Lawsuit alleges illegal condo fees at Quantum on the Bay

A Quantum on the Bay resident is suing the building’s condo association over what he claims are illegal condo fees.

August Lasseter filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on Friday over fees totaling $625 when he signed a lease last year at the Edgewater towers, 1900 North Bayshore Drive in Miami, the Miami Herald reported. State law prohibits condo associations from charging more than $100 per applicant connected to a sale, mortgage, lease, sublease or other transfer of a unit.

The more than $600 breaks down as follows: $100 for a background check, $175 for “administrative review,” $125 for registration and $225 for move-in, Lasseter claims in the lawsuit. He’s seeking damages and restitution from Quantum on the Bay for himself and others who join him, and is asking the association to stop charging more than $100.

A Herald investigation from earlier this year found that condo boards across Miami charge more than the $100 allowed via state law. The class-action lawsuit is the first of several planned against condo associations in the state, according to the newspaper.

“We’ve identified condo associations from Tallahassee to Jacksonville and Orlando to Tampa, but Miami is the most prevalent,” Attorney Aaron Resnick, who’s working on the suit, told the Miami Herald. “And we’ve found it’s not just the expensive condos that are doing this, it’s across the board. The wrong is the same, but the impact is even greater [on poorer residents].”

Rents at Quantum on the Bay range from $1,500 to $4,250. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis