What Is a Common Interest Community (CIC)?
When you buy a standard, standalone house in the country, you are the absolute king of your castle. You maintain your own lawn, fix your own roof, and answer to no one but the local zoning board.
However, when you buy into a Common Interest Community (CIC), you surrender some of that independence. A CIC is a real estate development where ownership is split into two distinct parts: you own your private home, but you also share mandatory, collective ownership of the neighborhood's public amenities (like the community pool, the private roads, or the clubhouse).
Types of Common Interest Communities
In Florida, CICs are incredibly common and generally fall into three distinct legal structures:
- Condominiums — You own the airspace inside your unit, but the massive Condo Association owns the physical building (the roof, the elevators, the exterior walls) and the land underneath it.
- Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) — You own your physical house and the exact dirt it sits on. The HOA owns the shared neighborhood amenities, like the guardhouse and the community park.
- Cooperatives (Co-ops) — You do not own real estate at all. A massive corporation owns the entire building, and you own shares of stock in that corporation, which grants you a proprietary lease to live in one of the apartments.
The Power of Assessments and Liens
The defining feature of any Common Interest Community is the legal power to levy assessments. Because the community must pay for the pool maintenance and the private road paving, every owner is legally required to pay monthly or annual dues.
If an owner refuses to pay, Florida law grants the CIC immense power. The association can place a massive lien on the owner's private home. If the owner continues to ignore the debt, the CIC can literally foreclose on the house, evicting the owner and selling the home at auction to recover the unpaid dues.
Related Terms
- Homeowners' Association — The governing body that enforces the rules of a standard CIC
- Condominium — The most heavily regulated type of CIC in Florida
- Assessments — The mandatory financial dues that fuel the community
Barnes Walker Community Association Law
Barnes Walker's association attorneys represent hundreds of Florida Common Interest Communities, assisting HOA and Condo boards in drafting governing documents, enforcing restrictive covenants, and aggressively pursuing foreclosure actions against delinquent owners to protect the community's financial health. Request a legal inquiry for assistance.
Reviewed by the attorneys at Barnes Walker, Goethe, Shea & Robinson, PLLC