The study was designed to examine the major complaint areas for condominiums throughout the state of Florida. Areas of concern for people involved in housing and housing policy include dissatisfactions of condominium residents with regard to condominium property amenities and the governing associations. The need to learn more about the types of condominium resident complaints has increased due to the large expansion of condominium living. / One outgrowth of condominium legislation in Florida was the creation of the Florida State Division of Land Sales and Condominiums, which was authorized October 1, 1975 to accept and process complaints from condominium owners throughout Florida. Florida currently is the only state with a consumer agency specializing in condominium complaints. The data for this study were condominium consumer complaints received by the Florida Division of Land Sales and Condominiums for October 1, 1975 through May 31, 1980. The total population of condominium related complaints (940) was examined. A descriptive analysis was utilized in conjunction with testing of three hypotheses for the purpose of distinguishing inter-relationships among selected variables related to the data. Probability levels for all hypotheses tested were set at the .05 level of significance. Chi square tests and simple analysis of variance were used to determine significant differences and relationships among the dependent and independent variables. The dependent variables were: type of complaint, processing time and disposition. The independent variables were: state region, complaint classification, tenure status, agent responsible for the problem, founded vs. unfounded complaints, disposition of complaints, and number of units in the condominium property. Tables showing actual and five month moving average data were presented to determine relationships among the number of complaints and condominium registrations during each of the five years studied. / When examining the variables, it was found that three-fourths of the complaints for the five years were received from male condominium residents and over three-fourths of the complainants owned their condominium units. The 24 types of complaints identified in the data were classified into four major groups including those concerning the developer, association, monetary concerns, and common elements. Complaint files averaged 2.2 complaints each. The four most frequent complaints named by Florida condominium residents were: document violations, improper assessments, warranties, and refunds of deposits. Using Chi square, complaint type was found to be significantly related to the following: central and southern regions of the state; developer and association as agents responsible for the problem; ownership of condominium units; male complainants; Administrative Action, Exceptionally Cleared, and Voluntary Compliance dispositions; 1-300 or 301-600 units within a condominium property; and founded division judgment. Using simple analysis of variance, it was determined that the average processing time differed significantly in each set of data grouped by the independent variables of disposition and year complaint was received. / Major categories of condominium consumer complaints were listed in previous studies. Five such complaints were found to be of concern in Florida: loss of deposits, management and maintenance contracts, facilities leases, increasing periodic assessments and restrictions upon future sale, lease, or rental of individual units. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 1031. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74409 |
| Contributors | DAVIDSON, MARY JANE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 118 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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