Q. Somewhere in the statutes it says that in a condominium building management has the right to enter a residence in the event of an emergency. It affords this right on the basis that it is necessary to prevent further damage to the residence, adjoining residences and/or community property. Which statute is that, please?
A. Maintaining the privacy of owners in an association is always important, but exceptions to the rule of privacy do exist within the statutes. Florida Statute section 718 addresses the issue of an association’s right to enter a unit and clearly delineate when the association may enter a unit “uninvited”
The statute does not use the word, “emergency,” but the words, “as necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to a unit or units.” Not all reasons to enter a unit arise from an emergency. In other words, the statute does not limit the association from entering a unit based upon a perceived emergency.