Akoya, Boca West: no sale approval, a 2023 leasing ban and an arsenic covenant

Nothing from Akoya beyond its estoppel. The declaration lets units be mortgaged "without restrictions" and sets no approval of buyers (Declaration § 19, OR 30483/1, p. 35). For each conveyance an officer signs a certificate of the assessments paid or owed. The seller asks for it on the association's request form, giving the buyer's name, notice address and closing date (§ 19.1). After closing the new owner delivers a copy of the deed to the association and its manager.

An Akoya resale is still not complete without the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer.

Akoya charges no resale contribution. Its working capital contribution, two months' assessments, was due only "at the time of the initial conveyance of the Unit from Developer" (§ 14.9, OR 30483/1, p. 26). The buyer pays the master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee, and the prorated Akoya assessment shown on the estoppel.

Each owner also pays for the unit's water leak-detection system. The 2023 amendment let the association install one in every unit at the owner's expense, with half the estimated cost due on 15 September 2023 (§ 7.4, OR 34515/850, pp. 6–8). Unpaid amounts are collectible like assessments, with a lien. We ask the estoppel to show any open leak-detection charge.

As a rule, no. Since 24 August 2023 the declaration reads: "No Owner shall be permitted to lease or rent his/her/its Unit for any purpose whatsoever" (§ 19.2.A, OR 34515/850, p. 12). The association may, but need not, grant an exception "for a Unit Owner with a documented hardship". The amendment does not define a hardship, and one exception does not bind the association to grant another.

A lease allowed by hardship follows the rest of § 19.2:

• Approval. The owner applies with the lease and the tenant's application. The fee is capped at $150 an applicant, and nothing is charged for a renewal with the same tenant (§ 19.2.B–C, p. 13).
• Term and number. At least 12 and at most 24 consecutive months, and no more than one lease, renewals included, in any 12 months (§ 19.2.E.3, p. 15).
• Grounds to refuse. Certain convictions, sex-offender status, unpaid charges on the unit, violations, and an incomplete application (§ 19.2.D, pp. 14–15).
• No short stays. Listing a unit on Airbnb, VRBO or similar sites is prohibited (§ 19.2.E.10, p. 18).
• Void without approval. A lease made without prior written approval "shall be void, and no interest in the Unit shall pass" (§ 19.2.F, p. 18).
• Long-stay guests. Anyone who stays more than 30 days in 12 months without the owner, and without paying, is a "Permanent Occupant" who must be screened and approved (§ 19.2.G, pp. 18–19).

Before 2023 an owner could lease for 90 days or more, up to twice in 12 months (§ 19.2, OR 30483/1, p. 35). A condominium amendment banning rentals, changing the rental term or limiting how often owners may rent binds only owners who consent to it and those who take title after it (§ 718.110(13)). Every Akoya buyer since 24 August 2023 is therefore bound by the ban. An institutional first mortgagee that takes a unit by foreclosure or deed in lieu is exempt from the lease-approval provisions (§ 19.2.H, p. 19). The master's leasing rules apply on top.

Akoya stands on the former Boca West Country Club golf-course maintenance area. Akoya Associates LLC recorded a Declaration of Interim Restrictive Covenant on 30 October 2018 (OR 30216/1573). Its recitals say "soil and groundwater at the Land have been found to have been impacted by arsenic". The site is under FDEP oversight as tracking number 275492 (p. 1). The covenant runs with the land and binds every later owner (§ 4, p. 2).

• Groundwater. "There shall be no use of the groundwater under the Land." No water drilling, and no wells other than monitoring wells (§ 2(a), p. 2). Dewatering needs a plan approved by FDEP or the South Florida Water Management District.
• Soil. Digging and building are allowed, but contaminated soil removed from the land must be disposed of under Chapter 62-780 of the Florida Administrative Code (§ 2(b)).
• The final covenant. FDEP is to approve a Final Restrictive Covenant naming it as grantee, which will replace this one (§§ 5, 7, pp. 2–3). It will require arsenic-affected soil to stay permanently covered by clean soil or impermeable material, under an inspection plan. It may also restrict dewatering, stormwater features and future use.
• Signed for the owners. Every owner, "by acceptance of the deed", irrevocably appoints the association attorney-in-fact to sign and record the final covenant (§ 7, p. 3). The association joined the instrument and "has no discretion" to refuse. Mortgagees whose liens follow the 2018 recording are deemed to consent.

Exhibit A puts the groundwater restriction over all of Parcel C, about 6.79 acres. Exhibit B describes three engineering-control areas, labelled "Arsenic Impacted Soil Placement Area" on its sketches (pp. 7–13). The declaration repeats the groundwater bar and the power of attorney (§ 18.9, OR 30483/1, pp. 34–35).

• We found no Final Restrictive Covenant, release or FDEP completion order of record. On each file we search for one, because it would replace the interim covenant and may add restrictions.
• The interim covenant is an exception on the title policy. It says nothing about present arsenic levels; FDEP holds that information.
• Phase 2, the third building's 39 units, was added by the developer's amendment of 18 June 2019 (OR 30688/1243). We check that the unit's building is in a phase of record.
• The buildings date from 2019, so their first milestone inspection under Fla. Stat. § 553.899 is due by 31 December 2049. The resale disclosures still apply (the condominium Villages).