Devon Place, Woodfield: 49 homes under an unamended 1988 declaration

At OR 5556/1100, 29 pages, made by Woodfield Country Club, Ltd. on 7 December 1987. The Clerk indexes it as a deed, not as restrictions, and the developer's deeds cite only the master declaration and "The Plat of Devon Place" (OR 5614/1038, p. 1). It is made subject to the Master Declaration at OR 5037/1571 (OR 5556/1100, p. 1). It follows the Princeton Estates form so closely that its definition of the developer still names "Princeton Estates" (p. 1), which reads as a drafting slip. The Board preserved the declaration by a notice recorded on 16 November 2016, which gives the association's name as "Devon Place Homeowners Association, Inc.", without an apostrophe (OR 28710/1023, p. 1).

We found no amendment of record. A search of the association's name through 28 October 2026 found no amendment and no resale or capital contribution instrument recorded after 1988; its association-level filings are notices and two 2022 easements, and the rest are owner-level liens and releases.

No. It is a declaration of covenants over platted single-family lots. The 2024 approval certificate's reference to a "Declaration of Condominium of DEVON PLACE HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION" (OR 35093/1270, p. 3) is form wording that the recorded declaration does not support.

Approval by the association, then by the master. The Devon Place declaration itself sets no approval of sales and no right of first refusal, and we found no amendment, rule or resolution of record that adds one. 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 Devon Place whatever its own declaration says, and it is the only recorded source of the approval. A certificate recorded with a 2024 deed, signed by the President, shows it in use (OR 35093/1270, p. 3). The master's rule also needs its Certificate of Compliance, with the buyer's Club membership.

The declaration creates a working capital fund "in an amount equal to two (2) months of the annual assessment for each Lot", "collected from each Lot purchaser at the time of conveyance of the Lot to such purchaser" (Art. VIII § 10, OR 5556/1100, p. 19). It does not say in terms whether it applies to resales. No later instrument changes it, so the declaration's two-month fund remains the only contribution of record. Our working rule: the estoppel certificate must state whether the fund is charged on a resale and how much, and we collect what it states; if it is silent, we ask the association in writing before closing, because the declaration's text speaks of the purchaser from the developer and does not settle resales. The buyer also pays the master's working capital contribution.

The declaration sets no lease approval, term or frequency. It gives the Board power to make "reasonable rules and regulations governing the rights of Owners in connection with the leasing of residential units", including "restrictions on the frequency and term of any such leases" (Art. V § 1P, OR 5556/1100, p. 9). We ask the manager for any rules adopted under it. The master's leasing rules apply to every home.

The lien is effective from the recording of a claim of lien, and "No sale or other transfer shall relieve any property from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due" (Art. VIII §§ 12–13, OR 5556/1100, p. 20). Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 also governs a homeowners' association lien.

An amendment needs three-fourths of the members and the consent of the Master Association's Board, with the developer's joinder while it owns a lot (Art. X § 2, p. 25). Because none has been recorded, a leasing restriction added by amendment would be new; under Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h) it would bind only owners who take title after it or consent, apart from limits on leases under six months or more than three a year.