Buying your grown child a condo in Miami or Brickell: the deed, the homestead and the house rules

A parent writes the check; a grown son or daughter gets the keys. Before closing on a Miami or Brickell condo, it helps to know that the deed, Florida homestead and the building’s declaration all care whose name is whose.

Rendering courtesy of the developer.

A parent buying a Miami or Brickell condo for an adult child faces three document questions: who goes on title; whether a non-occupying parent can claim homestead (the constitution requires the owner’s permanent residence); and what the declaration allows for occupancy, leasing and guests. This is not legal or tax advice; consult an attorney and a tax advisor.

It might begin with a phone call. A son has the offer letter from a firm downtown, or a daughter has the acceptance from a graduate program, and the conversation turns from congratulations to where they will live. For some families, the answer is a condo in Brickell or Miami, bought by the parent for the child. The parent may live in another city, another state or another country. The child will be the one with the keys.

That arrangement is generous, and it is also a little more complicated than it looks from the terrace. Three sets of documents decide how it works: the deed, the homestead rules in the Florida Constitution and at the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, and the building’s declaration of condominium. It pays to read all three before closing.

This is a different story from multigenerational buying in Surfside and Bal Harbour, which is about households sharing an oceanfront condo and about guest stays, and from downsizing from a Coral Gables house to a Design District condo. Here the question is narrower: a parent helping an adult child who will live in Miami or Brickell, often while the parent does not.

The new towers in that corridor give the idea its shape. The Residences at 1428 Brickell and, downtown, Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami are two of them, and the Brickell hub covers the neighborhood. Those pages are for project facts, not for title or tax advice.

Whose name goes on the deed

The first conversation, ideally with an attorney in the room, is about title. Families often ask to walk through a short list of options, and none of them is the default: the parent alone, the parent and the child together, the child alone, or an entity or a trust.

The choice matters well beyond closing day. Each form changes who can later sell, mortgage or inherit the residence, and who may be in a position to apply for homestead. If the family chooses a trust, the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s homestead page states that a copy of the trust document must be provided with an application. This article does not recommend a structure. That decision belongs with an attorney, and often a tax advisor, who has the family’s facts.

Homestead, when the parent lives somewhere else

Homestead is where the parent’s generosity runs into the wording of the Florida Constitution. Article VII, Section 6, as published by the Florida Senate, makes the homestead tax exemption available to a person who has legal or equitable title to real estate “and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner.”

The county puts the same idea into practice. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s homestead page, checked November 11, 2026, says a property owner must have legal or equitable title as of January 1 and permanent residence on the property as of January 1, and it lists the kinds of documents used to show that residence. Applications are due by March 1.

So a parent who will not make the condo their permanent residence generally will not meet the “permanent residence of the owner” test. The constitution also refers to “another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner.” Whether an adult child who is in school or starting work counts as a dependent under that clause is a fact-specific legal question, and this article does not decide it.

The picture can change if the child is on title. The Property Appraiser frames its requirements around a property owner who holds title and maintains permanent residence there as of January 1. An adult child who is an owner and lives in the condo as their permanent home may be able to apply on their own ownership interest. Confirm eligibility with the Property Appraiser and an advisor. One more limit applies: the constitution provides that not more than one exemption shall be allowed any individual or family unit or with respect to any residential unit.

A related Brickell homestead situation, a couple in which only one spouse is a Florida resident, is covered in Buying in Brickell when only one spouse is a Florida resident.

This is not legal or tax advice. Consult an attorney and a tax advisor before taking title or filing for an exemption.

Rendering courtesy of the developer.

The building’s rules decide who lives there

Even the most carefully drawn deed does not have the last word. That belongs to the condominium documents. The recorded declaration of condominium, together with the association’s rules and any amendments, generally controls occupancy, leasing and guests. It decides who may reside in the unit, whether a non-owner occupant is treated as a guest or a lessee, how long a guest may stay, and whether a lease is allowed at all.

Those rules vary by building, so the details will differ from one tower to the next. This article does not quote a specific declaration, because no project’s recorded declaration was used as a source here. Ask for the current declaration, rules and any occupancy or leasing addenda for the building under review, and have an attorney read them before closing. That matters most if the person who will live there will not be the sole owner, or will not be on title at all. The child may be the one who opens the door every evening, but the documents decide on what terms.

Rendering courtesy of the developer.

Sources

• Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 6 (Homestead exemptions), Florida Senate official text: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution
• Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Homestead Exemption (checked Nov. 11, 2026): https://www.miamidadepa.gov/pa/exemption/homestead.page
• Haute Residence building pages (project context only): The Residences at 1428 Brickell; Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami; Brickell hub
• Haute Residence: Multigenerational buying in Surfside and Bal Harbour; Downsizing from a Coral Gables house to a Design District condo; Buying in Brickell when only one spouse is a Florida resident

Frequently asked questions

Who should go on title if a parent is buying for an adult child?

That is a question for an attorney, not a marketing decision. Options families often ask about include the parent alone, the parent and child together, the child alone, or an entity or trust. This article does not recommend a form of title.

Can a parent who will not live in the condo claim homestead?

Generally, a non-occupying owner will not meet the test in Florida Constitution Article VII, Section 6, which requires the permanent residence of the owner — or of another person legally or naturally dependent upon the owner — on the property. Whether an adult child is a dependent is a fact-specific legal question. This is not legal or tax advice.

What if the adult child is on title and lives there?

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s homestead page requires a property owner to have legal or equitable title as of January 1 and to maintain permanent residence on the property as of January 1. An adult child who is an owner and who makes the residence their permanent home may be able to apply on their own ownership interest. Confirm that with the Property Appraiser and an advisor.

Do association rules still apply if the child is the one living there?

Yes. The recorded declaration of condominium, and the association’s rules, generally control occupancy, leasing and guests — including who may reside in the unit and for how long — regardless of who paid for the residence. This article does not quote a specific declaration; request the documents for the building under review.

Is this the same as Haute Residence’s multigenerational or downsizer guides?

No. The Surfside and Bal Harbour multigenerational guide is about shared family occupancy and guest stays in those beach towns. The Coral Gables-to-Design District downsizer guide is a house-to-condo transition. This article is a parent buying a Miami or Brickell condo for an adult child, and it stays on title, homestead and the declaration.

Is this legal or tax advice?

No. It is general information from the Florida Constitution, the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s homestead page, and the role of a condominium declaration. Consult an attorney and a tax advisor before taking title or filing for an exemption.