Florida Statutes 721.075 – Incidental benefits
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Incidental benefits shall be offered only as provided in this section.
(1) Accommodations, facilities, products, services, discounts, or other benefits which satisfy the requirements of this subsection are subject to this section and exempt from the other provisions of this chapter which would otherwise apply to such accommodations or facilities if and only if:
(a) The use of or participation in the incidental benefit by the prospective purchaser is completely voluntary, and payment of any fee or other cost associated with the incidental benefit is required only upon such use or participation.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 721.075
- Accommodation: means any apartment, condominium or cooperative unit, cabin, lodge, hotel or motel room, campground, cruise ship cabin, houseboat or other vessel, recreational or other motor vehicle, or any private or commercial structure which is real or personal property and designed for overnight occupancy by one or more individuals. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Common expenses: means :(a) Those expenses, fees, or taxes properly incurred for the maintenance, operation, and repair of the accommodations or facilities, or both, constituting the timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Component site: means a specific geographic site where a portion of the accommodations and facilities of the multisite timeshare plan are located. See Florida Statutes 721.52
- Conspicuous type: means :
(a) Type in upper and lower case letters two point sizes larger than the largest nonconspicuous type, exclusive of headings, on the page on which it appears but in at least 10-point type; or(b) Where the use of 10-point type would be impractical or impossible with respect to a particular piece of written advertising material, a different style of type or print may be used, so long as the print remains conspicuous under the circumstances. See Florida Statutes 721.05- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Developer: includes :
(a)1. See Florida Statutes 721.05- Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Facility: means any permanent amenity, including any structure, furnishing, fixture, equipment, service, improvement, or real or personal property, improved or unimproved, other than an accommodation of the timeshare plan, which is made available to the purchasers of a timeshare plan. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Incidental benefit: means an accommodation, product, service, discount, or other benefit which is offered to a prospective purchaser of a timeshare plan or to a purchaser of a timeshare plan prior to the expiration of his or her initial 10-day voidability period pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Multisite timeshare plan: means any method, arrangement, or procedure with respect to which a purchaser obtains, by any means, a recurring right to use and occupy accommodations or facilities of more than one component site, only through use of a reservation system, whether or not the purchaser is able to elect to cease participating in the plan. See Florida Statutes 721.52
- One-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio: means that the sum of the nights that owners are entitled to use in a given 12-month period shall not exceed the number of nights available for use by those owners during the same 12-month period. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Public offering statement: means the written materials describing a single-site timeshare plan or a multisite timeshare plan, including a text and any exhibits attached thereto as required by ss. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- Purchaser: means any person, other than a developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a timeshare plan other than as security for an obligation. See Florida Statutes 721.05
- timeshare plan: includes :
(a) A "personal property timeshare plan" which means a timeshare plan in which the accommodations are comprised of personal property that is not permanently affixed to real property; and(b) A "real property timeshare plan" which means a timeshare plan in which the accommodations of the timeshare plan are comprised of or permanently affixed to real property. See Florida Statutes 721.05- User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
(b) The costs of acquisition, operation, maintenance, or repair of the incidental benefit may not be passed on to purchasers of the timeshare plan as common expenses of the timeshare plan or as common expenses of a component site of a multisite timeshare plan.(c) The continued availability of the incidental benefit is not necessary in order for any accommodation or facility of the timeshare plan to be available for use by purchasers of the timeshare plan in a manner consistent in all material respects with the manner portrayed by any promotional material, advertising, or purchaser public offering statement.(d) The continued availability to purchasers of timeshare plan accommodations on no greater than a one-to-one use right to use night requirement ratio is not dependent upon continued availability of the incidental benefit.(e) The incidental benefit will continue to be available in the manner represented to prospective purchasers for up to 3 years after the first date that the timeshare plan is available for use by the purchaser. Nothing herein prevents the renewal or extension of the availability of an incidental benefit.(f) The incidental benefit is filed with the division for review in conjunction with the filing of a timeshare plan or in connection with a previously filed timeshare plan.(2) Each purchaser shall execute a separate acknowledgment and disclosure statement with respect to all incidental benefits, which statement must include the following information:(a) A fair description of the incidental benefit, including, but not limited to, any user fees or costs associated therewith and any restrictions upon use or availability.(b) A statement that use of or participation in the incidental benefit by the prospective purchaser is completely voluntary, and that payment of any fee or other cost associated with the incidental benefit is required only upon such use or participation.(c) A statement that the incidental benefit is not assignable or otherwise transferable by the prospective purchaser or purchaser without the approval of the provider of the incidental benefit.(d) The following disclosure in conspicuous type immediately above the space for the purchaser’s signature:The incidental benefit[s] described in this statement is [are] offered to prospective purchasers of the timeshare plan [or other permitted reference under s. 721.11(5)(a)]. This [These] benefit[s] is [are] available for your use for [some period up to 3 years] after the first date that the timeshare plan is available for your use. The availability of the incidental benefit[s] may or may not be renewed or extended. You should not purchase an interest in the timeshare plan in reliance upon the continued availability or renewal or extension of this [these] benefit[s].
The acknowledgment and disclosure statement for any incidental benefit shall be filed with the division before use. Each purchaser must receive a copy of his or her executed acknowledgment and disclosure statement as a document required to be provided to him or her under s. 721.10(1)(b).
(3)(a) In the event that an incidental benefit becomes unavailable to purchasers in the manner represented by the developer in the acknowledgment and disclosure statement, the developer shall pay the purchaser the greater of twice the verifiable retail value or twice the represented value of the unavailable incidental benefit in cash within 30 days after the date that the unavailability of the incidental benefit was made known to the developer, unless the developer has reserved a substitution right under paragraph (b) and timely makes the substitution as required by paragraph (b).(b) If an incidental benefit becomes unavailable as a result of events beyond the control of the developer, the developer may reserve the right to substitute a replacement incidental benefit of a type, quality, value, and term reasonably similar to the unavailable incidental benefit. If the developer reserves the right to substitute, the acknowledgment and disclosure statement required under paragraph (2)(a) must contain the following conspicuous disclosure:In the event any incidental benefit described in this statement becomes unavailable as a result of events beyond the control of the developer, the developer reserves the right to substitute a replacement incidental benefit of a type, quality, value, and term reasonably similar to the unavailable incidental benefit.
The substituted incidental benefit must be made available to the purchaser within 30 days after the date that the unavailability of the incidental benefit was made known to the developer.
(4) All purchaser remedies under s. 721.21 are available for any violation of this section.