of the key to their unit, many condominium documents, rules and even simple board policies require owners to provide management with a copy of the key to their unit.

There have been numerous challenges to an association’s right to require that a copy of an owner’s key be turned over – all of which have been upheld even amid allegations from owners that they fear theft of their valuables or simply don’t trust their board members. Both the Division of Condominiums and Florida courts have found that an association’s right of access – which is provided for the protection of all unit owners – outweighs any concerns by owners that their valuables could be taken especially where precious minutes could be lost if the association had to find an owner or neighbor or resort to a locksmith for breaking down the door.

While access is allowed, it is not unlimited. Such access must be during reasonable hours, when necessary, for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of the common elements or any portion of a unit to be maintained by the association. In order to avoid the potential for unnecessarily upsetting residents, whenever it is practical or possible, condo association boards should provide notice to their residents of an upcoming inspection in order to allow the resident the opportunity to be present for the inspection. It is also good business practice to have more than one person enter the unit with the contractor. Failure to allow the association access to the unit, or even to turn over a copy of the key to the unit (if required by the association’s governing documents) could result in the association taking legal action against the resident.

Finally, for those associations that do maintain copies of keys to units, instituting safeguards to protect the keys by limiting the number of personnel who have access to the keys and/or who know where the keys are located, goes a long way in ensuring and gaining the trust of the residents.