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The upscale condo complex, Casa Di Amici, now limits all sales of units to singles or married couples. Despite outrage that the new restrictions are discriminatory, a condo association lawyer argues the new guidelines are legal.
Condo refuses to sell to unmarried gay or heterosexual couples
A Florida condominium association won’t let unmarried couples purchase a home — after it released new restrictions this summer that barred couples “living in sin” from owning any property at the upscale complex.
And, despite public outcry, the new guidelines are legal.
The rules at the Venice condo complex, Casa Di Amici, state that any couple — whether they are gay or heterosexual — defined as being in a domestic partnership is not qualified to buy a home, WTSP-TV reported.
The condo complex refuses to sell units to couples ‘living in sin.’
Julia Nowak, a gay realtor who rents her Casa Di Amici condo to her parents, said she was outraged when she read the new stipulation in a document sent to her by the condo association.
“I could not believe what I was reading,” she told the news station. “It basically says you have to be either a single person or a husband and wife to purchase a unit here.”
Julia Nowak, a gay realtor who rents her Casa Di Amici condo to her parents, said she was outraged to learn about the new restrictions on buyers.
She said the new rule also excludes elderly couples who do not marry “to save on their social security.”
“To me, this is discriminatory,” said Mary Greenwood, an attorney with the Brandon Law Center.
Casa Di Amici, an upscale condo complex in Venice, Fla., now limits sales of units to only singles or married couples. Unmarried couples are not allowed to make a purchase.
But an attorney with the condo association argued that “there’s nothing illegal or contrary to federal, state or local ordinances.”
Gay marriage is banned in Florida, and only some of its counties recognize domestic partnerships.
Mary Greenwood, an attorney with the Brandon Law Center, said the new restrictions are discriminatory. But a lawyer with the condo complex argues that no laws are being broken.
The city of Venice does recognize domestic partnerships, but Nowak’s codo is actually in Sarasota County — which doesn’t have a human rights ordinance.
But Greenwood argued that the new restrictions actually hurt everyone involved, because it limits the number of potential buyers.
“When those owners are ready to sell,” she said. “They’re going to be limited to who they can sell to.”
