Jacksonville mother wants Miya’s law to include condos

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As of July 1, apartment complexes in Florida are required to do background checks on all employees. All tenants will get a 24 hour notice before maintenance worker enters their home. his is all because of Miya’s law, which was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. 

Miya Marciano was a college student who was killed in her Orlando apartment by a maintenance worker, September 2021. A Jacksonville mother said the law would be better if it applied to condominiums too. It all started when Barbara Shipp’s daughter told her a maintenance worker showed up in her apartment unannounced. After that encounter, her daughter will move to a condo, which Shipp owns. She wants her daughter to have privacy, but she is hesitant to give an extra key to the condo association. 

“I don’t know if I feel comfortable and safe for my daughter to be in the premises knowing that somebody else who we don’t know, even if there’s a criminal check, just having access,” Shipp said. 

The condo Shipp’s daughter is moving requires a key for emergencies. To the Jacksonville mother, people who need an extra key should belong to designated emergency contacts. She mentioned how she was never asked to provide an extra key based on her past experiences living in condos in New York and Michigan. First Coast News reached out to The Reserve at James Island, where Shipp owns a condo. The property manager said the condo association has a “right of access to the units.” FCN then acquired a copy of the declaration from the manager. Section 7.5 “Right of Access to Units” reads in part, “Each owner shall provide the association or the management company designated by the association current key to the unit.” 

“The section just basically tells me I give you permission to enter my property,” Shipp responded. 

However, Zach Roth who is a board certified real estate attorney, said Miya’s Law would not apply to condos. He also read The Reserve’s declaration. 

“That is a clear right under the statute that the condo association has under chapter 718,” Roth explained.  

To Roth, Miya’s Law doesn’t impact condos because the language in the law uses “transient and non-transient apartments.” He explained how there are Florida statutes that transients is defined as ‘intending to be temporary’. Non-transient means ‘intending to be permanent.’ The attorney said it is possible law makers could make amendments to the law, but Shipp’s argument could be tough to prove to a judge.

“There’s a question of rather that would be enforced in court,” Roth explained. “I’m not aware that a judge has ever made that determination.” 

Shipp might have to provide the condo association the extra key. She mentioned how she could lose out on amenities such as: access to the clubhouse and pool. Shipp said there is no reason why someone should have a key to one’s home unless tenant knows and trusts them.