Florida condo tragedy a major test of viability of condominium ownership regime

Professor Jack Lynch believes the law is outdated when it comes to condominium ownership and its obligations.

This tragic occurrence in Florida tests the viability of the condominium ownership regime in a way in which it has never been tested in the roughly 50 years of its existence. There are no financial resources from association or director liability, or insurance proceeds, that can compensate for the catastrophic losses that residents have suffered, and likely very few have their own insurance policies that cover their losses. 

Likewise, before this loss occurred it is likely that the residents were not in a position to afford the repairs to prevent the collapse of the building. There is a disparity in the  tax laws that adversely affects condominium owners versus private landlords who might own similar buildings. A landlord is reimbursed for his or her investment in an apartment building through depreciation and interest deductions. The owner of an apartment is not, at least until he or she sells the apartment and can add the cost of some improvements to the cost of the apartment.

A private landowner who owned a building in the condition of the Champlain Towers South would have been returned his or her investment through tax deductions and might well want simply to tear it down, perhaps build another building and start all over again. That is not really an option with a building full of homeowners.  

The law has not really caught up with the economics of a bunch of people owning a building without the tax benefits a landlord would have.

Biography :
John (Jack) Lynch joined the law faculty in 1978. Prior to that, he was a staff attorney at University Legal Services in Washington, D.C. and served two years as a teaching fellow at the National Law Center of the George Washington University.

He has published articles in the Akron, Baltimore, Duquesne, and Nebraska law reviews. He also has co-authored a treatise on Maryland civil procedure, Modern Maryland Civil Procedure (1993), and is the co-author of Art of Advocacy: Jury Instructions (1989). He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.