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Notice of Commencement issue

FloridaNotice of Commencement

There is a house in Lee County Florida owned by 2 Trusts. She is the Trustee of one Trust and me, my sister and her are Co-Trustees of the other Trust, but with a requirement of a majority vote of trustees to act. My step-mom signed a Notice of Commencement without consulting us and did so on behalf of both Trusts. Is that illegal?

1 reply

Jul 16, 2020
Generally, a Florida Notice of Commencement must be signed by "an owner" - so, when there are multiple owners, a co-owner should be able to sign the Notice of Commencement document. To be sure, Fla. Stat. § 713.01(23) defines "owner" as "a person who is the owner of any legal or equitable interest in real property, which interest can be sold by legal process, and who enters into a contract for the improvement of the real property." So again - a part owner should count as "an owner" for the purposes of signing a Notice of Commencement. Note, of course, the above is just a look at who can sign and submit a Notice of Commencement. That doesn't necessarily mean that the part owner has the right to undertake an improvement on the property - that'd be an entirely separate issue. For help evaluating the trust documents and navigating this complex issue of Florida property law, it'd be useful to consult a local Florida construction lawyer. You can begin that search here: Find a Florida Construction Lawyer. For further discussion on Florida Notices of Commencement: Florida Notice of Commencement FAQs & Guide.
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