Coventry, Woodfield: a two-quarter contribution and strict 2022 leasing rules

Yes, and then the master does. Coventry's own declaration and amendments set no sale approval and no right of first refusal. Since 22 March 2022, though, the master declaration has required that every sale, transfer or conveyance of a Woodfield lot, including a gift, devise or inheritance, be approved by the Neighborhood association within 30 days and then sent to the master for final approval, with a fee of at least $100 (Art. X § 19, OR 33401/264, pp. 29–30). That binds Coventry whatever its own documents say. Coventry adds one rule of its own: since 2022, "Commercial use of a Lot is prohibited and the purchase of a Lot for such purpose is prohibited" (Art. IX § 16, OR 33845/191, p. 2). The master's approval and Certificate of Compliance and Club membership are required as well.

Working capital of "two (2) quarters of the annual assessment ... collected from each Lot purchaser at the time of conveyance ..., including a resale of a Lot" (Art. VIII § 10, OR 32449/1879, p. 2). The 2021 amendment replaced three months, set in 2000 (OR 12150/1847, p. 4), which had replaced the original two months (OR 8602/2, p. 18). The 2021 amendment lists no exemption; its remaining pages are the acknowledgment and the master's consent (OR 32449/1879, pp. 3–4). The buyer also owes the master's working capital contribution.

Only narrowly. The 2022 amendment added a new Art. IX § 16 (OR 33845/191, pp. 2–4):

• Extended absence, with approval. "Lots may only be leased or rented during a period of extended absence of the Owner ... with the prior written approval of the Association." The association has 30 days to review.
• Two years' residence first. "Prior to a Lot being rented, its Owner and/or its Owner's immediate family shall be residents of the Lot as a single family unit, for a minimum of two (2) years" (p. 3).
• Term and number. "No rental or lease may be made for a period of less than six (6) consecutive months, nor greater than twelve (12) months. Lots may only be leased once during any twelve (12) month period and no extensions of any lease are permitted." And "A Lot may be rented only four (4) times in the eight (8) year period commencing upon the effective date of this amendment" (pp. 2–3).
• A contribution per lease. Two quarterly assessments, collected from the owner when each lease is approved, and again on a renewal (pp. 3–4).
• No transient occupancy "under any circumstances" (p. 4).

The amendment was recorded on 16 September 2022, after the 1 July 2021 cutoff in Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h). Its new rental limits bind owners who took title after it or who consented; the bar on leases shorter than six months binds everyone. Every buyer now takes title after it. The master's leasing rules apply on top.

The lien for assessments takes effect when a claim of lien is recorded (Art. VIII § 12, OR 8602/2), and § 13 subordinates it to an institutional first mortgage. Since 2000 the declaration is amended with the master's consent and "a majority of the members ... or upon the written consent of a majority" (Art. X § 2, OR 12150/1847, p. 7), down from two-thirds (OR 8602/2, p. 23).

Unconfirmed. Plat Two (Plat Book 77, Page 62) was recorded on 30 April 1996, after the 1995 declaration (OR 8602/2). We found no recorded supplement, joinder or annexation bringing it under that declaration. A name search for "COVENTRY AT WOODFIELD" across all dates turned up only instruments that go the other way: the 1996 and 1999 amendments remove land from the declaration, for The Landings (Plat Book 77, Page 64) and for Parcels A and B (OR 9118/255; OR 11061/1266). The 2000 amendment changes developer rights and annexes nothing (OR 12150/1847). On each Plat Two file the examiner checks the plat's dedication and the chain of title for the lot. Our working rule: the examiner treats a Plat Two lot as covered for approvals and estoppel, and raises an exception or seeks the underwriter's sign-off, because the record shows no instrument bringing Plat Two in or keeping it out.

• The Landings. The developer's 1996 First Amendment withdrew from Coventry land it meant to replat, "a portion of the plat of 'COVENTRY AT WOODFIELD COUNTRY CLUB' as recorded in Plat Book 74, page 24 through 29" (OR 9118/255, pp. 1, 7). The master association and Coventry joined in (pp. 5–6). The 1999 Second Amendment shows that this land became The Landings at Woodfield Country Club, Plat Book 77, Page 64, not Coventry Plat Two (OR 11061/1266, p. 6).
• The 1998 withdrawal. The Second Amendment, made by the master association in October 1998 and recorded in 1999, withdrew Parcels A (less the part replatted as The Landings) and B of the first plat, land "inadvertently made subject to the Declaration" (OR 11061/1266, pp. 1, 6). It changed no rule.
• Old folio numbers. Plat Two lots were later re-coded, so 1990s instruments may carry the first plat's folio (OR 9401/659).
• The old right of first refusal. Coventry is in the land the master's Third Supplemental Declaration added in 1994 (OR 8145/1577), which gave the developer a right of first refusal on a lot without a house. The 2010 restated master declaration struck it (OR 23721/1800, pp. 39–40), so it no longer applies.