DVC is likely not obligated to return anything to the OKW owners with contracts expiring 2042 because the DVC resort will still be in existence there until 2057. Those owners with 2042 expiring contracts will be in the same position as any member who, by sale or otherwise, transfers ownership to someone else, and any dues already paid remain with the association.
Under the Florida laws that existed before 2022, there would be no question that DVC could, starting sometime before 2042, begin reducing reserves to be collected annually for the 2042 expiring Florida Resorts so that little or no reserves are left by January 2042. DVC could even just stop colleting such reserves in the last few years. Moroever, there would be no question that as to dues leftover on the expiration date, and not needed to pay any as yet unpaid bills for repairs done before the expiration date, the money would be returned to the still existing member/owners at the time of expiration.
The current unknown about those conclusions is a Florida law passed in 2022 relating to the structural integrity of condominium and cooperative buildings that are three stories or more high, which would include OKW and the WDW and VB DVC resorts actually expiring in 2042. A substantial portion of the changes are actually in the portion of the statutes that deals with the structural issues of buildings in general rather than just condominiums or cooperatives. A main applicable section is Fl Stats §553.899
The applicable 2022 changes to the law essentially provide that the associations for such condo and cooperative buildings must have structural integrity inspections done by engineers, who review the structural elements, such as, roofs, walls, and foundations, and determine what may be immediately needed and what will be needed in the future to assure structural integrity. The initial inspection must be done when a building is 30-years-old (which includes most of OKW and will soon include the DVC resorts that actually have a 2042 end date), and then inspected again every 10-years thereafter. Any building that was 30-years-old before December 2024, has until December 31, 2024 to complete the first such inspection.
The costs and estimated costs provided by the inspection for needed repairs or replacements must be charged through dues, payable over time until the repair or replacement is needed. Such dues are not to be used for unrelated matters, and the associations are prohibited from waiving owners’ obligations to pay such dues. Before 2022, associations, through member votes, could actually cease collecting such reserves and simply cover such future costs by special assessments when needed.
The new law mentions nothing as to what can be done when a condo deconversion is to occur, like the DVC resorts in 2042. However, because of the non-waiver provision, it seems one might conclude that DVC must continue to charge and collect the applicable reserves until 2042 based on actual estimates of future repairs even if those repairs are to occur after 2042, particularly because the 2042 date is always subject to the potential that DVD could extend it (like OKW). Moreover, there might even be a question of whether members can get back any dues after the 2042 expiration occurs under an argument that the amount was collected to assure the building did not become a major problem in the future and any such amounts are required to be devoted to future repairs of the building rather than being returned to the owners.
)
