If your association is taking your assessments but letting the building rot — the parking lot, the exterior, the elevators, the common areas — Florida law makes them legally responsible. We force them to fix it, or pay for the damage they caused by not.
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Plain-English read on whether you have a case. We respond within one business day.
You pay your assessments. They don't do their job.
You're not crazy. The hallway carpet has been stained since 2022. The pool deck cracked last hurricane season. The parking-lot lines are ghosts. The exterior hasn't been painted in a decade.
You email the association. You get a polite reply that says they're "looking into it" or "waiting on bids" or "scheduling a board discussion." Then your monthly assessment goes up.
Then they propose a special assessment for additional work — work that should have been part of the maintenance you've already been paying for, for years. Meanwhile your unit's value drops with every prospective buyer who walks past the peeling building and decides to keep looking.
You're not a difficult owner. You're paying a contract — and they're not delivering. That's a legal problem, not a board-meeting problem.Associations move when the cost of not moving exceeds the cost of moving. Your emails don't change that math. A demand letter from a property-litigation firm does.
Is this you?Common maintenance failures we help condo owners hold their association accountable for.
Florida Statute 718.111(11) and your declaration spell out what the association is on the hook for. When any of these go ignored for months — while your fees keep going up — you have a case.
Structural & Building Envelope
- Roof leaks the association won't repair
- Crumbling balconies, seawalls, or foundation issues
- Stucco cracks & water infiltration
- Windows or doors they won't maintain
Common Interiors
- Stained hallway carpet
- Elevators out for weeks
- Mold & peeling paint in shared spaces
Amenities
- Pool empty or green
- Gym, clubhouse, or courts closed indefinitely
- Unsafe pool decks or amenity surfaces
Grounds & Exterior
- Faded parking-lot lines & potholes
- Peeling exterior paint, overgrown landscaping
- Drainage, broken gates & lighting
Safety & Code
- Fire alarms or sprinklers out of compliance
- Inadequate lighting, code violations ignored
- Security cameras or gate systems left broken
Financial & Procedural
- Special assessments for work that never happens
- Records refused under FL Stat 718.111(12)
- Drained reserves, selective rule enforcement
Don't see your issue? Call us anyway.
If your association is taking your fees and failing on the contract, there's usually a remedy — even if it doesn't fit neatly above. (727) 777-7450
The mechanismHere's how we make them maintain.
Florida condo associations have a statutory duty to maintain common elements under FL Stat 718.111(11) and the obligations laid out in your declaration. When they fail, owners have real remedies. Most never use them — because most don't know they have them. Here's what filing a Krapf Legal case actually does:
1We pull the documents that prove they're failing.
The declaration. The bylaws. The maintenance contracts. The board meeting minutes. The reserve study. Engineer reports. About 80% of associations have already documented — in writing, on the record — that the maintenance is overdue or underfunded. We find it.
2We send a formal demand under FL Stat 718.303.
This is when the conversation changes. Once the association's insurance carrier and the board's D&O coverage are on notice that they're facing personal liability for breach of fiduciary duty, the board's incentives flip overnight. Most associations call a special meeting within two weeks.
3We file suit if they still don't move.
The remedies on the table are real: a court can compel them to do the maintenance (specific performance), refund improper assessments, pay your damages, and pay our attorney's fees. Most cases settle once the lawsuit is on file — because the cheapest thing the board can do is fix the building.
4Free case review. Honest answer.
Not every grievance is a winning case. The 10-minute case review is exactly that — we tell you in plain English whether you have one, what we think it's worth, and what it would take to win. If you don't have a case, we say so.
What you getWhat hiring Krapf Legal actually gets you.
The association stops ignoring you.
The day we file, your name comes off the board's "annoying owner" list and onto their attorney's desk. Different conversation, different urgency, different outcome.
A plain-English read on whether you have a case.
Not every grievance is a lawsuit. We tell you honestly — and sometimes the answer is "you don't have one yet, here's what to document next."
Statutory leverage owners don't know they have.
FL Stat 718.111(11), 718.303, and your declaration give you specific remedies — including attorney's-fee recovery if you win. We use them.
Specialists, not generalists.
We've handled property and condo disputes since 2016. We know how Florida's condo statute plays out in front of the judges who hear these cases.
A firm the associations' attorneys take seriously.
Grant is a 5× Super Lawyers Rising Star, admitted to U.S. District Court M.D. Fla. When opposing counsel sees our name on the complaint, the negotiation posture shifts.
Built for Florida condo owners.
Every case is in Florida. Every association is governed by FL Stat 718. Every county has its own court culture. We know how it actually plays out where you live.
Before you callThe five things people ask first.
"Aren't I just supposed to bring this up at the board meeting?"
You can. Most owners do. Most owners get nowhere — because the board has no statutory deadline to act and no personal liability for inaction, until you put one on them. A board meeting is a conversation. A demand letter from a property-litigation firm is a deadline."Will my neighbors hate me for suing the association?"
They'll hate the broken elevator and the peeling building more. In most cases we've handled, once one owner files, others quietly send their own emails asking how it's going. We've also represented multi-owner groups where the cost is split."Won't the association just raise my fees to pay for the lawsuit?"
The association's legal costs are typically covered by their D&O insurance carrier — not by special assessments. And under FL Stat 718.303, if you win, they pay your attorney's fees — not the other way around. That changes the math of who really wants to settle."How long does this take?"
Most cases resolve in 4–9 months. The association's insurance carrier almost always wants to settle rather than litigate, because the longer the case runs the bigger the exposure. The cases that actually go to trial are the ones where the board is personally dug in — rarer than you'd think."What if I'm wrong and the maintenance is being handled fine?"
Then we'll tell you. The free case review is exactly that — free, no obligation. We're not interested in filing losers. If your board is actually doing its job, we'll say so on the call.Your fees bought maintenance.
Time to collect.
Florida law gives condo owners specific rights against associations that don't maintain the property. Most owners never use them — because most don't know they have them. The longer the neglect continues, the more your unit's value erodes, and the more documentation you have to work with.
A free case review with Grant takes about ten minutes. He'll tell you whether you have a case, what we think it's worth, and what happens next.
Request My Free Case Review Call (727) 777-7450Free review · Confidential · No obligation
Grant W. Krapf
Founding Attorney · Krapf Legal
Super Lawyers Rising Star
FL Bar #72058
U.S. District Court M.D. Fla.
Grant Krapf was a featured guest on FLALAW Radio (iHeart). Krapf Legal's research on Florida property-damage trends has been cited as an authority by BELFOR (the world's largest property-restoration company), 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, and the JD Supra legal industry publication.
