Miami Beach Attorney
Attorney for Miami Beach Condo Owners, Buyers, and Families
Miami Beach is a city of condominium towers, apartment buildings, and single-family homes on barrier islands, and many of the legal questions its residents bring to a lawyer start with the building they live in. A condo purchase here means reading inspection summaries and reserve studies. A divorce often means deciding what happens to a unit facing a special assessment. A bankruptcy has to account for association dues that keep coming due. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. has handled Miami-Dade real estate, family law, and bankruptcy matters in English and Spanish for 30 years from an office at 7821 Coral Way. Call (305) 266-9584 or request a free consultation.
Buying or Selling a Condo in Miami Beach
Since the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South, just north of the Miami Beach city line in Surfside, Florida law treats older condo buildings differently. Under Fla. Stat. 553.899, a condominium or cooperative building three habitable stories or taller needs a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30, measured from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after. The statute lets the local building official require the first inspection at 25 years where conditions such as proximity to salt water justify it. Separately, the City of Miami Beach Building Department administers Miami-Dade County building recertification (County Code Section 8-11(f)), which applies at 30 years to most buildings other than single-family homes, duplexes, and minor buildings. Which deadline governs a particular building is a question for the Building Department, and it is worth asking before you sign.
Associations must also have a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) at least every 10 years for each building three habitable stories or higher (Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(g)), and for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserves for those structural items. On a resale, Fla. Stat. 718.503(2) entitles the buyer, at the seller’s expense, to the association documents, the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report when one applies, and the most recent SIRS or a statement that none has been completed. The contract must contain one of two statutory clauses about those documents, and a contract that does not conform is voidable at the buyer’s option before closing.
Two more rules matter at a Miami Beach closing. A buyer becomes jointly and severally liable with the seller for unpaid assessments that came due before title transferred (Fla. Stat. 718.116(1)(a)), and the association must issue an estoppel certificate within 10 business days of a request (Fla. Stat. 718.116(8)). Florida law does not require an attorney at the closing table, but having counsel read the milestone summary, the SIRS, and the estoppel before your inspection period ends is how a buyer learns about a pending special assessment before it becomes theirs. Read more about milestone inspections and SIRS, who pays a special assessment, and our real estate law services.
Courts, Filings, and Local Rules for Miami Beach Residents
Miami Beach cases belong to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The Miami-Dade Clerk’s Miami Beach District Court office at 1130 Washington Avenue lists county civil, small claims, and landlord-tenant matters among its services, although the Eleventh Circuit currently lists the Miami Beach branch courthouse as temporarily closed, so hearings are set at other court locations. Divorce, custody, and support cases go to the Family Division, whose judges sit at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 NW 1st Avenue in downtown Miami. Learn more about our family law services.
Landlords have a city-specific rule to know. According to the City of Miami Beach, rentals of less than six months and one day are prohibited in all single-family homes and in many multifamily buildings in certain zoning districts, and permitted rentals must show the City business tax receipt and resort tax numbers in every listing. Many condo declarations add their own leasing limits on top of that.
For owners facing debt, bankruptcy cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami division. Florida’s homestead exemption covers up to one-half acre inside a municipality such as Miami Beach, and condo assessments that come due after filing, while you still own the unit, are excepted from discharge (11 U.S.C. 523(a)(16)). See our bankruptcy law services.
Common Questions
Does Florida law require an attorney at a Miami Beach condo closing? No. A title company can close the sale. An attorney can review the contract, the milestone summary, the SIRS, and the estoppel certificate on your behalf.
Where is a Miami Beach divorce filed? In the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in downtown Miami. At least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing.
Contact Us
Whether you are reviewing a condo contract, dividing a unit in a divorce, or weighing bankruptcy against a special assessment, Attorney Alfonso can review your documents and explain your options in English or Spanish. Call (305) 266-9584 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
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