Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Michael Mayo
Published May 17, 2009
Reason No. 1,721,389 why I never want to live in a condo: The tale of Tony and Ida Pizzuti of Dania Beach.
Tony is 83, Ida 81. For the last 10 years, they have rented a two-bedroom unit at the Meadowbrook Lakes complex.
"Best tenants in the world," said Laurie Martin, the unit's owner.
But when the Pizzutis' lease expires at the end of June, the elderly couple might get the boot. Why?
A no-rental rule at the condo went into effect in 2004, a restriction that hasn't been previously enforced against the Pizzutis.
"They don't want to leave, and we don't want them to leave," said Martin. "I just want them to live the rest of their lives in peace."
Said Ida: "Laurie always says, 'This might be my apartment, but it's your home.' "
Whether it stays their home is now in the hands of attorneys, and the matter might end up in court.
Making things worse: The Pizzutis have a son dying of brain cancer in New Jersey, where they will spend the month of June.
"Like we don't have enough things to worry about, and now we have to worry about moving?" said Tony, a retired construction worker.
Condo association attorney Charles Otto said he is sympathetic to the Pizzutis' plight, but the condo has a right to enforce the no-rental rule when the lease expires.
The Pizzutis have rented the condo since 1999, when Martin and her husband moved to Hollywood. As the Pizzutis ate dinner in March, condo association president Rubens Onofrio knocked on their door.
"He told us that when our lease was up, we'd have to leave," Tony said.
"My father came back to the table looking like a ghost," said Maria Pizzuti, their daughter who lives in Hollywood. "At this point in their lives, relocating would be a big disruption."
On March 9, Onofrio sent a letter to Martin saying the Pizzutis would have "to vacate…by June 31 (sic), 2009," citing the July 2004 rental prohibition.
This was the same Onofrio who called the Pizzutis "an asset to our building" in an August 2004 letter approving a lease extension after the no-rental rule went into effect.
A month before the condo board passed the rental prohibition, the Pizzutis signed a five-year lease.
"Once they signed that lease, we couldn't put them out," said Onofrio, 83. "But now there can't be renters. We're not doing anything wrong."
Onofrio said the Pizzutis are the only renters in the 32-unit building.
In an April 27 letter to Martin, condo attorney Shaun Zaciewski wrote: "The association must enforce its documents across the board and prohibit all renting." He wrote that the association "previously allowed your tenants to stay out of courtesy."
Martin's attorney, Gerald Cowen, replied that the Pizzutis should be "grandfathered (in) by virtue of the association's acquiescence over the last four years."
Condo attorney Otto said he'd like to find a reasonable solution, but condo law doesn't allow unequal treatment and selective enforcement.
"If we let them stay, then other owners might complain if they're not allowed to rent," he said. "We don't want to open the door to other problems."
Common sense says the Pizzutis, who celebrate their 62nd anniversary today, should be allowed to stay in the place that's become home.
But in South Florida's crazy condo world, common sense always loses.
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