Evicting a tenant from a rental property is normally a straightforward process in the world of landlord-tenant law, but the when a condominium owner is delinquent in the payment of common charges, things get a bit more complicated.
The first step is for the Board of Managers to file a common charge lien against the delinquent owner’s unit. Thereafter, the lien can be foreclosed to secure payment. During the process, a receiver may be appointed to collect rent. Failure to pay at that point may be grounds for ejection of the owner from the unit.
In the event the unit is rented by the unit owner to a tenant and the tenant fails to pay, it will still be the owner’s responsibility to pay common charges. However, the owner would be in a position to commence eviction proceedings against the tenant. Some boards require that several months of common charges be placed in escrow as a prerequisite to the rental of the unit. This will avoid a scenario for the condominium where the owner claims common charges cannot be paid because a tenant is in default. If the tenant does not pay or breaks the condominium rules, there is surprisingly little the condo association can do as there is no privity of contract between the condominium and the tenant. .
The moral of the story is that in the world of condominiums: kicking people out, well, there might be a hiccup or two.
Sidransky, A.J. When It’s Time to Evict an Owner or Tenant From a Condo. (May, 2019). Retrieved from https://cooperator.com/article/when-its-time-to-evict-or-eject-a-owner-or-tenant-from-a-condo/full#cut