## Facts

- Sterling Village Condominium, Inc. managed a condominium whose officers and directors were unit owners.
- Edward and Anna Mae Breitenbach owned two condominium units that included screened porch enclosures.
- The Breitenbachs sought the association’s consent to replace the screens with glass jalousies; consent was denied.
- The Breitenbachs replaced the screens with glass jalousies anyway.
- The association sued for a mandatory injunction compelling removal of the jalousies and restoration of the original screened condition.
- Governing restrictions included a statute prohibiting material alterations or substantial additions to common elements except as provided in the declaration, and a declaration restricting changes to common elements and exterior portions of the building without prior association consent.

## Issues

1. Whether replacing screened porch enclosures with glass jalousies constitutes a “material alteration” or “substantial addition” to common elements or exterior portions of the building under the governing statute and condominium declaration.
2. Whether the unit owners were required to obtain association consent before making that change.

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the trial court’s denial of the mandatory injunction.
- The court held that substituting glass jalousies for screens was a material and substantial alteration affecting the building’s function, use, and appearance.
- Because the alteration was material/substantial, it required compliance with the statute and the declaration’s consent procedures.

## Legal Principles

- Condominium unit owners are bound by the recorded declaration’s restrictions and approval requirements upon purchase.
- Under Florida condominium law, a material alteration or substantial addition to common elements (and declaration-controlled exterior portions) may not be made except as authorized by the declaration.
- An alteration is “material” when it appreciably changes the function, use, or appearance of the common elements or exterior portions; converting a screened porch into an all-weather glass enclosure qualifies.
- Trial court characterizations of changes as insubstantial may be overturned when the record shows an appreciable functional or visual change, including where expert testimony supports materiality.

## Conclusion

The appellate court ruled that replacing screened porch enclosures with glass jalousies was a material, substantial alteration governed by condominium statutory and declaration restrictions, and therefore required association consent; the denial of injunctive relief was reversed.


Sterling Village Condominium, Inc. v. Breitenbach, 251 So. 2d 685 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 1971)