In short: Probably yes, if the covenants allow it. In Estoril v. Mayfield, the Third DCA reversed a summary judgment for a condo association. The master covenants let the office owner set garage rules and charge reasonable use fees, and nothing in them required a formal written rule. Whether years of billing set the fee was a question for trial.
The Facts
Espirito Santo Plaza in Miami is a mixed-use tower with hotel, residential condominium, and office components next to a parking garage. Master covenants recorded in 2003 gave Estoril, the owner of the office component, the power to set rules and regulations for shared facilities, including the garage, and to charge reasonable use fees. The covenants did not define “establish” or “rules and regulations.”
Condo owners began parking in the garage in 2005. Estoril billed the Mayfield Condominium Association every year. The charges appeared in association budgets and in documents given to buyers, and the association approved budgets that included them for 2005 through 2007. The association paid some years but not others, including 2005, 2007 through 2010, and part of 2011.
Estoril sued for breach of contract. The association argued that Estoril could not charge anything because it had never formally adopted a written rule setting the fee. The trial court agreed and entered judgment for the association.
The Decision
The Third District reversed. Nothing in the covenant language, or anywhere else in the master covenants, required a formal writing or a particular adoption procedure before a use fee could be charged. By requiring one, the trial court added a term the parties never wrote.
The court also held that reasonable people could draw different inferences from the covenant language and the parties’ history. Whether Estoril’s years of budgets, invoices, and course of dealing actually established a rule for the fee was a question of fact. Because doubts about material facts defeat summary judgment, the case went back to the trial court.
The Law
Recorded covenants and declarations are interpreted like contracts. Courts enforce the words the parties used and do not add conditions that are not there. Where the language is open to more than one reasonable reading, what the parties meant, and how they behaved under it, becomes a factual question. For condominiums, the declaration and related documents work alongside the Condominium Act, Chapter 718, including section 718.111 on association powers and section 718.112 on bylaws and budgets.
The case was decided under the old summary judgment standard, which treated any doubt about a material fact as fatal to the motion. Since May 1, 2021, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 follows the federal standard, which asks whether a reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party. The contract-reading holding does not depend on that standard.
Current law (2026): Decided under the pre-2021 summary judgment standard; Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510 now follows the federal Celotex standard (effective May 1, 2021). The contract-interpretation holding is unaffected.
Lessons
- Read the master covenants themselves. If they do not require a written rule or a vote, a court will not add that requirement.
- Budgets, invoices, and approved minutes can be evidence that a fee or rule was set, even without a formal adoption.
- Associations that approve budgets containing a charge for years will have a harder time saying the charge was never authorized.
- Mixed-use buildings often have a separate master document that controls shared parking, so check both the condo declaration and the master covenants.
Watch the Oral Argument
This is the recording of the actual oral argument, posted on the channel. What lawyers and judges say at argument is not the ruling; the decision is summarized above.
Mixed-Use Condo Parking Fees — Did the Office Owner 'Establish' a Rule Charging Residents? | Estoril v. Mayfield
Go Deeper
- Florida Condo Owners' Rights: Special Assessments, Records, and Disputes With the Association
- Florida's Summary Judgment Rule: How Rule 1.510 Ends Cases Without a Trial
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a condo association be charged for parking in a shared garage in Florida?
Yes, if the recorded documents allow it. In mixed-use buildings, master covenants often let one owner set rules and fees for shared facilities. In Estoril v. Mayfield, the covenants allowed reasonable use fees, and the Third DCA held the fee claim could go to trial even though no formal written rule existed.
Does a fee in a condo master covenant have to be adopted in writing?
Only if the covenants say so. The Third DCA held that a court cannot add a writing or adoption requirement the documents do not contain. Whether a rule was established through a course of conduct, such as years of budgets and invoices, can be a question of fact for the trial court.
Can past condo budgets prove an association agreed to a charge?
They can be evidence. In Estoril, the garage charges showed up in budgets the association approved and in documents given to buyers. The court treated that history as relevant to whether a fee rule had been established, which is why summary judgment for the association was reversed.
What happens after a Florida appeals court reverses summary judgment?
The case goes back to the trial court for further proceedings, usually discovery and a trial on the disputed facts. A reversal does not mean the appealing party wins outright. It means the dispute could not be decided without weighing evidence.
Talk to a Florida condominium and real estate lawyer
Weidner Law, P.A. handles Florida condominium and real estate disputes from St. Petersburg. If you need a real estate litigation lawyer, call (727) 954-8752 or email weidner@mattweidnerlaw.com.
Read the law yourself, free: every Florida statute and court rule is on floridarules.net.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it, watching the videos, or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.
