FLORIDA – The ARDA-Resort Owners’ Coalition (ARDA-ROC), a non-profit organization representing over 1.6 million timeshare owners with the mission of protecting and enhancing vacation ownership, has provided legislation that supports sustainable tools for older, or “legacy”, resorts and its owners in Florida. Effective immediately, the new law will allow timeshare Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) to effectively manage terminated resorts, provide reasonable processes for older resorts to continue to thrive, and clarify the property rights of timeshare owners.

“Florida timeshare owners need to know what comes next for their older, but beloved resorts. This legislation will give associations the proper guidance when deciding the next step of the resort’s lifecycle,” says Chris Stewart, State Affairs Managing Director for the American Resort Development Association and ARDA-ROC.

Dozens of legacy resorts in Florida, and a corresponding estimated 300,000 owners, have timeshare plans that are set to expire within the next few years. In many cases, little or no guidance was available for these resorts to continue operation, or move them into the next phase of their lifecycle. This legislation gives owners the opportunity to extend the timeshare plans on legacy resorts through practical changes in voting requirements. For timeshare plans that will terminate, it allows the HOA board to continue to act as representative of the owners in order to handle post-termination activities. Lastly, the bill clarifies language regarding each owner’s right to dispose of their timeshare as they choose.