Air conditioning

Each apartment has an air handling unit. There is a filter which you should change every one to two months (available at many retail outlets such as hardware stores, Walmart, etc.). Use a corrugated style rather then the flat, fiberglass variety, since they are much more efficient and have greater filtering surface. The size (in inches) is written on the side of the filter.

Since there are no return air ducts in your apartment, the air handler fan draws all the unconditioned air from your apartment through the louvered door to the utility closet or louvers located in the closet wall. Do not block the door or the louvers, and if your louvers are adjustable, make sure that they are opened fully. Noise from the fan can be silenced somewhat by placing sound deadening material on the walls of the utility closet, but do not block the louvers. Make certain that the deadening material is non-combustible and rigidly attached. 

Note: the owner is responsible for all repairs to the HVAC system. Parts and labor can be expensive; therefore, a service policy is recommended. 

The condensation pan below your air handler can accumulate water if the condensate line is clogged.  If the flow switch is missing from your air handler or malfunctioning, the water can overflow causing damage to your unit and to those below and around yours. You will be financially responsible for any damage caused.  Having your unit serviced regularly can prevent this sort of damage, as well as prolong the life of your A/C unit.  Consider placing a water alarm near the condensation pan to detect a leak before it becomes a problem.

Maintenance and Repairs

Owners must make arrangements with an outside service provider for most repairs needed in your unit. If you are a tenant or are the guest of the owner you must inform the owner or the owner’s agent of the maintenance problem. They will make the necessary arrangements. Only hire appropriately insured and, where applicable, licensed contractors.

If you want to report a common element item that needs repair or housekeeping attention, please call the front desk.

Internet & Cable TV Services

Each apartment is wired for cable TV and telephone. Internet access can be arranged by you through the cable provider Comcast or Frontier for a monthly fee paid by the resident.

WiFi access is available in the Business Center and Media Room on the first floor.

Basic cable TV is provided at no additional charge to residents through Frontier.  You must set up an account with Frontier. Frontier can be reached at 844-660-0648.If you desire additional cable services (pay channels or movie channels), please contact Frontier and make your own arrangements. These services will be at the user’s expense.

Water & Sewer Costs

The cost for these services is included in the association fees.  Everyone strives to save water to help keep bills low. Immediately repairing leaks is essential.

Pool and Spa Heaters

Both the pool and spa are heated. The heaters use natural gas. 

Stove Range Hood Venting

The stove range hood fan draws cooking odors through a two-element filter and discharges the filtered air back in the kitchen. Changing the filters is the responsibility of the resident. There is no connection or venting to the outside.

NO – Apartment smoke detectors DO NOT sound an alarm outside your apartment
and they DO NOT notify the fire department or summon help. 

 The Renaissance fire alarm system is “intelligent,” which means that it tailors alarms according to the nature and extent of the emergency condition. If fire or smoke is detected in the common areas, in a hallway, or if a fire pull-station has been activated, an alarm will sound on that floor, one floor below, and two floors above. If fire or smoke spreads to one or more additional floors, alarms will automatically sound on those affected floors and two floors above. All areas of the building are equipped with automatic fire sprinklers. If a sprinkler head senses heat from a fire, the sprinkler will be activated and an alarm will sound in the common area hallway and inside all apartments on that floor, one floor below, and two floors above. Please note that the smoke detectors in each apartment only detect smoke or the products of combustion inside your unit. In the event there is smoke from cooking in your home, do not open the unit door for ventilation.  Doing so will set off the alarm and the fire department will be summoned. You should open your sliding door. The person causing that problem will be billed for resulting charges from the fire department.

Apartment smoke detectors are designed to alert you to the possibility of a smoke condition inside your apartment so that you can determine if there is an actual emergency, in which case you should vacate your unit (closing the door behind you), and activate a hallway fire pull-station box that sounds an alarm and notifies the fire department. You should then immediately exit the building by one of the two stairways. Be sure to determine the location of the red hallway fire pull-stations now so you will know where they are and can use them without delay in a fire emergency. Hallway fire pull boxes are for FIRE emergencies only. For any other life-threatening emergency you should use your telephone to dial 911.

NO – Apartment smoke detectors DO NOT sound an alarm outside your apartment
and they DO NOT notify the fire department or summon help. 

 The Renaissance fire alarm system is “intelligent,” which means that it tailors alarms according to the nature and extent of the emergency condition. If fire or smoke is detected in the common areas, in a hallway, or if a fire pull-station has been activated, an alarm will sound on that floor, one floor below, and two floors above. If fire or smoke spreads to one or more additional floors, alarms will automatically sound on those affected floors and two floors above. All areas of the building are equipped with automatic fire sprinklers. If a sprinkler head senses heat from a fire, the sprinkler will be activated and an alarm will sound in the common area hallway and inside all apartments on that floor, one floor below, and two floors above. Please note that the smoke detectors in each apartment only detect smoke or the products of combustion inside your unit. In the event there is smoke from cooking in your home, do not open the unit door for ventilation.  Doing so will set off the alarm and the fire department will be summoned. You should open your sliding door. The person causing that problem will be billed for resulting charges from the fire department.

Apartment smoke detectors are designed to alert you to the possibility of a smoke condition inside your apartment so that you can determine if there is an actual emergency, in which case you should vacate your unit (closing the door behind you), and activate a hallway fire pull-station box that sounds an alarm and notifies the fire department. You should then immediately exit the building by one of the two stairways. Be sure to determine the location of the red hallway fire pull-stations now so you will know where they are and can use them without delay in a fire emergency. Hallway fire pull boxes are for FIRE emergencies only. For any other life-threatening emergency you should use your telephone to dial 911.

Balcony Furniture Storage While You Are Away and During Storm Season

If you will be away from the Renaissance for a length of time and especially during the summer hurricane season, you must remove everything from your balcony so that the items do not become airborne and cause damage to your property or the property of others in the event of high winds. 

Building staff  will be very busy taking precautions to protect the building and peripheral facilities when a hurricane is predicted. They will not be able to assist you in moving your furniture items indoors. Early preventive action by you is very important.

Unit Keys

Condo rules and Florida Statutes require that the Association keep a key to all apartment door locks. This is necessary for the orderly operation and maintenance of the building by staff and authorized contractors, who may need immediate access to your apartment when you are not at home. Contractors not hired by you are always accompanied by a Renaissance employee and your key is protected in a locked box which is in a locked room and is not routinely issued to anyone. You change your own lock, per Florida Statutes, you must provide a working copy of the key to the management office.

So how do you maintain your privacy while you are in your apartment and management needs to enter your unit? Normally, they will knock first, but if you don’t hear the knock, they could unlock your door, loudly announce their presence, and enter. In this case your privacy could be compromised.  To prevent this from occurring, you can install an inside privacy latch or chain so that your door cannot be opened from the outside when you are home. (Not sure the wording that should be used but I think this should be updated)

Mail Delivery and Package Delivery

Each resident has a locked, numbered mailbox in the mail alcove just inside the second floor parking deck entry door. There is an outgoing mail slot you can use to mail letters in the mail alcove. If you receive a package that is too large for your mailbox, you will find a key in your box with a tag marked with a number of one of the larger package boxes. Use the key to open that box and retrieve your package. Packages delivered by other carriers will be accepted at the lobby desk.  You will be notified of the delivery.

Mail addressed to you must include your unit number as a conspicuous part of the address, since it is used by the mail person to locate your mailbox. The arbitrary number on the front of your mailbox is just for you to identify your box and it is not used by the Postal Service delivery person to sort your mail.

Renaissance employees cannot access the delivery side of the mail room.  Visit the Postal Service web site for additional assistance and services.

Children in the Spa

Per the Florida State Health Department, no children under 16 are permitted in a spa. Our pool service technician suggests that it is “catastrophically dangerous” for any child under 16 to use the spa, regardless of whether they are under the supervision of an adult. Please observe and follow the posted pool and spa rules.

Gas Grill

The gas grill located on the pool patio is available to all residents. The required hardware, a gas key and wrench, is available at the Concierge’s desk. You must sign out the tools required to utilize the grill. A specific time of use can be scheduled with the front desk personnel

Common sense, cooperation, and courtesy rules should be observed when other residents are waiting to use the grill. If you are not familiar with how the grill works, please ask a staff member to demonstrate proper operation. Children are not permitted to operate the grill, which is a potentially dangerous natural gas appliance. Please remember to burn the grills at full heat for five minutes with the hood open after cooking is finished in order to help incinerate grease and food deposits, and then carefully turn the gas off to each burner.
Users must cleanup, dispose of all trash, cleaning all adjacent work surfaces, and clean grates using the provided grill brush. .  After cleaning is complete, close the lids. Staff will do a thorough cleaning of the drip pan, etc., as necessary.

Please leave the grill in the same condition in which you would like to find it. Your neighbors will appreciate your courtesy.

Tipping

Is not encouraged at the Renaissance. Each year, in December, a few residents sponsor an Employees’ Holiday Fund solicitation. Residents may make a voluntary contribution to this year-end fund that is shared by all employees of the Condominium Association and the security staff. The Association recommends that you show your appreciation to our employees each year during the holiday season by making a contribution to the Renaissance Employees’ Holiday Fund.  But for general “thank you” considerations,

Door Mats

Door mats are not permitted in the hallways of the Renaissance. Halls are a part of the common elements and personal doormats of any kind cannot be used. Besides being in violation of the Condominium Rules as they apply to the common elements, personal doormats can be a hallway trip hazard, and they tend to disrupt the work of housekeeping staff when they vacuum hallway carpeting

Guest Suites

There are two guest suites located on the first floor which can be  rented at a daily rate. Reservations are on a first-come basis and may only be made by the current resident who is in residence. Homeowners who have tenants in their unit may not use the facilities. 

Channeling or Drilling Floors or Ceilings

Check with the Community Manager before you, or your contractor, ever consider breaking the surface of any concrete floor or ceiling in the Renaissance. Concrete floors in the Renaissance were constructed using post tensioned concrete and do not contain traditional steel reinforcing bars (“rebar”). Steel cables are embedded in the concrete and after it cures the cables are tensioned under very high pressure. This is what gives the floors their strength. If anything cuts or nicks the tensioned cable (for example, a drill or tool bit, screws, pneumatic chisel) the cable could snap and the cut ends whip violently out of the concrete with tremendous force, destroying just about anything in their path. In addition to the obvious personal safety concern if you or your contractor is responsible for causing a break in a concrete post tensioning cable you will be held financially responsible for any resulting damage to life or property. The costs of which will be staggering.

Metal panel along bottom of sliding balcony door opening

The metal door panel is a water barrier designed to restrain and contain wind-blown water during storms and hurricanes. Regardless of how well the sliding door was designed, very strong winds can force rainwater under the slider and into your apartment. The three-inch vertical metal panel along the base of the balcony window unit forms a dam that restrains and contains wind-blown water and prevents flooding in your apartment. While they may be inconvenient and take getting used to, the panels are a critical window design element and may not be removed or modified in any way. Please read more about these panels at this link: click here

Carpeted Patio Deck

Indoor or outdoor carpeting of any kind is not permitted on the balcony decks at the Renaissance. On the recommendation of the waterproofing contractor patio decks (whether they are finished concrete or optional tile or stone) must never be covered with any temporary or permanent fabric or carpeting material. Fabric floor covering traps and holds moisture and can, over time, be destructive to the structural integrity of the deck. 

Also, if you use an independent contractor to install tile on your patio please be sure to complete an Architectural packet (click here, insert link to form) and submit it to the Architectural committee for approval before beginning work.  A special caulk must be reapplied once the tile is installed to prevent water intrusion.

Notary Public Service

The Renaissance Building Administrative Assistant is a Notary and can witness documents for you. A nominal fee applies. Call for an appointment at (941) 957-3957 

Unit Inspections While You Are Away

If you plan to be absent for a week or more, consider signing up for a home watch service.  Search the internet for qualified providers. As a reminder, be sure to ask for their credentials. Any company that you use for your home watch should be licensed and insured. Please inform management of whom you’ve hire to provide this service for you.

Pool Chemical Balance and Sanitization

The pool and spa are checked for correct water balance and proper sanitization every day. Three times a week a professional pool service technician attends to cleaning the pool and spa and checking equipment, as well as testing chemical levels. The pool and spa each have separate filter systems. The spa does not share its water supply with the pool; spa water is recirculated through its own heater and filter system.

Periodic Preventive Apartment Maintenance

• Air filter: You should change the disposable filter in your air handler monthly, as needed. It’s an easy job. Filters are available at Home Depot, Target, and other local stores. Since several different filter sizes are used in Renaissance air handlers, remove the filter and read the size (in inches) printed on the side.
• Dryer filter:  You should clean the filter in your dryer after every use. Dryer manufacturers recommend that you periodically vacuum out the filter receptacle to clear dryer lint that may have become trapped inside the dryer. Dryer fires caused by lint buildup are a leading cause of house fires.  If you have a dryer vent on your balcony, you must clean that, as well.
• Washing Machine Hose:s  Make sure that braided metal hoses are installed at the water feed lines.

Alarms:   In unit smoke detectors need to have their batteries replaced yearly.

Can I hire Association employees to help me?

Renaissance employees are not permitted to perform personal services for owners or residents during normal duty hours. If you make private arrangements with an Association employee to perform a service during his or her off-duty time you will compensate the employee as each of you agrees for the task that was performed.