Use Of "Blanket Receivership" By Florida Condo Associations In Struggle To Stay Afloat Continues; Rent Skimming, Deadbeat Landlords Left Furious

In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:

• Each month, Judd Tyler, the president of his townhome association, discovers his community doesn't have enough money to pay all of its bills.(1) So the townhome board took action. It is among the first in the area to obtain a court order to force delinquent landlords to turn over rent payments to them. [...] The court order, signed late last month, grants what's called a blanket receivership. It requires many of the tenants to pay their rent to a court-approved, third-party receiver instead of the landlord. In fact, it's against the law for the landlord to collect rent until all past-due fees and legal costs are paid.

• The blanket receivership method is catching on, and at least 25 other associations in Florida are using them. Legal experts expect many more to follow suit. In some cases, associations are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. "When a good idea begins to work, others tend to follow," said Peter Dunbar, a Tallahassee lawyer and former Bay area legislator.

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• The blanket receivership method is spreading through the legal community, although it is unclear how many associations have asked for or received such an order. Ben Solomon, at attorney with Association Law Group in south Florida, said his firm came up with the new legal tool by "reinterpreting" existing statues. [...] With the blanket receivership method, a homeowner's association can file one petition to cover every unit with past-due assessments, as long as the association has already filed for foreclosure. "It's affordable for the condo association because one petition covers all the units that qualify," Solomon said. "Every time the association files another foreclosure, it's eligible for receivership."

• Solomon said his firm wasn't sure how judges would interpret their petitions and have been pleased so far. Landlords, however, are furious to learn about the court order. One even tried to have the decision overturned.

For more, see Some deadbeat landlords must forfeit rents to condo associations.

Go here for other stories on blanket receiverships.

(1) Reportedly, more than half of the 84 unit owners are stiffing their association out of the $300 monthly maintenance fee.