Lauderdale Lakes couple battles condo board

to keep their kids at home

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Kathleen Kernicky

Published July 13, 2007

 

LAUDERDALE LAKES - The certified letter was traumatizing. Public school teachers Christine and Nathan Clock had 10 days to find a new home for their two children or face legal action.

The Clocks were incredulous. Three years ago, the condo board at Hawaiian Gardens Phase 1 gave them written permission to live in the senior community. Christine was seven months pregnant at the time.

But last week came the letter from an officer of the Phase I association, citing a 1989 amendment to the condominium declaration banning children under 18 from permanent residence.

    

"Ten days? What are we supposed to do with them?" asked Christine Clock, 28, who bought the first-floor, two-bedroom apartment with her husband in 2004."To find a place in a safe neighborhood in our price range is hard enough. We don't have another option."

Dennis Cory, president of the Phase I association, would say only, "What you're talking about here are legal issues. On behalf of the board, we have no comment." He refused to identify the association's attorney.

The Clocks have filed a discrimination complaint with the Broward County Office of Equal Opportunity, saying the rule banning children has not been uniformly enforced.

"We acted in good faith," said Nathan Clock, 27. "They knew three years ago we had a child on the way. We spelled it out for everyone."

TROUBLE AT HOME?
Christine Clock, a resident of the Hawaiian Gardens Phase 1 senior community, plays with her children Jeremy, 1, and Brianna, 3, with grandmother, Janice Nuzzolillo, close by. The Clock's condo board says the children have to go
.

 

Bill Raphan, the state's assistant condominium ombudsman, said the office receives about one case a week involving disputes over minor children residing in over-55 communities. That number is likely to increase as younger people and families look for affordable housing in Florida communities that catered to seniors in the past, he said.

 

"You must read the rules and regulations and understand what you're buying," Raphan said. However, "to give somebody 10 days notice to get rid of a child … is a little absurd."

Attorney Gary Poliakoff, an expert in condominium law, agrees. "We're seeing that transformation taking place as the seniors pass away and young people move in, primarily because some of the older-community housing is more affordable. The heirs to the seniors are not really interested in moving in. They're selling these units off."

Often, when a condominium board starts enforcing such a rule, current residents are allowed to stay.

"It's on a case-by-case basis," Raphan said. "It will come back to the condominium documents. This is very muddy water here. An important issue here is, you can't selectively enforce this."

The Clocks moved from Connecticut into the 288-unit Phase I section of Hawaiian Gardens just east of Florida's Turnpike at Oakland Park Boulevardin 2001. They wanted to be close to Christine's parents, who live in the same building. The couple bought a one-bedroom unit first. They sold it and bought a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment for less than $100,000 when Christine became pregnant.

They received written permission to live there with their child "as long as they wish" from their building's five-member board, which at the time included both of Christine's parents.

"No one has ever complained about the kids," said Christine.

Living on teachers' salaries, with college loans to repay, the couple are worried they won't be able to find an affordable home or sell their condo.

In order to ban children under 18, senior communities must comply with federal and state law that requires a census showing at least one person 55 or older resides in at least 80 percent of the occupied units. Beyond those requirements, rules on who may stay and for how long vary according to a condominium's documents.

Blane Carneal, a Fort Lauderdale attorney not involved in the Clock case, said it is doubtful the association could force the children to leave with 10 days notice.

"I don't think any judge in the world would force them out in 10 days," he said. "You couldn't foreclose on a house in 10 days. You can't evict a tenant in 10 days."


Parents Given Ultimatum To Get Children Out Of Broward Condo (VIDEO)

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