Construction Regulation on Common Element

Question

FS489 indicates that the purpose of said statute is the necessity to regulate the construction industry in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare. It provides exemption for owners to build on the owner property. In contrast this question is concerned with construction on condo common element (land in this case).

Assume that construction (improvement) is to be performed on the common elements of a condominium.

1. Is the common area "commercial" in a construction-regulatory context?
2. What regulation / statute prevents a condo owner from building an improvement on condo common elements that could endanger safety?

Assume that in 2. that no licensed contractors are involved?

Answer 1

This looks like a state occupational licensing statute, which is only a secondary way to regulate construction.

Normally, however, the primary regulation of construction of private property would be under building codes adopted by local municipal ordinances (and usually incorporating by reference several industry written Uniform Building Codes with local amendments). The building code would ordinarily require a permit, adherence to the building code, and inspection of the project before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Violation of these rules would be a municipal ordinance violation punishable by a fine and/or term of incarceration similar to that of a misdemeanor.

Typically, local governments would also have their own licensing requirements for the construction trades in addition to those of state government, although often incorporated it by reference by requiring a state contractor's license to get a permit in certain situations, although there might also be exemptions from the local licensing requirements.

So, whether or not work by condo owners on a common area is exempt from the state contractors licensing requirement, which is a hard question upon which there might not be much published legal authority, this doesn't imply that the work is exempt from local permitting requirements. Indeed, it almost surely isn't exempt from local permitting requirements.