Condo Association Approval and Your Florida Closing Date

Published October 9, 2026 · Recalde & Friedman, PLLC

Why approval matters

Many South Florida condominiums require the association to approve a buyer before the unit can be sold or leased. Florida law lets a declaration include covenants and restrictions on the use, occupancy and transfer of units (§ 718.104, Fla. Stat.(5)), so the approval requirement, the application and the timeline come from the building's own documents, not from a single statute. In practice, the approval can become the item that decides whether a closing happens on the scheduled date.

Consider a typical hypothetical. A buyer signs a contract with a closing date about 45 days out. The lender is ready, the title work is done, and the funds are wired. But the association's board meets only once a month, the application was submitted late, and the interview isn't scheduled until after the closing date. Everyone is ready except the one party that isn't part of the contract.

How the Condominium Rider handles it

Most residential condo sales in Florida use the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS or standard contract with the Condominium Rider (Rider A) attached. Paragraph 1 of the current rider, titled Condominium Association Approval, works like this:

• If the association's approval of the buyer is required, the contract is contingent on the buyer being approved no later than a set number of days before the Closing Date. If that blank is left empty, the rider fills in 5 days.
• Within 5 days after the Effective Date (if the blank is empty), the seller must start the approval process and give the buyer a copy of the current application, and the buyer must promptly apply. Both parties must sign the documents the association requires and use diligent effort to get approval, including personal appearances if the association requires them.
• If the buyer isn't approved within the stated time, the contract terminates and the buyer gets the deposit back.

Read the exact wording of the version you signed. Riders are revised periodically, and handwritten or typed changes to a rider control printed terms that conflict with them (AS IS contract, Standard R, Riders; Addenda; Typewritten or Handwritten Provisions).

Right of first refusal

Some declarations give the association or the members a right of first refusal. Paragraph 2 of the rider makes the contract contingent on that right being waived or not exercised. If the right is exercised, the contract terminates and the deposit is refunded. Ask the association early whether its documents include one, because the waiver is usually a separate document the closing agent will want.

What the association may charge

An association may not charge a fee in connection with a sale unless it is required to approve the transfer and the fee is provided for in the declaration, articles or bylaws. Any such fee is capped at $150 per applicant, adjusted every 5 years for inflation, with a married couple or a parent and dependent children counted as one applicant (§ 718.112, Fla. Stat.(2)(k)). The estoppel certificate is a separate item with its own fee rules (§ 718.116, Fla. Stat.(8)); see our condo estoppel guide. The statutory estoppel form also asks whether the association's rules require board approval of the transfer and whether the board has approved it.

A timeline that works

1. Day 1–5: Get the application package from the association or management company. Confirm how often the board meets, whether an interview is required, and whether approval runs through a master association as well.
2. First week: Submit a complete application. Incomplete applications are a common cause of delay: missing IDs, unsigned pages, background-check authorizations or vehicle and pet information.
3. Ongoing: Ask for written confirmation that the file is complete and when the board will act.
4. Before the rider's deadline: If approval is clearly going to be late, the parties should decide in writing whether to extend the closing date. An email saying "we'll wait" is risky, because modifications must be in writing and signed by the parties to be bound (Standard P, Integration; Modification).

Approval and the lender

Lenders often require the approval certificate, the association's questionnaire, and proof of master insurance before they fund. These are separate from the buyer approval, and each can add time. If the buyer is financing, 5(a) of the AS IS contract allows a short extension for federal Closing Disclosure timing only in specific circumstances, so don't count on it to cover association delays.

Approval is not a substitute for document review

Approval tells you the association will accept the buyer. It doesn't tell the buyer anything about the building's finances or condition. Florida requires sellers of resale units to give buyers specific association documents, now including the milestone inspection summary and structural integrity reserve study where applicable, and gives the buyer a review period (§ 718.503, Fla. Stat.(2)). Rider A tracks those disclosures. Buyers should read them during the review period, not after approval arrives.

For agents

• Flag the approval requirement in the listing and at contract so nobody is surprised.
• Fill in the rider's approval deadline with a realistic number based on the board's meeting schedule.
• Put the closing agent in copy on association communications so the approval certificate goes straight into the file.

Buying in a particular city? Our Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Aventura guides cover local condo issues, and the study guide chapter on condos and HOAs explains the basic structure.

Frequently asked questions