The most expensive part of a penthouse is often the part you may not own. Almost nobody asks which arrangement governs it.
This page explains the three arrangements. Which one applies to a specific residence is answered in the declaration of condominium, and the desk will pull it. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
Deeded. The outdoor area is part of the unit as described in the declaration. You own it, subject to the rules. This is the strongest position and it is less common than buyers assume.
Limited common element. The area is common property with exclusive use assigned to your unit. You have the exclusive right to use it. You do not own it, your ability to alter it is constrained, and responsibility for maintenance and repair is allocated by the declaration, which may put some of it on you and some on the association.
Licence or use right. A permission, sometimes revocable, sometimes tied to conditions. The weakest of the three.
These look identical in a brochure. They are not remotely identical when the roof beneath the pool fails.
A terrace on a mid level floor sits above another residence. A private rooftop sits on the building envelope itself, which is the system that keeps water out of the entire structure.
That means the association has a legitimate and permanent interest in what happens up there, regardless of what you own. Penetrations for a pool, a summer kitchen, planters, a pergola or a fire feature all pass through or bear on waterproofing that protects everyone below.
It also means the cost of failure is large and the question of who bears it is not academic. Remediating a roof beneath a pool is major work.
The declaration of condominium, and the specific article describing the unit boundaries and any limited common elements assigned to it. This is the governing document and it is definitive.
The maintenance and repair allocation for that area. Who repairs, who pays, and whether the split changes depending on cause.
The alteration provisions. What you may install, what needs approval, and from whom.
Whether the pool, if there is one, is inside the unit boundary or on common property. This is frequently different from what buyers assume.
For a preconstruction purchase, ask for the draft declaration. It exists, and being told it is not final is not the same as being told you cannot see it.
In most cases the arrangement is a limited common element and it is disclosed properly in documents nobody reads before signing.
The problem is rarely concealment. It is that the marketing says private rooftop terrace, the buyer hears mine, and the declaration says exclusive use of common property, and nobody reconciles the two until there is a dispute or an assessment.
Reading one article of one document ahead of time avoids most of that.
The article describing unit boundaries and limited common elements is a short read and it settles what you own, what you may build and who pays when the waterproofing fails. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will get that document for any residence you are considering and read the relevant article with you.
We hold no listings and we are not the developer. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will go through the specific buildings you are weighing, including the parts a sales gallery would rather skip. Where a question is legal, tax or structuring, we introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.