Table of Contents
Sec. 47-200. Short title: Common Interest Ownership Act.
Sec. 47-201. Applicability of chapter.
Sec. 47-202. Definitions.
Sec. 47-203. Variation by agreement and waiver of rights prohibited. Exceptions.
Sec. 47-204. Separate titles and taxation. Recording of certificate by cooperative. Conveyance of interest in cooperative.
Sec. 47-205. Applicability of real property use laws to conversion of buildings to common
interest ownership.
Sec. 47-206. Eminent domain.
Sec. 47-207. Supplemental general principles of law applicable.
Sec. 47-208. Construction against implicit repeal.
Sec. 47-209. Severability.
Sec. 47-210. Unconscionable contracts or contract clauses. Leases involving land or
facilities in residential common interest communities that are presumed to be unconscionable.
Sec. 47-211. Obligation of good faith.
Sec. 47-212. Remedies to be liberally administered.
Sec. 47-213. Adjustment of dollar amount.
Sec. 47-214. Applicability of chapter and amendments thereto to common interest communities.
Sec. 47-215. Applicability to nonresidential, mixed use and small common interest communities, limited expense liability planned communities and common interest communities with
a conversion building.
Sec. 47-216. Applicability to preexisting common interest communities.
Sec. 47-217. Exception for certain preexisting common interest communities.
Sec. 47-218. Applicability to amendments to governing instruments.
Sec. 47-219. Applicability to out-of-state common interest communities.
Sec. 47-220. Creation of common interest community.
Sec. 47-221. Unit boundaries.
Sec. 47-222. Construction and validity of declaration and bylaws.
Sec. 47-223. Description of unit.
Sec. 47-224. Contents of declaration.
Sec. 47-225. Leasehold common interest communities.
Sec. 47-226. Allocation of interests.
Sec. 47-227. Limited common elements.
Sec. 47-228. Surveys and plans.
Sec. 47-229. Exercise of development rights.
Sec. 47-230. Alterations of units.
Sec. 47-231. Relocation of unit boundaries.
Sec. 47-232. Subdivision of units.
Sec. 47-233. Monuments as boundaries.
Sec. 47-234. Use for sales purposes.
Sec. 47-235. Easement rights.
Sec. 47-236. Amendment of declaration.
Sec. 47-237. Termination of common interest community.
Sec. 47-238. Rights of secured lenders.
Sec. 47-239. Master associations.
Sec. 47-240. Merger or consolidation of common interest communities.
Sec. 47-241. Addition of unspecified real property.
Sec. 47-241a. Master planned communities.
Sec. 47-242. Addition of land or units to limited equity cooperative.
Sec. 47-243. Organization of unit owners' association.
Sec. 47-244. Powers of unit owners' association.
Sec. 47-244a. Unincorporated unit owners' association's statutory agent for service.
Sec. 47-244b. Service of process on statutory agent.
Sec. 47-245. Executive board members and officers. Duties. Ratification of budget. Period
of declarant control. Delivery of property and documents by declarant. Current financial
statement.
Sec. 47-246. Transfer of special declarant rights. Obligations and liabilities.
Sec. 47-247. Termination of contracts and leases of declarant.
Sec. 47-248. Bylaws.
Sec. 47-249. Upkeep of common interest community. Liability for expenses.
Sec. 47-250. Meeting of association.
Sec. 47-251. Quorums.
Sec. 47-252. Voting at meetings of association.
Sec. 47-253. Liability.
Sec. 47-254. Conveyance or encumbrance of common elements.
Sec. 47-255. Insurance.
Sec. 47-256. Surplus funds.
Sec. 47-257. Assessments for common expenses.
Sec. 47-258. Lien for assessments.
Sec. 47-259. Other liens.
Sec. 47-260. Association records.
Sec. 47-261. Association as trustee.
Sec. 47-262. Applicability of part. Exceptions to requirement of public offering statement or resale certificate.
Sec. 47-263. Preparation of public offering statement. Liability.
Sec. 47-264. Public offering statement. General provisions and requirements.
Sec. 47-265. Requirements for public offering statement when community is subject to development rights.
Sec. 47-266. Requirements for public offering statement when ownership or occupancy is by
time shares.
Sec. 47-267. Requirements for public offering statement when community contains conversion building.
Sec. 47-268. Requirements for public offering statement when interest in community is security.
Sec. 47-269. Purchaser's right to cancel.
Sec. 47-270. Resales of units.
Sec. 47-271. Escrow of deposits. Distribution of interest.
Sec. 47-272. Release of liens.
Sec. 47-273. Rights of tenants in conversion buildings.
Sec. 47-274. Express warranties of quality.
Sec. 47-275. Implied warranties of quality.
Sec. 47-276. Exclusion or modification of implied warranties of quality.
Sec. 47-277. Action for breach of warranty. Statute of limitations.
Sec. 47-278. Cause of action for violation of chapter. Punitive damages, court costs and
attorney's fees. Alternative dispute resolution.
Sec. 47-279. Labeling of promotional material.
Sec. 47-280. Declarant's obligation to complete and restore.
Sec. 47-281. Substantial completion of units required.
Sec. 47-282. Statement of policy.
Sec. 47-283. Definitions.
Sec. 47-284. Conversion tenant's right to conversion notice and public offering
statement.
Sec. 47-285. Conversion tenant's right to purchase converted unit.
Sec. 47-286. Conversion tenant's right to terminate lease and abandon unit.
Sec. 47-287. Conversion tenant's right to relocation payment.
Sec. 47-288. Registration of common interest community. Notice to Department of Economic
and Community Development.
Sec. 47-289. Rent increases of conversion tenants.
Sec. 47-290. Eviction of conversion tenants.
Sec. 47-291. Unenforceable lease provisions.
Sec. 47-292. Tenant's cause of action.
Sec. 47-293. Applicability of protection afforded conversion tenants.
Sec. 47-294. Complaints of violations. Investigations. Enforcement action by Attorney
General.
Sec. 47-295. Regulations.
Secs. 47-296 to 47-299.
GENERAL PROVISIONS AND APPLICABILITY
Sec. 47-200. Short title: Common Interest Ownership Act. This chapter may
be cited as the "Common Interest Ownership Act". Sec. 47-201. Applicability of chapter. Applicability of this chapter is governed
by sections 47-214 to 47-219, inclusive. Sec. 47-202. Definitions. In the declaration and bylaws, unless specifically provided otherwise or the context otherwise requires, and in this chapter: Sec. 47-203. Variation by agreement and waiver of rights prohibited. Exceptions. Except as expressly provided in this chapter, its provisions may not be varied
by agreement, and rights conferred by it may not be waived. Except in the case of
nonresidential common interest communities as provided in section 47-215, a declarant
may not act under a power of attorney, or use any other device, to evade the limitations
or prohibitions of this chapter or the declaration. Sec. 47-204. Separate titles and taxation. Recording of certificate by cooperative. Conveyance of interest in cooperative. (a) In a cooperative, a unit owner's interest
in a unit and its allocated interests is a real property interest for all purposes, except that
the real property constituting the cooperative shall be taxed and assessed as a whole and
a unit owner's interest shall not be separately taxed. Sec. 47-205. Applicability of real property use laws to conversion of buildings
to common interest ownership. No zoning, building code, subdivision or other real
property use law, ordinance or regulation may prohibit the conversion of any building
to the common interest ownership form of ownership. Sec. 47-206. Eminent domain. (a) If a unit is acquired by eminent domain or part
of a unit is acquired by eminent domain leaving the unit owner with a remnant that may
not practically or lawfully be used for any purpose permitted by the declaration, the
award shall include compensation to the unit owner for that unit and its allocated interests, whether or not any common elements are acquired. On acquisition, unless the
decree otherwise provides, that unit's allocated interests are automatically reallocated
to the remaining units in proportion to the respective allocated interests of those units
before the taking, and the association shall promptly prepare, execute and record an
amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocations. Any remnant of a unit remaining after part of a unit is taken under this subsection is thereafter a common element. Sec. 47-207. Supplemental general principles of law applicable. The principles
of law and equity, including the law of corporations and unincorporated associations,
the law of real property, and the law relative to capacity to contract, principal and agent,
eminent domain, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, receivership, substantial performance, or other validating or invalidating cause supplement the
provisions of this chapter, except to the extent inconsistent with this chapter. Sec. 47-208. Construction against implicit repeal. This chapter being a general
act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter, no part of it shall be construed
to be impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if that construction can reasonably
be avoided. Sec. 47-209. Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable. Sec. 47-210. Unconscionable contracts or contract clauses. Leases involving
land or facilities in residential common interest communities that are presumed
to be unconscionable. (a) The General Assembly expressly finds that many leases
involving the use of land or recreational or other common facilities by residents of a
residential common interest community were entered into by parties wholly representative of the interests of a residential common interest developer at a time when the residential common interest community unit owners not only did not control the administration
of their residential common interest community, but also had little or no voice in such
administration. Such leases often contain numerous obligations on the part of either
or both a residential common interest community association and residential common
interest community unit owners with relatively few obligations on the part of the lessor.
Such lease may or may not be unconscionable in any given case. Nevertheless, the
General Assembly finds that a combination of certain onerous obligations and circumstances warrants the establishment of a rebuttable presumption of unconscionability of
certain leases, as specified in subsection (d) of this section. The presumption may be
rebutted by a lessor upon the showing of additional facts and circumstances to justify
and validate what otherwise appears to be an unconscionable lease under this section.
Failure of a lease to contain the required number of specified elements shall not preclude
a determination of unconscionability of the lease. It is the intent of the General Assembly
that this section is remedial and does not create any new cause of action to invalidate
any residential common interest community lease, but shall operate as a statutory prescription on procedural matters in actions brought on one or more causes of action
existing at the time of the execution of such lease. Sec. 47-211. Obligation of good faith. Every contract or duty governed by this
chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement. Sec. 47-212. Remedies to be liberally administered. (a) The remedies provided
by this chapter shall be liberally administered to the end that the aggrieved party is put
in as good a position as if the other party had fully performed, provided consequential,
special or punitive damages may not be awarded except as specifically provided in this
chapter or by other rule of law. Sec. 47-213. Adjustment of dollar amount. (a) From time to time the dollar
amount specified in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 47-215 shall change, as
provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, according to and to the extent of
changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers:
U.S. City Average, All Items, 1967 = 100, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
United States Department of Labor, (the "Index"). The Index for December, 1979, which
was 230, is the Reference Base Index. Sec. 47-214. Applicability of chapter and amendments thereto to common interest communities. Except as provided in section 47-215, the provisions of this chapter
apply to all common interest communities created within this state on or after January
1, 1984. The provisions of chapter 825 do not apply to condominiums created on or after
January 1, 1984. Amendments to this chapter apply to all common interest communities
created after January 1, 1984, or subjected to this chapter, regardless of when the amendment is adopted. Sec. 47-215. Applicability to nonresidential, mixed use and small common interest communities, limited expense liability planned communities and common
interest communities with a conversion building. (a) Except as provided in subsection
(b) of this section with respect to a common interest community containing a conversion
building: Sec. 47-216. Applicability to preexisting common interest communities. (a)
Except as provided in section 47-217, sections 47-204, 47-205, 47-206, 47-222, 47-
223, 47-240, 47-244, 47-253, 47-258, 47-260, 47-270 and 47-278, and subsection (j)
of section 47-236, and section 47-202 to the extent necessary in construing any of those
sections, apply to all common interest communities created in this state before January
1, 1984; but those sections apply only with respect to events and circumstances occurring
after January 1, 1984, and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws
or surveys or plans of those common interest communities. Sec. 47-217. Exception for certain preexisting common interest communities.
(a) If a common interest community created within this state before January 1, 1984,
(1) contains no more than twelve units and is not subject to any development rights, (2)
contains only units restricted to nonresidential use, or (3) is a common interest community described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 47-215, it is subject only
to sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-206 unless the declaration is amended in conformity
with applicable law and with the procedures and requirements of the declaration to take
advantage of the provisions of section 47-218, in which case all the sections enumerated
in section 47-216 apply to that common interest community. Sec. 47-218. Applicability to amendments to governing instruments. (a) The
declaration, bylaws or surveys and plans of any common interest community created
before January 1, 1984, may be amended to achieve any result permitted by this chapter
regardless of what applicable law provided before January 1, 1984. Sec. 47-219. Applicability to out-of-state common interest communities. This
chapter does not apply to common interest communities or units located outside this
state, but the public offering statement provisions of sections 47-263 to 47-269, inclusive, apply to all contracts for the disposition thereof signed in this state by any party
following an offer made in this state unless exempt under subsection (b) of section
47-262. (Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles) Sec. 47-220. Creation of common interest community. (a) A common interest
community may be created pursuant to this chapter only by recording a declaration
executed in the same manner as a deed and, in a cooperative, by conveying the real
property subject to that declaration to the association. The declaration shall be recorded
in every town in which any portion of the common interest community is located and
shall be indexed in the grantee's index in the name of the common interest community
and the association and in the grantor's index in the name of each person executing the
declaration. Sec. 47-221. Unit boundaries. Except as provided by the declaration: Sec. 47-222. Construction and validity of declaration and bylaws. (a) All provisions of the declaration and bylaws are severable. Sec. 47-223. Description of unit. A description of a unit which sets forth the name
of the common interest community, the recording data for the original declaration, the
town in which the common interest community is located and the identifying number
of the unit, is a legally sufficient description of that unit and all rights, obligations and
interests appurtenant to that unit which were created by the declaration or bylaws as
amended or restated. Sec. 47-224. Contents of declaration. (a) The declaration shall contain: Sec. 47-225. Leasehold common interest communities. (a) Any lease the expiration or termination of which may terminate the common interest community or reduce
its size, or a memorandum thereof, shall be recorded. Every lessor of those leases in a
condominium or planned community shall sign the declaration. The declaration shall
state: (1) The recording data for the lease or a statement of where the complete lease
may be inspected; (2) the date on which the lease is scheduled to expire; (3) a legally
sufficient description of the real property subject to the lease; (4) any rights of the unit
owners to redeem the reversion and the manner whereby those rights may be exercised,
or a statement that they do not have those rights; (5) any rights of the unit owners to
remove any improvements within a reasonable time after the expiration or termination
of the lease, or a statement that they do not have those rights; and (6) any rights of the
unit owners to renew the lease and the conditions of any renewal, or a statement that
they do not have those rights. Sec. 47-226. Allocation of interests. (a) The declaration shall allocate to each unit:
(1) In a condominium, a fraction or percentage of undivided interests in the common
elements and in the common expenses of the association, and a portion of the votes in
the association; (2) in a cooperative, an ownership interest in the association, a fraction
or percentage of the common expenses of the association, and a portion of the votes in
the association; and (3) in a planned community, a fraction or percentage of the common
expenses of the association, and a portion of the votes in the association. Sec. 47-227. Limited common elements. (a) Except for the limited common elements described in subsections (2) and (4) of section 47-221 and except to the extent a
right to allocate a limited common element is reserved pursuant to subsection (c) of this
section, the declaration shall specify to which unit or units each limited common element
is allocated. An allocation may not be altered without the consent of the unit owners
whose units are affected. Sec. 47-228. Surveys and plans. (a) Surveys and plans are required for condominiums and planned communities, but are not required for cooperatives. Any surveys and
plans are a part of the declaration. Separate surveys and plans are not required by this
chapter if all the information required by this section is contained in either a survey or
plan. Each survey and plan shall be clear and legible and contain a certification that the
survey or plan contains all information required by this section. Sec. 47-229. Exercise of development rights. (a) To exercise any development
right reserved under subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 47-224, the declarant
shall prepare, execute and record an amendment to the declaration and in a condominium
or planned community comply with section 47-228. The declarant is the unit owner of
any units thereby created. The amendment to the declaration shall assign an identifying
number to each new unit created, and, except in the case of subdivision or conversion
of units described in subsection (b) of this section, reallocate the allocated interests
among all units. The amendment shall describe any common elements and any limited
common elements thereby created and, in the case of limited common elements, designate the unit to which each is allocated to the extent required by section 47-227. Sec. 47-230. Alterations of units. Subject to the provisions of the declaration and
other provisions of law, a unit owner: Sec. 47-231. Relocation of unit boundaries. (a) Subject to the provisions of the
declaration and any provisions of law, the boundaries between adjoining units may be
relocated by an amendment to the declaration on application to the association by the
owners of those units. If the owners of the adjoining units have specified a reallocation
between their units of their allocated interests, the application shall state the proposed
reallocations. Unless the executive board determines, within thirty days after receipt of
the application, that the reallocations are unreasonable, the association shall consent to
the reallocation and prepare an amendment that identifies the units involved, states the
reallocations and indicates the association's consent. The amendment shall be executed
by those unit owners, contain words of conveyance between them, and, on recordation,
be indexed in the name of the grantor and the grantee, and in the grantee's index in the
name of the association. Sec. 47-232. Subdivision of units. (a) If the declaration expressly so permits, a
unit may be subdivided into two or more units. Subject to the provisions of the declaration
and any provisions of law, on application of a unit owner to subdivide a unit, the association shall prepare, execute and record an amendment to the declaration, including in a
condominium or planned community the surveys and plans, subdividing that unit. Sec. 47-233. Monuments as boundaries. The existing physical boundaries of a
unit or the physical boundaries of a unit reconstructed in substantial accordance with
the description contained in the original declaration are its legal boundaries, rather than
the boundaries derived from the description contained in the original declaration, regardless of vertical or lateral movement of the building or minor variance between those
boundaries and the boundaries derived from the description contained in the original
declaration. This section does not relieve a unit owner of liability in case of his wilful
misconduct or relieve a declarant or any other person of liability for failure to adhere
to any surveys and plans or, in a cooperative, to any representation in the public offering
statement. Sec. 47-234. Use for sales purposes. A declarant may maintain sales offices, management offices and models in units or on common elements in the common interest
community only if the declaration so provides and specifies the rights of a declarant
with regard to the number, size, location and relocation thereof. In a cooperative or
condominium, any sales office, management office or model not designated a unit by
the declaration is a common element. If a declarant ceases to be a unit owner, he ceases
to have any rights with regard to such a common element unless it is removed promptly
from the common interest community in accordance with a right to remove reserved in
the declaration. Subject to any limitations in the declaration, a declarant may maintain
signs on the common elements advertising the common interest community. This section
is subject to the provisions of other state law and to local ordinances. Sec. 47-235. Easement rights. (a) Subject to the provisions of the declaration, a
declarant has such an easement through the common elements as may be reasonably
necessary for the purpose of discharging the declarant's obligations or exercising special
declarant rights, whether arising under this chapter or reserved in the declaration. Sec. 47-236. Amendment of declaration. (a) Except in cases of amendments that
may be executed by a declarant under subsection (f) of section 47-228 or section 47-
229, or by the association under section 47-206, subsection (d) of section 47-225, subsection (c) of section 47-227, subsection (a) of section 47-231 or section 47-232, or by
certain unit owners under subsection (b) of section 47-227, subsection (a) of section 47-
231, subsection (b) of section 47-232, subsection (b) of section 47-237 or section 47-
242, and except as limited by subsections (d) and (f) of this section, the declaration,
including any surveys and plans, may be amended only by vote or agreement of unit
owners of units to which at least sixty-seven per cent of the votes in the association are
allocated, or any larger majority the declaration specifies. The declaration may specify
a smaller number only if all of the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use. Sec. 47-237. Termination of common interest community. (a) Except in the case
of a taking of all the units by eminent domain or in the case of foreclosure against an
entire cooperative of a security interest that has priority over the declaration, a common
interest community may be terminated only by agreement of unit owners of units to
which at least eighty per cent of the votes in the association are allocated, or any larger
percentage the declaration specifies. The declaration may specify a smaller percentage
only if all of the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential uses. Sec. 47-238. Rights of secured lenders. (a) The declaration may require that all
or a specified number or percentage of the lenders who hold security interests encumbering the units or who have extended credit to the association and whose consent rights
have been granted by agreement, approve specified actions of the unit owners or the
association as a condition to the effectiveness of those actions, but no requirement for
approval may operate to (1) deny or delegate control over the general administrative
affairs of the association by the unit owners or the executive board, or (2) prevent the
association or the executive board from commencing, intervening in or settling any
litigation or proceeding, or (3) prevent any insurance trustee or the association from
receiving and distributing any insurance proceeds except pursuant to section 47-255. Sec. 47-239. Master associations. (a) If the declaration provides that any of the
powers described in section 47-244 are to be exercised by, or may be delegated to, a
profit or nonprofit corporation or unincorporated association that exercises those or
other powers on behalf of one or more common interest communities or for the benefit
of the unit owners of one or more common interest communities, all provisions of this
chapter applicable to unit owners' associations apply to any such corporation or unincorporated association, except as modified by this section. Sec. 47-240. Merger or consolidation of common interest communities. (a)
Any two or more common interest communities of the same form of ownership, by
agreement of the unit owners as provided in subsection (b) of this section, may be merged
or consolidated into a single common interest community. In the event of a merger or
consolidation, unless the agreement otherwise provides, the resultant common interest
community is the legal successor, for all purposes, of all of the preexisting common
interest communities, and the operations and activities of all associations of the preexisting common interest communities are merged or consolidated into a single association
that holds all powers, rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of all preexisting associations. Sec. 47-241. Addition of unspecified real property. In a planned community, if
the right is originally reserved in the declaration, the declarant, in addition to any other
development right, may amend the declaration at any time during as many years as are
specified in the declaration to add additional real property to the planned community
without describing the location of that real property in the original declaration; but the
amount of real property added to the planned community pursuant to this section may
not exceed ten per cent of the real property described in subdivision (3) of subsection
(a) of section 47-224 and the declarant may not in any event increase the number of
units in the planned community beyond the number stated in the original declaration
pursuant to subdivision (5) of said subsection. Sec. 47-241a. Master planned communities. (a) The declaration for a common
interest community may state that it is a master planned community if the declarant has
reserved the development right to create at least five hundred units that may be used for
residential purposes, and at the time of the reservation such declarant owns or controls
more than five hundred acres on which the units may be built. Sec. 47-242. Addition of land or units to limited equity cooperative. (a) For
the purposes of this section, "limited equity cooperative" means a cooperative whose
declaration contains any restrictions on (1) the amount for which a unit may be sold, or
(2) the amount that may be received by a unit owner on the (A) sale or condemnation
of, or casualty loss to, the unit or to the common interest community, (B) termination
of the common interest community, or (C) abandonment or other termination of a unit
owner's or tenant's right of occupancy of a unit. (Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles) Sec. 47-243. Organization of unit owners' association. A unit owners' association shall be organized no later than the date the first unit in the common interest community is conveyed. The membership of the association at all times shall consist exclusively
of all unit owners or, following termination of the common interest community, of all
former unit owners entitled to distributions of proceeds under section 47-237 or their
heirs, successors or assigns. The association shall be organized as a profit or nonprofit
corporation, trust, partnership or unincorporated association. Sec. 47-244. Powers of unit owners' association. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, and subject to the provisions of the declaration, the association,
even if unincorporated, may: Sec. 47-244a. Unincorporated unit owners' association's statutory agent for
service. (a) Not later than January 1, 1992, each unit owners' association, as defined in
section 47-202, that is not incorporated in this state shall have and maintain a statutory
agent for service in this state as provided in this section. A statutory agent for service
shall be either (1) a natural person who is a resident of this state, (2) a domestic corporation with or without capital stock, or (3) any corporation not organized under the laws
of this state which has procured a certificate of authority to transact business or conduct
affairs in this state. Sec. 47-244b. Service of process on statutory agent. (a) Any process, notice or
demand in connection with any action or proceeding required or permitted by law to be
served upon a unit owners' association which is subject to the provisions of section 47-
244a may be served upon the association's statutory agent for service by any proper
officer or other person lawfully empowered to make service. Sec. 47-245. Executive board members and officers. Duties. Ratification of
budget. Period of declarant control. Delivery of property and documents by declarant. Current financial statement. (a) Except as provided in the declaration, the bylaws,
subsection (b) of this section, or other provisions of this chapter, the executive board
may act in all instances on behalf of the association. In the performance of their duties,
officers and members of the executive board appointed by the declarant shall exercise
the degree of care and loyalty required of a trustee and officers and members of the
executive board not appointed by a declarant shall exercise the degree of care and loyalty
required of an officer or director of a corporation organized under chapter 602. Sec. 47-246. Transfer of special declarant rights. Obligations and liabilities.
(a) A special declarant right, as defined in subsection (29) of section 47-202, created or
reserved under this chapter may be transferred only by an instrument evidencing the
transfer recorded in every town in which any portion of the common interest community
is located. Sec. 47-247. Termination of contracts and leases of declarant. (a) Except in the
case of nonresidential common interest communities as provided in section 47-215, if
entered into before the executive board elected by the unit owners pursuant to subsection
(f) of section 47-245 takes office, (1) any management contract, employment contract
or lease of recreational or parking areas or facilities, (2) any other contract or lease
between the association and a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant, or (3) any contract
or lease that is not bona fide or was unconscionable or commercially unreasonable to
the unit owners at the time entered into under the circumstances then prevailing, may
be terminated without penalty by the association at any time after the executive board
elected by the unit owners pursuant to subsection (f) of section 47-245 takes office on
not less than ninety days' notice to the other party. Sec. 47-248. Bylaws. (a) The bylaws of the association shall provide for: (1) The
number of members of the executive board and the titles of the officers of the association;
(2) election by the executive board of a president, treasurer, secretary and any other
officers of the association the bylaws specify; (3) the qualifications, powers and duties,
terms of office and manner of electing and removing executive board members and
officers and filling vacancies; (4) which, if any, of its powers the executive board or
officers may delegate to other persons or to a managing agent; (5) which of its officers
may prepare, execute, certify and record amendments to the declaration on behalf of
the association; and (6) a method for amending the bylaws. Sec. 47-249. Upkeep of common interest community. Liability for expenses.
(a) Except to the extent provided by the declaration, subsection (b) of this section or
subsection (h) of section 47-255, the association is responsible for maintenance, repair
and replacement of the common elements, and each unit owner is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of his unit. Each unit owner shall afford to the association
and the other unit owners, and to their agents or employees, access through his unit
reasonably necessary for those purposes. If damage is inflicted on the common elements
or on any unit through which access is taken, the unit owner responsible for the damage,
or the association if it is responsible, is liable for the prompt repair thereof. Sec. 47-250. Meeting of association. A meeting of the association shall be held at
least once each year. Special meetings of the association may be called by the president, a
majority of the executive board, or by unit owners having twenty per cent, or any lower
percentage specified in the bylaws, of the votes in the association. Not less than ten nor
more than sixty days in advance of any meeting, the secretary or other officer specified
in the bylaws shall cause notice to be hand-delivered or sent prepaid by United States
mail to the mailing address of each unit or to any other mailing address designated in
writing by the unit owner. The notice of any meeting shall state the time and place of
the meeting and the items on the agenda, including the general nature of any proposed
amendment to the declaration or bylaws, any budget changes and any proposal to remove
an officer or member of the executive board.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 1, 96.)
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 2, 96.)
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(1) "Affiliate of a declarant" means any person who controls, is controlled by, or
is under common control with a declarant. (A) A person "controls" a declarant if the
person (i) is a general partner, officer, director, or employer of the declarant, (ii) directly
or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more
subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing,
more than twenty per cent of the voting interest in the declarant, (iii) controls in any
manner the election of a majority of the directors of the declarant, or (iv) has contributed
more than twenty per cent of the capital of the declarant. (B) A person "is controlled
by" a declarant if the declarant (i) is a general partner, officer, director, or employer of
the person, (ii) directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons,
or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds
proxies representing, more than twenty per cent of the voting interest in the person, (iii)
controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the person, or (iv)
has contributed more than twenty per cent of the capital of the person. Control does not
exist if the powers described in this subsection are held solely as security for an obligation
and are not exercised.
(2) "Allocated interests" means the following interests allocated to each unit: (A)
In a condominium, the undivided interest in the common elements, the common expense
liability, and votes in the association; (B) in a cooperative, the common expense liability
and the ownership interest and votes in the association; and (C) in a planned community,
the common expense liability and votes in the association.
(3) "Association" or "unit owners' association" means the unit owners' association
organized under section 47-243.
(4) "Common elements" means (A) in the case of (i) a condominium or cooperative,
all portions of the common interest community other than the units; and (ii) a planned
community, any real property within a planned community owned or leased by the
association, other than a unit, and (B) in all common interest communities, any other
interests in real property for the benefit of unit owners which are subject to the declaration.
(5) "Common expenses" means expenditures made by, or financial liabilities of,
the association, together with any allocations to reserves.
(6) "Common expense liability" means the liability for common expenses allocated
to each unit pursuant to section 47-226.
(7) "Common interest community" means real property described in a declaration
with respect to which a person, by virtue of his ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay
for (A) real property taxes on, (B) insurance premiums on, (C) maintenance of, or (D)
improvement of, any other real property other than that unit described in the declaration.
"Ownership of a unit" includes holding a leasehold interest of forty years or more in a
unit, including renewal options. "Ownership of a unit" does not include the interest
which a resident holds in a mutual housing association, as defined in subsection (b) of
section 8-214f, by virtue of either a state contract for financial assistance or an individual
occupancy agreement. An association of property owners funded solely by voluntary
payments from those owners is not a common interest community.
(8) "Condominium" means a common interest community in which portions of the
real property are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of the real property
is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. A common
interest community is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common
elements are vested in the unit owners.
(9) "Conversion building" means a building that at any time before creation of the
common interest community was occupied wholly or partially by persons other than
purchasers and persons who occupy with the consent of purchasers.
(10) "Cooperative" means a common interest community in which the real property
is owned by an association, each of whose members is entitled by virtue of his ownership
interest in the association to exclusive possession of a unit.
(11) "Dealer" means a person who owns either six or more units, or fifty per cent
or more of all the units, in a common interest community.
(12) "Declarant" means any person or group of persons acting in concert who (A)
as part of a common promotional plan, offers to dispose of his interest in a unit not
previously disposed of or (B) reserves or succeeds to any special declarant right.
(13) "Declaration" means any instruments, however denominated, that create a
common interest community, including any amendments to those instruments.
(14) "Development rights" means any right or combination of rights reserved by a
declarant in the declaration to (A) add real property to a common interest community;
(B) create units, common elements, or limited common elements within a common
interest community; (C) subdivide units or convert units into common elements; or (D)
withdraw real property from a common interest community.
(15) "Dispose" or "disposition" means a voluntary transfer to a purchaser of any
legal or equitable interest in a unit, but the term does not include the transfer or release
of a security interest.
(16) "Executive board" means the body, regardless of name, designated in the declaration to act on behalf of the association.
(17) "Identifying number" means a symbol or address that identifies only one unit
in a common interest community.
(18) "Leasehold common interest community" means a common interest community in which all or a portion of the real property is subject to a lease the expiration or
termination of which will terminate the common interest community or reduce its size.
(19) "Limited common element" means a portion of the common elements allocated
by the declaration or by operation of subsection (2) or (4) of section 47-221 for the
exclusive use of one or more but fewer than all of the units.
(20) "Master association" means an organization described in section 47-239,
whether or not it is also an association described in section 47-243.
(21) "Offer" or "offering" means any advertisement, inducement, solicitation or
attempt to encourage any person to acquire any interest in a unit, other than as security
for an obligation. An advertisement in a newspaper or other periodical of general circulation, or in any broadcast medium to the general public, of a common interest community
not located in this state, is not an offering if the advertisement states that an offering
may be made only in compliance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the common
interest community is located.
(22) "Person" means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, business
trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, government, governmental
subdivision or agency, or other legal or commercial entity.
(23) "Planned community" means a common interest community that is not a condominium or a cooperative. A condominium or cooperative may be part of a planned
community.
(24) "Proprietary lease" means an agreement with the association pursuant to which
a member is entitled to exclusive possession of a unit in a cooperative.
(25) "Purchaser" means a person, other than a declarant or a dealer, who by means
of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a unit other than (A) a
leasehold interest, including renewal options, of less than twenty years, or (B) as security
for an obligation.
(26) "Real property" means any leasehold or other estate or interest in, over, or
under land, including structures, fixtures, and other improvements and interests that by
custom, usage, or law pass with a conveyance of land though not described in the contract
of sale or instrument of conveyance. "Real property" includes parcels with or without
upper or lower boundaries, and spaces that may be filled with air or water.
(27) "Residential purposes" means use for dwelling or recreational purposes, or
both.
(28) "Security interest" means an interest in real property or personal property,
created by contract or conveyance, which secures payment or performance of an obligation. The term includes a lien created by a mortgage, deed of trust, trust deed, security
deed, contract for deed, land sales contract, lease intended as security, assignment of
lease or rents intended as security, pledge of an ownership interest in an association, and
any other consensual lien or title retention contract intended as security for an obligation.
(29) "Special declarant rights" means rights reserved for the benefit of a declarant
to (A) complete improvements indicated on surveys and plans filed with the declaration
or, in a cooperative, to complete improvements described in the public offering statement
pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 47-264; (B) exercise any development right; (C) maintain sales offices, management offices, signs advertising the common interest community, and models; (D) use easements through the common elements
for the purpose of making improvements within the common interest community or
within real property which may be added to the common interest community; (E) make
the common interest community subject to a master association; (F) merge or consolidate
a common interest community with another common interest community of the same
form of ownership; or (G) appoint or remove any officer of the association or any master
association or any executive board member during any period of declarant control.
(30) "Time share" means a right to occupy a unit or any of several units during five
or more separated time periods over a period of at least five years, including renewal
options, whether or not coupled with an estate or interest in a common interest community or a specified portion thereof.
(31) "Unit" means a physical portion of the common interest community designated
for separate ownership or occupancy, the boundaries of which are described pursuant
to subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 47-224. If a unit in a cooperative is owned
by a unit owner or is sold, conveyed, voluntarily or involuntarily encumbered or otherwise transferred by a unit owner, the interest in that unit which is owned, sold, conveyed,
encumbered or otherwise transferred is the right to possession of that unit under a proprietary lease, coupled with the allocated interests of that unit, and the association's interest
in that unit is not thereby affected.
(32) "Unit owner" means a declarant or other person who owns a unit, or a lessee
of a unit in a leasehold common interest community whose lease expires simultaneously
with any lease the expiration or termination of which will remove the unit from the
common interest community, but does not include a person having an interest in a unit
solely as security for an obligation. In a condominium or planned community, the declarant is the owner of any unit created by the declaration. In a cooperative, the declarant
is treated as the owner of any unit to which allocated interests have been allocated until
that unit has been conveyed to another person.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 3, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 1, 23; P.A. 91-341, S. 14, 19; P.A. 95-79, S. 170, 189; 95-187, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 84-472 amended Subdiv. (7) to exclude from the definition of a common interest community an association
of property owners funded solely by voluntary payments from those owners, and to increase from twenty to forty years
the minimum period for holding a leasehold interest in a unit that constitutes "ownership of a unit"; P.A. 91-341 amended
Subdiv. (7) to add provision that "ownership of a unit" does not include the interest which a resident holds in a mutual
housing association by virtue of either a state contract for financial assistance or an individual occupancy agreement; P.A.
95-79 redefined "person" to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 95-187 amended the definition
of "common elements" by redesignating the existing provisions re a condominium or cooperative and re a planned community as Subparas. (A)(i) and (A)(ii), respectively, and adding new Subpara. (B) to include in the definition any other interests
in real property for the benefit of unit owners which are subject to the declaration.
Subdiv. (2):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
Subdiv. (4):
Subpara. (A) cited. 22 CA 497, 503, 504. Cited. 44 CA 107.
Subdiv. (7):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 447.
Cited. 44 CA 107.
Subdiv. (8):
Cited. 237 C. 123, 130.
Cited. 44 CA 107.
Subdiv. (10):
Cited. 237 C. 123, 130.
Subdiv. (19):
Meaning of "use" in this subdiv. 245 C. 1.
Subdiv. (23):
Cited. 237 C. 123, 130.
Subdiv. (26):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
Cited. 22 CA 497, 504.
Subdiv. (31):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 445, 451−453.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 4, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 95-187 added exception "in the case of nonresidential common interest communities as provided in
section 47-215" to prohibition on certain actions by the declarant.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(b) In a condominium or planned community:
(1) If there is any unit owner other than a declarant, each unit that has been created,
together with its interest in the common elements, constitutes for all purposes a separate
parcel of real property.
(2) If there is any unit owner other than a declarant, each unit shall be separately
taxed and assessed, and no separate tax or assessment may be rendered against any
common elements for which a declarant has reserved no development rights.
(c) Any portion of the common elements for which the declarant has reserved any
development right shall be separately taxed and assessed against the declarant, and the
declarant alone is liable for payment of those taxes.
(d) If there is no unit owner other than a declarant, the real property comprising the
common interest community may be taxed and assessed in any manner provided by law.
(e) (1) If a cooperative was created before January 1, 1984, the association may,
pursuant to this section, record a certificate on the land records signed by the president
of the association and attested by its secretary, or signed by such other persons authorized
to act on behalf of the association by the instruments creating or governing the cooperative. The certificate shall contain or have attached as exhibits:
(A) A statement that the association is a corporation or other legal entity formed
for the purpose of cooperative ownership of real property;
(B) A statement that the certificate is recorded pursuant to this section;
(C) A statement that the facts contained in the certificate accurately restate facts
contained in the books and records of the association;
(D) A statement of the location where the books and records, including the form of
proprietary lease, of the association are maintained;
(E) A description of the real property owned by the association or a reference to
the volume and page of the land records at which a description may be obtained, together
with the date on which title to the real property owned by the association was acquired,
and a reference to the deed under which the association took title;
(F) If the association is incorporated: (i) A certified copy of the current certificate
of incorporation of the association; (ii) a certified copy of the last annual or biennial
report of the association filed with the Secretary of the State; and (iii) a certificate of
good standing for the corporation issued by the Secretary of the State within ninety days
of the date of the recorded certificate;
(G) A list of the unit numbers of all units in the cooperative, together with the
following information for each unit: (i) The current stock or membership certificate
number, if any, for the unit; (ii) the name of the current unit owners of the unit; (iii) the
date on which the proprietary lease for the unit was signed; and (iv) the identity of all
holders of security interests in the unit as they appear on the books and records of the
association, together with a description of the nature of each security interest and the
date on which each security interest was granted.
(2) The certificate may be amended to include any other provision permitted by
law, following a vote of unit owners necessary to amend instruments pursuant to section
47-218.
(3) A recorded certificate that complies with this section constitutes the declaration
for the cooperative for purposes of this chapter and is sufficient evidence for purposes
of sections 47-33b to 47-33l, inclusive, concerning marketable record title, that:
(A) The real property described or referred to in the certificate is a cooperative
within the meaning of this chapter; and
(B) The persons described as unit owners in the certificate are owners of their respective units in the cooperative, subject to the security interests, if any, identified in
the certificate and the interests of the association.
(4) If a transfer of any interest in a unit in a cooperative was made between January
1, 1984, and the date a certificate is recorded pursuant to this section, an identification
of the transferred interest in the recorded certificate validates that transfer for purposes
of this chapter but does not otherwise affect the validity of that transfer.
(5) The association may amend a recorded certificate any time to correct errors
contained in it or to reflect transfers of interests in the units which occurred prior to the
date of the certificate but which were not reflected on the books and records of the
association on that date.
(6) A conveyance of a unit owner's interest in a cooperative created before or after
January 1, 1984, is accomplished by delivery to the purchaser of an instrument, executed
in the same manner as a deed, conveying all the seller's interest in the unit. A notice of
a proprietary lease complying with section 47-19 and signed by a duly authorized officer
of the association may be recorded on the land records as evidence of the named unit
owner's interest in that unit.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 5, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 2, 23.)
History: P.A. 84-472 added Subsec. (e) re the recording of a certificate by the association of a cooperative created
before January 1, 1984, the contents, effect and amendment of such a certificate, and the manner of conveyance of an
interest in a cooperative.
Subsec. (b):
Subdiv. (2) cited. 44 CA 107.
Subsec. (e):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 525.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 6, 96.)
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(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), if part of a unit is acquired by eminent
domain, the award shall compensate the unit owner for the reduction in value of the unit
and its interest in the common elements, whether or not any common elements are
acquired. On acquisition, unless the decree otherwise provides, (1) that unit's allocated
interests are reduced in proportion to the reduction in the size of the unit, or on any other
basis specified in the declaration and (2) the portion of the allocated interests divested
from the partially acquired unit are automatically reallocated to that unit and to the
remaining units in proportion to the respective allocated interests of those units before
the taking, with the partially-acquired unit participating in the reallocation on the basis
of its reduced allocated interests.
(c) If part of the common elements is acquired by eminent domain, the award shall
compensate the unit owners affected by the taking for the reduction in value of the units
resulting from the acquisition, and the portion of the award attributable to the common
elements taken shall be paid to the association. Unless the declaration provides otherwise, any portion of the award attributable to the acquisition of a limited common element shall be equally divided among the owners of the units to which that limited common element was allocated at the time of acquisition.
(d) The court decree shall be recorded in every town in which any portion of the
common interest community is located.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 7, 96.)
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 8, 96.)
Cited. 237 C. 123, 132.
Cited. 22 CA 497, 505. Cited. 38 CA 420, 429. Cited. 39 CA 736, 739.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 9, 96.)
Cited. 207 C. 441, 451, 453. Cited. 237 C. 123, 131.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 10, 96.)
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(b) The court, on finding as a matter of law that a contract or contract clause was
unconscionable at the time the contract was made, may refuse to enforce the contract,
enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause or limit the
application of any unconscionable clause in order to avoid an unconscionable result.
(c) Whenever it is claimed, or appears to the court, that a contract or any contract
clause is or may be unconscionable, the parties, in order to aid the court in making the
determination, shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to:
(1) The commercial setting of the negotiations;
(2) Whether a party has knowingly taken advantage of the inability of the other party
reasonably to protect his interests by reason of physical or mental infirmity, illiteracy,
inability to understand the language of the agreement or similar factors;
(3) The effect and purpose of the contract or clause; and
(4) If a sale, any gross disparity, at the time of contracting, between the amount
charged for the property and the value of that property measured by the price at which
similar property was readily obtainable in similar transactions. A disparity between the
contract price and the value of the property measured by the price at which similar
property was readily obtainable in similar transactions does not, of itself, render the
contract unconscionable.
(d) A lease entered into prior to January 1, 1984, pertaining to use of land or facilities
by unit owners in a residential common interest community, is presumed to be unconscionable if:
(1) The lease by its terms requires the lessee to pay an annual rental and other
expenses that exceed fifteen per cent of the appraised value of the leased property as
improved, provided for the purposes of this subdivision, "annual rental and other expenses" means the amount paid by the lessee during the twelve months immediately
preceding the filing of an action under this section as rent and for real estate taxes,
insurance, capital improvements and other expenses required to maintain the property
under the lease terms, and "appraised value" means the appraised value placed upon
the leased property by a licensed or certified real estate appraiser on a date during the
twelve months immediately preceding the filing of an action under this section, and
(2) Seven of the following eight elements exist:
(A) The lease was executed by persons none of whom at the time of the execution
of the lease were elected by unit owners, other than the declarant;
(B) The lease requires either the association or the unit owners to pay all real estate
taxes on the subject real property;
(C) The lease requires either the association or the unit owners to insure buildings
or other facilities on the subject real property against fire or any other hazard;
(D) The lease requires either the association or the unit owners to perform some or
all maintenance obligations pertaining to the subject real property or facilities located
upon the subject real property;
(E) The lease requires either the association or the unit owners to pay rents to the
lessor for a period of twenty-one years or more;
(F) The lease provides that failure of the lessee to make payments of rents due under
the lease creates, establishes or permits establishment of a lien upon individual units to
secure claims for rent;
(G) The lease provides for a periodic rental increase based upon reference to a price
index; and
(H) The lease or other common interest community documents require that any
transferee of a unit must assume obligations under the lease.
(e) The presumption set forth in subsection (d) of this section may be rebutted by
a lessor upon the showing of additional facts and circumstances to justify and validate
what otherwise appears to be an unconscionable lease under this section.
(f) Failure of a lease to contain the required number of elements specified in subsection (d) of this section shall not preclude a determination that the lease is unconscionable.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, neither the statute of
limitations nor laches shall prohibit unit owners of a residential common interest community from maintaining a cause of action under this section.
(h) If a court finds that a lease contract or lease contract clause was unconscionable
at the time the contract was made, in determining whether to enforce the contract, or
enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or whether to
limit the application of any unconscionable clause in order to avoid an unconscionable
result, the court shall consider evidence regarding the adverse impact, if any, of any
such determination on the interests of third parties, including lenders who may have,
in good faith, relied upon such lease provisions, and the court, in formulating such a
determination, shall seek to avoid an unjust impact on such third parties and shall make
no such determination, the effect of which would be to terminate the common interest
community.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 11, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 27.)
History: P.A. 95-187 added new Subsec. (a) making legislative findings re leases involving the use of land or recreational
or other common facilities by residents of a residential common interest community, relettering former Subsecs. (a) and
(b) as Subsecs. (b) and (c), respectively, added Subsec. (d) re when a lease entered into prior to January 1, 1984, pertaining
to use of land or facilities by unit owners in a residential common interest community is presumed to be unconscionable,
added Subsec. (e) re the manner in which a lessor may rebut the presumption, added Subsec. (f) to provide that a determination that the lease is unconscionable is not precluded by the failure of the lease to contain the required number of elements
specified in Subsec. (d), added Subsec. (g) to provide that neither the statute of limitations nor laches shall prohibit unit
owners maintaining a cause of action and added Subsec. (h) requiring the court to consider the impact on third parties
when determining an appropriate remedy upon finding that a lease contract or lease contract clause was unconscionable
at the time the contract was made, requiring the court to seek to avoid an unjust impact on third parties and prohibiting the
court from making a determination the effect of which would be to terminate the common interest community.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 237 C. 123, 131, 132.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 12, 96.)
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(b) Any right or obligation declared by this chapter is enforceable by judicial proceeding.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 13, 96.)
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 237 C. 123, 132.
Cited. 22 CA 497, 503−505.
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(b) The dollar amount specified in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 47-
215 and any amount stated in the declaration pursuant to said section shall change on
July first of each year if the percentage of change, calculated to the nearest whole percentage point, between the Index at the end of the preceding year and the Reference Base
Index is ten per cent or more, but (1) the portion of the percentage change in the Index
in excess of a multiple of ten per cent shall be disregarded and the dollar amount shall
change only in multiples of ten per cent of the amount appearing in this chapter on
January 1, 1984; (2) the dollar amount shall not change if the amount required by this
section is that currently in effect pursuant to this chapter as a result of earlier application
of this section; and (3) in no event may the dollar amount be reduced below the amount
appearing in this chapter on January 1, 1984.
(c) If the Index is revised after December, 1979, the percentage of change pursuant
to this section shall be calculated on the basis of the revised Index. If the revision of
the Index changes the Reference Base Index, a revised Reference Base Index shall be
determined by multiplying the Reference Base Index then applicable by the rebasing
factor furnished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the Index is superseded, the Index
referred to in this section is the one represented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as
reflecting most accurately changes in the purchasing power of the dollar for consumers.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 14, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 3, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 84-472 made minor technical changes; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to delete references to
the dollar amount specified in "subdivision (7) of subsection (b) of section 47-262", replace "amounts" with "amount"
and make technical changes.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(P.A. 83-474, S. 15, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 95-187 added provision re applicability of amendments to chapter.
Cited. 228 C. 476, 483.
Cited. 7 CA 496, 500. Cited. 41 CA 249, 251.
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(1) If a common interest community contains only units restricted to nonresidential use:
(A) The common interest community is not subject to this chapter unless the declaration otherwise provides;
(B) The declaration of such a common interest community may provide that this
entire chapter applies to the community or that only sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-
206 apply;
(C) If the declaration provides that this entire chapter applies to such a common
interest community, the declaration may also require, subject to section 47-210, that:
(i) Notwithstanding section 47-247, any management contract, employment contract,
lease of recreational or parking areas or facilities and any other contract or lease between
the association and a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant remains effective after the
declarant turns over control of the association; and (ii) notwithstanding section 47-203,
purchasers of units must execute proxies, powers of attorney or similar devices in favor
of the declarant regarding particular matters enumerated in those instruments.
(2) If a common interest community contains units restricted exclusively to nonresidential purposes and other units that may be used for residential purposes, that common
interest community is not subject to this chapter unless the units that may be used for
residential purposes would comprise a common interest community in the absence of
the nonresidential units or the declaration provides that this chapter applies as provided
in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(3) If the declaration of a planned community that is not subject to any development
right provides that the annual average common expense liability of all units restricted
to residential purposes, exclusive of optional user fees and any insurance premiums paid
by the association, may not exceed three hundred dollars, as adjusted pursuant to section
47-213, the planned community is subject only to sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-
206 unless the declaration provides that this entire chapter is applicable. However, this
exemption applies only if:
(A) The declarant reasonably believes in good faith that the maximum annual common expense liability assessed against the units will be sufficient to pay the expenses
of the planned community; and
(B) The declaration provides that the annual common expense liability may not be
increased during the period of declarant control without the consent of persons entitled
to cast at least eighty per cent of the votes in the association, including eighty per cent
of the votes allocated to units not owned by a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant.
(b) In the case of a common interest community containing a conversion building,
sections 47-282 to 47-292, inclusive, apply whether or not the common interest community is exempt from other provisions of this chapter pursuant to subsection (a). The
provisions of sections 47-282 to 47-292, inclusive, apply to a common interest community containing a conversion building created on or after July 8, 1983. The provisions
of sections 47-88b to 47-88g, inclusive, do not apply to a condominium containing a
conversion building created on or after July 8, 1983.
(c) If a common interest community contains no more than twelve units and (1) is
not subject to any development rights and (2) does not utilize a master association, the
declarant is not required to deliver a public offering statement pursuant to section 47-
263 or 47-264; resale certificates are not required, as provided in section 47-270, and
the association is not required to maintain records necessary to comply with section
47-270. A declarant shall not divide real property into two or more common interest
communities to avoid the public offering statement requirements of sections 47-263
and 47-264.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 16, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 4, 5, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 84-472 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical clarification and amended Subsec. (c) to exclude certain
common interest communities which do "not utilize a master association" from certain requirements and to add a provision
prohibiting a declarant dividing real property into two or more common interest communities to avoid the public offering
statement requirements of Secs. 47-263 and 47-264; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to revise Subdiv. (1) re applicability
of chapter to nonresidential communities by deleting the provision that a nonresidential community "is subject only to
sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-206 unless the declaration provides that this entire chapter is applicable" and adding
Subparas. (A), (B) and (C), add a new Subdiv. (2) re applicability of chapter to a community that contains both nonresidential
and residential units, renumbering former Subdiv. (2) as Subdiv. (3), and revise renumbered Subdiv. (3) by restricting the
exemption to a planned community "that is not subject to any development right", increasing the maximum annual average
common expense liability for the exemption to apply from one hundred to three hundred dollars and adding Subparas. (A)
and (B) limiting when the exemption applies.
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(b) Section 47-210 and subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 47-225 apply to
all common interest communities created in this state prior to January 1, 1984, but shall
not invalidate existing provisions of the declarations, bylaws or surveys or plans of those
common interest communities.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 17, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 6, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 6, 28.)
History: P.A. 84-472 made technical clarifications; P.A. 95-187 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), replacing
reference to "subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, and (11) to (16), inclusive, of subsection (a) of section 47-244" with "section
47-244" and added reference to "subsection (j) of section 47-236", and added Subsec. (b) making Sec. 47-210 and Subsecs.
(b) to (d), inclusive, of Sec. 47-225 applicable to all common interest communities created prior to January 1, 1984, and
providing that those provisions do not invalidate existing provisions of the declarations, bylaws or surveys or plans of
those communities.
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(b) If a common interest community created within this state before January 1, 1984,
was formed pursuant to a special act of the legislature, it is not subject to the provisions
of this chapter unless a majority of the unit owners vote, in conformity with applicable
law, to subject such common interest community to the provisions of this chapter. If a
majority of the unit owners so vote, the provisions of this chapter apply to such common
interest community in the manner described in section 47-216 and this section.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 18, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 7, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 84-472 replaced "cooperative or planned community" with "common interest community", provided an
exception for a "common interest community described in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 47-215" and
added Subsec. (b) re the applicability of chapter 828 to a common interest community created before January 1, 1984,
pursuant to a special act of the legislature; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to insert Subdiv. indicators, add Subdiv. (2)
re nonresidential communities and make a technical change to a statutory reference in Subdiv. (3).
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(b) An amendment to the declaration, bylaws or surveys and plans authorized by
subsection (a) of this section shall be adopted in conformity with any procedures and
requirements for amending the instruments specified by those instruments or, if there
are none, in conformity with the amendment procedures of this chapter. If an amendment
grants to any person any rights, powers or privileges permitted by this chapter, all correlative obligations, liabilities and restrictions in this chapter also apply to that person.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 19, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 8, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 8.)
History: P.A. 84-472 made technical clarifications; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to replace provisions that specified
that whether an amendment may be made pursuant to the law prior to January 1, 1984, or this chapter, and the law applicable
to such amendment, depended upon whether the substantive result accomplished by the amendment was or was not permitted by law prior to January 1, 1984, with provision that authorized the adoption of an amendment "to achieve any result
permitted by this chapter regardless of what applicable law provided before January 1, 1984," and amended Subsec. (b)
to replace requirement that an amendment be adopted "in conformity with the procedures and requirements of the law that
applied to the common interest community at the time it was created and in conformity with the procedures and requirements
specified by those instruments" with requirement that an amendment be adopted "in conformity with any procedures and
requirements for amending the instruments specified by those instruments or, if there are none, in conformity with the
amendment procedures of this chapter".
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 20, 96.)
CREATION, ALTERATION AND TERMINATION
OF COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITIES
(b) A declaration, or an amendment to a declaration adding units, may not be recorded unless all structural components of all buildings containing or comprising any
units thereby created are substantially completed in accordance with the plans, as evidenced by a recorded certificate of completion executed by a registered engineer, surveyor or architect.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 21, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 9, 23.)
History: P.A. 84-472 made technical change.
Cited. 208 C. 318, 326.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 428. Cited. 44 CA 107.
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(1) If walls, floors or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring,
wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring and
any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces thereof are a part of
the unit, and all other portions of the walls, floors or ceilings are a part of the common
elements.
(2) If any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column or any other
fixture lies partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of a unit,
any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element allocated solely
to that unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the
common elements is a part of the common elements.
(3) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, all spaces, interior partitions and other
fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a unit are a part of the unit.
(4) Any shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies,
patios and all exterior doors and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single
unit, but located outside the unit's boundaries, are limited common elements allocated
exclusively to that unit.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 22, 96.)
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(b) The rule against perpetuities does not apply to defeat any provision of the declaration or of the bylaws, rules or regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 47-244.
(c) In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the declaration and the bylaws, the declaration prevails except to the extent the declaration is inconsistent with
this chapter.
(d) Title to a unit and common elements is not rendered unmarketable or otherwise
affected by reason of an insubstantial failure of the declaration to comply with this
chapter. Whether a substantial failure impairs marketability is not affected by this
chapter.
(e) In any case in which the surveys or plans required pursuant to section 47-228,
as identified in the declaration, are not recorded simultaneously with the remainder of
the declaration but are recorded thereafter, the failure to record the survey or plans
simultaneously with the remainder of the declaration is an insubstantial failure of the
declaration to comply with this chapter.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 23, 96; P.A. 99-238, S. 3, 8; P.A. 00-84, S. 3, 6.)
History: P.A. 99-238 added Subsec. (e) re failure to record survey or plans simultaneously with remainder of declaration
is insubstantial failure of declaration to comply with chapter, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 00-84 revised effective date of
P.A. 99-238 to specify applicability of section as amended by that act to errors, irregularities and omissions occurring on
or after January 1, 1999, effective July 1, 2000.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 24, 96.)
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(1) The names of the common interest community and the association and a statement that the common interest community is either a condominium, cooperative or
planned community;
(2) The name of every town in which any part of the common interest community
is situated;
(3) A legally sufficient description of the real property included in the common
interest community;
(4) A statement of the maximum number of units that the declarant reserves the
right to create;
(5) In a condominium or planned community, a description of the boundaries of
each unit created by the declaration, including the unit's identifying number or, in a
cooperative, a description, which may be by surveys or plans, of each unit created by
the declaration, including the unit's identifying number, its size or number of rooms
and its location within a building if it is within a building containing more than one unit;
(6) A description of any limited common elements, other than those specified in
subsections (2) and (4) of section 47-221, as provided in subdivision (10) of subsection
(b) of section 47-228 and, in a planned community, any real property that is or must
become common elements;
(7) A description of any real property, except real property subject to development
rights, that may be allocated subsequently as limited common elements, other than limited common elements specified in subsections (2) and (4) of section 47-221, together
with a statement that they may be so allocated;
(8) A description of any development rights, as defined in subsection (14) of section
47-202, and other special declarant rights, as defined in subsection (29) of section 47-
202, reserved by the declarant, together with a legally sufficient description of the real
property to which each of those rights applies and a time limit within which each of
those rights must be exercised;
(9) If any development right may be exercised with respect to different parcels of
real property at different times, a statement to that effect together with (A) either a
statement fixing the boundaries of those portions and regulating the order in which those
portions may be subjected to the exercise of each development right or a statement that
no assurances are made in those regards, and (B) a statement as to whether, if any
development right is exercised in any portion of the real property subject to that development right, that development right must be exercised in all or in any other portion of
the remainder of that real property;
(10) Any other conditions or limitations under which the rights described in subdivision (8) of this subsection may be exercised or will lapse;
(11) An allocation to each unit of the allocated interests in the manner described in
section 47-226;
(12) Any restrictions (A) on alienation of the units, including any restrictions on
leasing which exceed the restrictions on leasing units which executive boards may impose pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 47-244, and (B) on the
amount for which a unit may be sold or on the amount that may be received by a unit
owner on sale, condemnation or casualty loss to the unit or to the common interest
community, or on termination of the common interest community;
(13) The recording data for recorded easements and licenses appurtenant to or included in the common interest community or to which any portion of the common interest
community is or may become subject by virtue of a reservation in the declaration; and
(14) All matters required by sections 47-225 to 47-228, inclusive, sections 47-234
and 47-235 and subsection (d) of section 47-245.
(b) The declaration may contain any other matters not inconsistent with this chapter
that the declarant considers appropriate, including any restrictions on the uses of a unit
or the number or other qualifications of persons who may occupy units.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 25, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 9.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to delete in Subdiv. (12) the requirement that the declaration contain restrictions on "use" and "occupancy" of the units and add the requirement that the declaration contain "any restrictions on leasing
which exceed the restrictions on leasing units which executive boards may impose pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection
(c) of section 47-244" and amended Subsec. (b) to allow the declaration to contain "any restrictions on the uses of a unit
or the number or other qualifications of persons who may occupy units".
Cited. 208 C. 318, 326.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 428.
Subsec. (a):
Subdiv. (5) cited. 207 C. 441, 445, 446, 452, 453.
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(b) After the declaration for a leasehold condominium or leasehold planned community is recorded, neither the lessor nor the lessor's successor in interest may terminate
the leasehold interest of a unit owner who makes timely payment of a unit owner's share
of the rent and otherwise complies with all covenants which, if violated, would entitle
the lessor to terminate the lease. A unit owner's leasehold interest in a condominium
or planned community is not affected by failure of any other person to pay rent or fulfill
any other covenant.
(c) Acquisition of the leasehold interest of any unit owner by the owner of the
reversion or remainder does not merge the leasehold and reversionary or remainder
interests unless the leasehold interests of all unit owners subject to that reversion or
remainder are acquired.
(d) If the expiration or termination of a lease decreases the number of units in a
common interest community, the allocated interests shall be reallocated in accordance
with subsection (a) of section 47-206 as if those units had been taken by eminent domain.
Reallocations shall be confirmed by an amendment to the declaration prepared, executed
and recorded by the association.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 26, 96.)
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(b) The declaration shall state the formulas used to establish allocations of interests.
Those allocations may not discriminate in favor of units owned by the declarant or an
affiliate of the declarant.
(c) If units may be added to or withdrawn from the common interest community,
the declaration shall state the formulas to be used to reallocate the allocated interests
among all units included in the common interest community after the addition or withdrawal.
(d) The declaration may provide: (1) That different allocations of votes shall be
made to the units on particular matters specified in the declaration; (2) for cumulative
voting only for the purpose of electing members of the executive board; and (3) for class
voting on specified issues affecting the class if necessary to protect valid interests of
the class. A declarant may not use cumulative or class voting for the purpose of evading
any limitation imposed on declarants by this chapter nor may units constitute a class
because they are owned by a declarant.
(e) Except for minor variations due to rounding, the sum of the common expense
liabilities and, in a condominium, the sum of the undivided interests in the common
elements allocated at any time to all the units must each equal one if stated as a fraction
or one hundred per cent if stated as a percentage. In the event of discrepancy between
an allocated interest and the result derived from application of the pertinent formula,
the allocated interest prevails.
(f) In a condominium, the common elements are not subject to partition, and any
purported conveyance, encumbrance, judicial sale or other voluntary or involuntary
transfer of an undivided interest in the common elements made without the unit to which
that interest is allocated is void.
(g) In a cooperative, any purported conveyance, encumbrance, judicial sale or other
voluntary or involuntary transfer of an ownership interest in the association made without the possessory interest in the unit to which that interest is related is void.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 27, 96.)
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(b) Except as the declaration otherwise provides, a limited common element may
be reallocated by an amendment to the declaration executed by the unit owners between
or among whose units the reallocation is made. The persons executing the amendment
shall provide a copy thereof to the association, which shall record it. The amendment
shall be recorded in the names of the parties and the common interest community.
(c) A common element not previously allocated as a limited common element may
be so allocated only pursuant to provisions in the declaration made in accordance with
subdivision (7) of subsection (a) of section 47-224. The allocations shall be made by
amendments to the declaration.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 28, 96.)
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(b) Each survey shall show or project: (1) The name and a survey or general schematic map of the entire common interest community; (2) the location and dimensions
of all real property not subject to development rights, or subject only to the development
right to withdraw, and the location and dimensions of all existing improvements within
that real property; (3) a legally sufficient description of any real property subject to
development rights, labeled to identify the rights applicable to each parcel; (4) the extent
of any encroachments by or on any portion of the common interest community; (5) to
the extent feasible, a legally sufficient description of all easements serving or burdening
any portion of the common interest community; (6) except as provided in subsection
(h) of this section, the approximate location and dimensions of any vertical unit boundaries not shown or projected on plans recorded pursuant to subsection (d) of this section
and that unit's identifying number; (7) except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, the approximate location with reference to an established datum of any horizontal
unit boundaries not shown or projected on plans recorded pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section and that unit's identifying number; (8) a legally sufficient description of
any real property in which the unit owners will own only an estate for years, labeled as
"leasehold real property"; (9) the distance between noncontiguous parcels of real property comprising the common interest community; (10) the approximate location and
dimensions of any porches, decks, balconies, garages or patios allocated as limited common elements and show or contain a narrative description of any other limited common
elements; and (11) in the case of real property not subject to development rights, all
other matters customarily shown on land surveys.
(c) A survey may also show the intended location and dimensions of any contemplated improvement to be constructed anywhere within the common interest community.
Any contemplated improvement shown shall be labeled either "MUST BE BUILT" or
"NEED NOT BE BUILT".
(d) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, to the extent not shown or
projected on the surveys, plans of the units shall show or project: (1) The approximate
location and dimensions of the vertical boundaries of each unit, and that unit's identifying number; (2) the approximate location of any horizontal unit boundaries, with
reference to an established datum, and that unit's identifying number; and (3) the approximate location of any units in which the declarant has reserved the right to create additional units or common elements identified appropriately.
(e) Unless the declaration provides otherwise, the horizontal boundaries of part of
a unit located outside a building have the same elevation as the horizontal boundaries
of the inside part and need not be depicted on the surveys and plans.
(f) On exercising any development right, the declarant shall record either new surveys and plans necessary to conform to the requirements of subsections (a), (b) and (d)
of this section, or new certifications of surveys and plans previously recorded if those
surveys and plans otherwise conform to the requirements of those subsections.
(g) Any certification of a survey or plan required by this section shall be made by
a licensed surveyor, architect, engineer or landscape architect and such certification
shall be made in accordance with chapter 390, 391 or 396.
(h) Surveys and plans need not show the location and dimensions of the units'
boundaries or their limited common elements if:
(1) The survey shows the location and dimensions of all buildings containing or
comprising the units; and
(2) The declaration includes other information that shows the approximate layout
of the units in those buildings and contains a narrative or graphic description of the
limited common elements allocated to those units.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 29, 96; P.A. 86-218, S. 1; P.A. 95-187, S. 10.)
History: P.A. 86-218 amended Subsec. (g) by replacing "registered" with "licensed", authorizing certification by a
landscape architect, and requiring certification to be made in accordance with chapter 390, 391 or 396; P.A. 95-187 amended
Subsec. (b) to require survey to show "or project" the enumerated items, add in Subdivs. (6) and (7) "except as provided
in subsection (h) of this section" and "approximate" and revise Subdiv. (10) by replacing "the approximate location and
dimensions of limited common elements not shown or projected on plans recorded pursuant to subsection (d), including
porches, balconies and patios, other than parking spaces and the other limited common elements described in subsections
(2) and (4) of section 47-221" with "the approximate location and dimensions of any porches, decks, balconies, garages
or patios allocated as limited common elements and show or contain a narrative description of any other limited common
elements", amended Subsec. (d) to add "Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section," add in Subdiv. (1) "approximate", add in Subdivs. (2) and (3) "the approximate location" and delete Subdiv. (4) re the approximate location and
dimensions of limited common elements and added Subsec. (h) re when surveys and plans need not show the location and
dimensions of the units' boundaries or their limited common elements.
Subsec. (e):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
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(b) Development rights may be reserved within any real property added to the common interest community if the amendment adding that real property includes all matters
required by section 47-224 or 47-225, as the case may be, and, in a condominium or
planned community, the surveys and plans include all matters required by section 47-
228. This provision does not extend the time limit on the exercise of development rights
imposed by the declaration pursuant to subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section
47-224.
(c) Whenever a declarant exercises a development right to subdivide or convert a
unit previously created into additional units, common elements or both: (1) If the declarant converts the unit entirely to common elements, the amendment to the declaration
shall reallocate all the allocated interests of that unit among the other units as if that unit
had been taken by eminent domain; and (2) if the declarant subdivides the unit into two
or more units, whether or not any part of the unit is converted into common elements,
the amendment to the declaration shall reallocate all the allocated interests of the unit
among the units created by the subdivision in any reasonable manner prescribed by the
declarant.
(d) If the declaration provides, pursuant to subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 47-224, that all or a portion of the real property is subject to a right of withdrawal:
(1) If all the real property is subject to withdrawal, and the declaration does not describe
separate portions of real property subject to that right, none of the real property may be
withdrawn after a unit has been conveyed to a purchaser; and (2) if any portion is subject
to withdrawal, it may not be withdrawn after a unit in that portion has been conveyed
to a purchaser.
(e) If a declarant fails to exercise any development right within the time limit described in the declaration pursuant to subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 47-
224 and in accordance with any conditions or limitations described in the declaration
pursuant to subdivision (10) of said subsection, or records an instrument surrendering
a development right, that development right shall lapse.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 30, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 10, 23.)
History: P.A. 84-472 amended Subsec. (e) to provide that a development right shall lapse if a declarant records an
instrument surrendering it.
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(1) May make any improvements or alterations to his unit that do not impair the
structural integrity or mechanical systems or lessen the support of any portion of the
common interest community;
(2) May not change the appearance of the common elements, or the exterior appearance of a unit or any other portion of the common interest community, without permission of the association;
(3) After acquiring an adjoining unit or an adjoining part of an adjoining unit, may
remove or alter any intervening partition or create apertures therein, even if the partition
in whole or in part is a common element, if those acts do not impair the structural integrity
or mechanical systems or lessen the support of any portion of the common interest
community. Removal of partitions or creation of apertures under this subsection is not
an alteration of boundaries.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 31, 96.)
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
Subdiv. (3):
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
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(b) Subject to the provisions of the declaration and other provisions of law, boundaries between units and common elements may be relocated to incorporate common
elements within a unit by an amendment to the declaration upon application to the
association by the owner of the unit who proposes to relocate a boundary. Unless the
declaration provides otherwise, the amendment may be approved only if persons entitled
to cast at least sixty-seven per cent of the votes in the association, including sixty-seven
per cent of the votes allocated to units not owned by the declarant, agree to the action.
The amendment may describe any fees or charges payable by the owner of the affected
unit in connection with the boundary relocation and the fees and charges are assets of
the association. The amendment must be executed by the unit owner of the unit whose
boundary is being relocated and by the association, contain words of conveyance between them and on recordation be indexed in the name of the unit owner and the association as grantor or grantee, as appropriate.
(c) The association (1) in a condominium or planned community shall prepare and
record surveys or plans necessary to show the altered boundaries of affected units, and
their dimensions and identifying numbers, and (2) in a cooperative shall prepare and
record amendments to the declaration, including any plans necessary to show or describe
the altered boundaries of affected units, and their dimensions and identifying numbers.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 32, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 11.)
History: P.A. 95-187 added new Subsec. (b) re relocation of boundaries between units and common elements and
procedure therefor, redesignating former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c), and amended Subsec. (c) to replace "altered boundaries
between adjoining units" with "altered boundaries of affected units" where appearing.
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452.
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(b) The amendment to the declaration shall be executed by the owner of the unit to
be subdivided, assign an identifying number to each unit created and reallocate the
allocated interests formerly allocated to the subdivided unit to the new units in any
reasonable manner prescribed by the owner of the subdivided unit.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 33, 96.)
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 34, 96.)
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 35, 96.)
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(b) In a planned community, subject to the provisions of subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of section 47-244 and section 47-254, the unit owners have an easement (1) in
the common elements for purposes of access to their units and (2) to use the common
elements and all real property that must become common elements for all other purposes.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 36, 96.)
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(b) No action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association
pursuant to this section may be brought more than one year after the amendment is
recorded.
(c) Every amendment to the declaration shall be recorded in every town in which
any portion of the common interest community is located and is effective only on recordation. An amendment, except an amendment pursuant to subsection (a) of section
47-231, shall be indexed in the grantee's index in the name of the common interest
community and the association and in the grantor's index in the name of the parties
executing the amendment.
(d) Except to the extent expressly permitted or required by other provisions of this
chapter, no amendment may create or increase special declarant rights, increase the
number of units or change the boundaries of any unit or the allocated interests of a unit,
in the absence of unanimous consent of the unit owners.
(e) Amendments to the declaration required by this chapter to be recorded by the
association shall be prepared, executed, recorded and certified on behalf of the association by any officer of the association designated for that purpose or, in the absence of
designation, by the president of the association.
(f) By vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least eighty per cent
of the votes in the association are allocated, or any larger percentage specified in the
declaration, an amendment to the declaration may prohibit or materially restrict the
permitted uses or occupancy of a unit or the number or other qualifications of persons
who may occupy units. The amendment must provide reasonable protection for a use
or occupancy permitted at the time the amendment was adopted.
(g) The time limits specified in the declaration pursuant to subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 47-224, within which reserved development rights must be exercised
may be extended, the number of units may be increased and new development rights
or other special declarant rights may be created by amendment to the declaration if
persons entitled to cast at least eighty per cent of the votes in the association, including
eighty per cent of the votes allocated to units not owned by the declarant, agree to that
action. The amendment must identify the association or other persons who hold any
new rights that are created. Written notice of the proposed amendment to the declaration
must be delivered to all persons holding development rights or security interests in those
rights. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the amendment
to the declaration is effective thirty days after the amendment is recorded and notice is
delivered unless any of the persons entitled to notice under this subsection records a
written objection within the thirty-day period, in which case the amendment is void, or
unless all of the persons entitled to notice under this subsection consent in writing at
the time the amendment is recorded, in which case the amendment is effective when
recorded.
(h) Provisions in the declaration creating special declarant rights may not be
amended without the consent of the declarant.
(i) If any provision of this chapter or of the declaration of any common interest
community subject to this chapter requires the consent of a person holding a security
interest in a unit as a condition to the effectiveness of any amendment to the declaration,
that consent shall be deemed granted if no written refusal to consent is received by the
association within forty-five days after the association delivers notice of the proposed
amendment to the holder of the interest or mails the notice to the holder of the interest
by certified mail, return receipt requested. The association may rely on the last-recorded
security interest of record in delivering or mailing notice to the holder of that interest.
(j) If the declaration of a common interest community, whether created before or
after January 1, 1984, contains a provision requiring that amendments relating to the
use of units, the relocation of boundaries between units and common elements or the
extension or creation of development rights may be adopted only by the vote or
agreement of unit owners of units to which eighty per cent or more of the votes in the
association are allocated, such a proposed amendment shall be deemed approved if:
(1) (A) Unit owners of units to which at least eighty per cent of the votes in the
association are allocated vote for or agree to the proposed amendment;
(B) No unit owner votes against the proposed amendment; and
(C) Notice of the proposed amendment is delivered to the unit owners holding the
votes in the association that have not voted or agreed to the proposed amendment and
no written objection of the proposed amendment is received by the association within
thirty days after the association delivers notice; or
(2) Unit owners of units to which at least eighty per cent of the votes in the association are allocated vote for or agree to the proposed amendment but at least one unit
owner objects to the proposed amendment and, pursuant to an action brought by the
association in the Superior Court against all objecting unit owners, the court finds that
the objecting unit owner or owners do not have a unique minority interest, different in
kind from the interests of the other unit owners, that the voting requirement of the
declaration was intended to protect.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 37, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 12, 29.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to replace "except as limited by subsection (d) of this section" with "except
as limited by subsections (d) and (f) of this section", amended Subsec. (d) to delete prohibition on an amendment changing
the uses to which any unit is restricted without the unanimous consent of the unit owners, added a new Subsec. (f) to authorize
an amendment that prohibits or materially restricts the permitted uses or occupancy of a unit, specify the percentage vote
required for the adoption of such amendment and require the amendment to provide reasonable protection for a use or
occupancy permitted at the time the amendment was adopted, added a new Subsec. (g) authorizing an amendment that
extends the time limits within which reserved development rights must be exercised, increases the number of units or
creates new development rights or other special declarant rights and specifying procedure for adoption thereof, redesignated
former Subsec. (f) as Subsec. (h), added Subsec. (i) re when a person holding a security interest in a unit is deemed to have
granted his consent to the adoption of a proposed amendment and added Subsec. (j) re when an amendment relating to the
use of units, the relocation of boundaries between units and common elements or the extension or creation of development
rights that requires at least an eighty per cent vote is deemed approved, effective June 28, 1995.
Subsec. (d):
Cited. 22 CA 497, 498, 504.
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(b) An agreement to terminate shall be evidenced by the execution of a termination
agreement, or ratifications thereof, in the same manner as a deed, by the requisite number
of unit owners. The termination agreement shall specify a date after which the agreement
will be void unless it is recorded before that date. A termination agreement and all
ratifications thereof shall be recorded in every town in which a portion of the common
interest community is situated and is effective only on recordation.
(c) In the case of a condominium or planned community containing only units having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, a termination agreement may
provide that all of the common elements and units of the common interest community
shall be sold following termination. If, pursuant to the agreement, any real property in
the common interest community is to be sold following termination, the termination
agreement shall set forth the minimum terms of the sale.
(d) In the case of a condominium or planned community containing any units not
having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, a termination agreement may
provide for sale of the common elements, but it may not require that the units be sold
following termination, unless the declaration as originally recorded provided otherwise
or all the unit owners consent to the sale.
(e) The association, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract for the sale of real
property in a common interest community, but the contract is not binding on the unit
owners until approved pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section. If any real
property is to be sold following termination, title to that real property, on termination,
vests in the association as trustee for the holders of all interests in the units. Thereafter,
the association has all powers necessary and appropriate to effect the sale. Until the sale
has been concluded and the proceeds thereof distributed, the association continues in
existence with all powers it had before termination. Proceeds of the sale shall be distributed to unit owners and lien holders as their interests may appear, in accordance with
subsections (h), (i) and (j). Unless otherwise specified in the termination agreement, as
long as the association holds title to the real property, each unit owner and the unit
owner's successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupancy of the portion of
the real property that formerly constituted the unit. During the period of that occupancy,
each unit owner and the unit owner's successors in interest remain liable for all assessments and other obligations imposed on unit owners by this chapter or the declaration.
(f) In a condominium or planned community, if the real property constituting the
common interest community is not to be sold following termination, title to the common
elements and, in a common interest community containing only units having horizontal
boundaries described in the declaration, title to all the real property in the common
interest community, vest in the unit owners on termination as tenants in common in
proportion to their respective interests as provided in subsection (j) of this section, and
liens on the units shift accordingly. While the tenancy in common exists, each unit owner
and the unit owner's successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupancy of the
portion of the real property that formerly constituted the unit.
(g) Following termination of the common interest community, the proceeds of any
sale of real property, together with the assets of the association, are held by the association as trustee for unit owners and holders of liens on the units as their interests may
appear.
(h) Following termination of a condominium or planned community, creditors of
the association holding liens on the units, which were recorded before termination, may
enforce those liens in the same manner as any lien holder. All other creditors of the
association are to be treated as if they had perfected liens on the units immediately before
termination.
(i) In a cooperative, the declaration may provide that all creditors of the association
have priority over any interests of unit owners and creditors of unit owners. In that event,
following termination, creditors of the association holding liens on the cooperative
which were recorded before termination may enforce their liens in the same manner as
any lien holder, and any other creditor of the association is to be treated as if he had
perfected a lien against the cooperative immediately before termination. Unless the
declaration provides that all creditors of the association have that priority:
(1) The lien of each creditor of the association which was perfected against the
association before termination becomes, on termination, a lien against each unit owner's
interest in the unit as of the date the lien was perfected;
(2) Any other creditor of the association is to be treated on termination as if the
creditor had perfected a lien against each unit owner's interest immediately before termination;
(3) The amount of the lien of an association's creditor described in subdivisions (1)
and (2) of this subsection against each of the unit owners' interest shall be proportionate
to the ratio which each unit's common expense liability bears to the common expense
liability of all of the units;
(4) The lien of each creditor of each unit owner which was perfected before termination continues as a lien against that unit owner's unit as of the date the lien was perfected; and
(5) The assets of the association shall be distributed to all unit owners and all lien
holders as their interests may appear in the order described above. Creditors of the
association are not entitled to payment from any unit owner in excess of the amount of
the creditor's lien against that unit owner's interest.
(j) The respective interests of unit owners referred to in subsections (e), (f), (g), (h)
and (i) of this section are as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the respective interests
of unit owners are the fair market values of their units, allocated interests and any limited
common elements immediately before the termination, as determined by one or more
independent appraisers selected by the association. The decision of the independent
appraisers shall be distributed to the unit owners and becomes final unless disapproved
within thirty days after distribution by unit owners of units to which twenty-five per
cent of the votes in the association are allocated. The proportion of any unit owner's
interest to that of all unit owners is determined by dividing the fair market value of that
unit owner's unit and its allocated interests by the total fair market values of all the units
and their allocated interests.
(2) If any unit or any limited common element is destroyed to the extent that an
appraisal of the fair market value thereof before destruction cannot be made, the interests
of all unit owners are their respective common expense liabilities immediately before
the termination.
(k) In a condominium or planned community, except as provided in subsection (l)
of this section, foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against the entire
common interest community does not terminate, of itself, the common interest community, and foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against a portion of the
common interest community, other than withdrawable real property, does not withdraw
that portion from the common interest community. Foreclosure or enforcement of a lien
or encumbrance against withdrawable real property, or against common elements that
have been subjected to a security interest by the association under section 47-254, does
not withdraw, of itself, that real property from the common interest community, but the
person taking title thereto may require from the association, on request, an amendment
excluding the real property from the common interest community.
(l) In a condominium or planned community, if a lien or encumbrance against a
portion of the real property comprising the common interest community has priority
over the declaration and the lien or encumbrance has not been partially released, the
parties foreclosing the lien or encumbrance, on foreclosure, may record an instrument
excluding the real property subject to that lien or encumbrance from the common interest
community.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 38, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 13.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (k) to provide that foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance "against
common elements that have been subjected to a security interest by the association under section 47-254" does not withdraw,
of itself, that real property from the community.
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(b) A lender who has extended credit to an association secured by an assignment
of income or an encumbrance on the common elements may enforce its security
agreement in accordance with its terms, subject to the requirements of this chapter and
other law. Requirements that the association must deposit its periodic common charges
before default with the lender to which the association's income has been assigned, or
increase its periodic common charges at the lender's direction by amounts reasonably
necessary to amortize the loan in accordance with its terms, or to have a court appointed
receiver of the association collect and disburse common charges after default, do not
violate the prohibitions on lender approval contained in subsection (a) of this section.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 39, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 95-187 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and amended said Subsec. to delete provision re
security interests encumbering the "common elements" and add provision authorizing the declaration to require that secured
lenders "who have extended credit to the association and whose consent rights have been granted by agreement" approve
certain actions and added Subsec. (b) to authorize a lender who has extended credit to an association secured by an
assignment of income or an encumbrance on the common elements to enforce its security agreement and provide that
certain requirements imposed on the association or a receiver re the deposit, increase or collection and disbursement of
common charges do not violate the prohibitions on lender approval of Subsec. (a).
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(b) Unless it is acting in the capacity of an association described in section 47-243,
a master association may exercise the powers set forth in subdivision (2) of subsection (a)
of section 47-244 only to the extent expressly permitted in the declarations of common
interest communities which are part of the master association or expressly described
in the delegations of power from those common interest communities to the master
association.
(c) If the declaration of any common interest community provides that the executive
board may delegate certain powers to a master association, the members of the executive
board have no liability for the acts or omissions of the master association with respect
to those powers following delegation.
(d) The rights and responsibilities of unit owners with respect to the unit owners'
association set forth in sections 47-245, 47-250, 47-251, 47-252 and 47-254 apply in
the conduct of the affairs of a master association only to persons who elect the board
of a master association, whether or not those persons are otherwise unit owners within
the meaning of this chapter.
(e) Even if a master association is also an association described in section 47-243,
the certificate of incorporation or other instrument creating the master association and
the declaration of each common interest community the powers of which are assigned
by the declaration or delegated to the master association, may provide that the executive
board of the master association shall be elected after the period of declarant control in
any of the following ways:
(1) All unit owners of all common interest communities subject to the master association may elect all members of the master association's executive board.
(2) All members of the executive boards of all common interest communities subject
to the master association may elect all members of the master association's executive
board.
(3) All unit owners of each common interest community subject to the master association may elect specified members of the master association's executive board.
(4) All members of the executive board of each common interest community subject
to the master association may elect specified members of the master association's executive board.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 40, 96.)
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(b) An agreement of two or more common interest communities to merge or consolidate pursuant to subsection (a) shall be evidenced by an agreement prepared, executed,
recorded and certified by the president of the association of each of the preexisting
common interest communities following approval by owners of units to which are allocated the percentage of votes in each common interest community required to terminate
that common interest community. The agreement shall be recorded in every town in
which a portion of the common interest community is located and is not effective until
recorded.
(c) Every merger or consolidation agreement shall provide for the reallocation of
the allocated interests in the new association among the units of the resultant common
interest community either by stating (1) the reallocations or (2) the formulas on which
they are based.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 41, 96.)
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 42, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 11, 23.)
History: P.A. 84-472 replaced "for adding" with "to add".
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(b) If the requirements of subsection (a) of this section are satisfied, the declaration
for the master planned community need not state a maximum number of units and need
not contain any of the information required by subdivisions (3) to (14), inclusive, of
subsection (a) of section 47-224 until the declaration is amended under subsection (c)
of this section.
(c) When each unit in a master planned community is conveyed to a purchaser, the
declaration must contain (1) a sufficient legal description of the unit and all portions of
the master planned community in which any other units have been conveyed to a purchaser, and (2) all the information required by subdivisions (3) to (14), inclusive, of
subsection (a) of section 47-224 with respect to that real property.
(d) The only real property in a master planned community which is subject to this
chapter are units that have been declared or which are being offered for sale and any other
real property described pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Other real property that
is or may become part of the master planned community is not subject to the provisions
of this chapter but is subject to any other restrictions and limitations that appear of
record.
(e) If the public offering statement conspicuously identifies the fact that the community is a master planned community, the disclosure requirements contained in sections
47-262 to 47-281, inclusive, apply only with respect to units that have been declared or
are being offered for sale in connection with the public offering statement and to the
real property described pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(f) Limitations in this chapter on the addition of unspecified real property do not
apply to a master planned community.
(g) The common interest community loses its status as a master planned community
if the aggregate amount of land which is either subject to the declaration or owned or
contractually controlled by the declarant ceases to total at least five hundred acres.
(P.A. 95-187, S. 15.)
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(b) The declaration of a limited equity cooperative may provide, notwithstanding
the requirements of subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 47-224, that the declaration may be amended by vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least
sixty-seven per cent of the votes in the association are allocated, to add land and units
to the cooperative, even though the land and units were not described in the original
declaration.
(c) If the declaration of a limited equity cooperative is amended pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to add land or units, the amendment shall comply with sections
47-229 and 47-236; provided (1) the amendment may reallocate the allocated interests
among all the units in any reasonable manner which has been approved by the vote or
agreement of unit owners; and (2) the amendment shall contain a legally sufficient
description of the real property added to the cooperative.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 43, 96.)
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 525.
MANAGEMENT OF COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITIES
(P.A. 83-474, S. 44, 96.)
Cited. 208 C. 318, 326.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 429. Cited. 44 CA 107.
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(1) Adopt and amend bylaws and rules and regulations;
(2) Adopt and amend budgets for revenues, expenditures and reserves and collect
assessments for common expenses from unit owners;
(3) Hire and discharge managing agents and other employees, agents and independent contractors;
(4) Institute, defend or intervene in litigation or administrative proceedings in its
own name on behalf of itself or two or more unit owners on matters affecting the common
interest community;
(5) Make contracts and incur liabilities;
(6) Regulate the use, maintenance, repair, replacement and modification of common
elements;
(7) Cause additional improvements to be made as a part of the common elements;
(8) Acquire, hold, encumber and convey in its own name any right, title or interest
to real property or personal property, but (A) common elements in a condominium or
planned community may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest only pursuant
to section 47-254 and (B) part of a cooperative may be conveyed, or all or part of a
cooperative may be subjected to a security interest, only pursuant to section 47-254;
(9) Grant easements, leases, licenses and concessions through or over the common
elements;
(10) Impose and receive any payments, fees or charges for the use, rental or operation of the common elements, other than limited common elements described in subsections (2) and (4) of section 47-221, and for services provided to unit owners;
(11) Impose charges or interest or both for late payment of assessments and, after
notice and an opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations of the association;
(12) Impose reasonable charges for the preparation and recordation of amendments
to the declaration, resale certificates required by section 47-270 or statements of unpaid
assessments;
(13) Provide for the indemnification of its officers and executive board and maintain
directors' and officers' liability insurance;
(14) Assign its right to future income, including the right to receive common expense assessments, but only to the extent the declaration expressly so provides;
(15) Exercise any other powers conferred by the declaration or bylaws;
(16) Exercise all other powers that may be exercised in this state by legal entities
of the same type as the association;
(17) Exercise any other powers necessary and proper for the governance and operation of the association; and
(18) Require, by regulation, that disputes between the executive board and unit
owners or between two or more unit owners regarding the common interest community
must be submitted to nonbinding alternative dispute resolution in the manner described
in the regulation as a prerequisite to commencement of a judicial proceeding.
(b) The declaration may not impose limitations on the power of the association to
deal with the declarant which are more restrictive than the limitations imposed on the
power of the association to deal with other persons.
(c) (1) Unless otherwise permitted by the declaration or this chapter, an association
may adopt rules and regulations that affect the use or occupancy of units that may be
used for residential purposes only to:
(A) Prevent any use of a unit which violates the declaration;
(B) Regulate any occupancy of a unit which violates the declaration or adversely
affects the use and enjoyment of other units or the common elements by other unit
owners; or
(C) Restrict the leasing of residential units to the extent those rules are reasonably
designed to meet first mortgage underwriting requirements of institutional lenders who
regularly purchase or insure first mortgages on units in common interest communities,
provided no such restrictions shall be enforceable unless notice thereof is recorded on
the land records of each town in which any part of the common interest community is
located. Such notice shall be indexed in the grantor index of such land records in the
name of the association.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the association may
not regulate any use or occupancy of units.
(d) If a tenant of a unit owner violates the declaration, bylaws or rules and regulations
of the association, in addition to exercising any of its powers against the unit owner,
the association may:
(1) Exercise directly against the tenant the powers described in subdivision (11) of
subsection (a) of this section;
(2) After giving notice to the tenant and the unit owner and an opportunity to be
heard, levy reasonable fines against the tenant or unit owner, or both, for the violation; and
(3) Enforce any other rights against the tenant for the violation which the unit owner
as landlord could lawfully have exercised under the lease, including any such right to
bring a summary process action under chapter 832.
(e) The rights granted under subdivision (3) of subsection (d) of this section may
only be exercised if the tenant or unit owner fails to cure the violation within ten days
after the association notifies the tenant and unit owner of that violation.
(f) Unless a lease otherwise provides, this section does not:
(1) Affect rights that the unit owner has to enforce the lease or that the association
has under other law; or
(2) Permit the association to enforce a lease to which it is not a party except to the
extent that there is a violation of the declaration, bylaws or rules and regulations.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 45, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 16.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (18) authorizing an association to require that disputes be
submitted to nonbinding alternative dispute resolution, added Subsec. (c) authorizing an association to regulate the use or
occupancy of residential units and specifying the purposes for which such regulations may be adopted, added Subsec. (d)
re actions an association may take against a tenant who violates the declaration, bylaws or rules and regulations of the
association, added Subsec. (e) limiting the exercise of the rights under Subdiv. (3) of Subsec. (d) to where the tenant or
unit owner has failed to cure the violation in a timely manner and added Subsec. (f) specifying rights of a unit owner or
association that are not affected by this section and enforcement actions by an association that are not authorized by
this section.
Cited. 208 C. 318, 327.
Cited. 24 CA 554, 555. Cited. 38 CA 420, 429.
Subsec. (a):
Subdiv. (4) cited. 41 CA 249, 251. Subdiv. (4): Condominium Association has standing to bring appeal from the tax
assessment of the common elements of the condominium. Cited. 44 CA 107.
Subdiv. (4): Does not provide that all suits against interests of unit owners are to be brought against association, without
individual notice to unit owners. 45 CS 261.
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(b) A statutory agent for service of a unit owners' association shall be appointed by
filing with the Secretary of the State a written appointment in such form as he prescribes
setting forth: (1) The name of the common interest community and of the association;
(2) the name of the statutory agent for service; and (3) if the statutory agent is a natural
person, the business and residence address thereof; if the statutory agent is a domestic
corporation, the address of the principal office thereof; if the statutory agent is a corporation not organized under the laws of this state, the address of the principal office thereof
in this state, if any. In each case the address shall include the street and number or other
particular designation.
(c) The written appointment shall be signed by the president, vice president or secretary of the appointing association. Each written appointment shall also be signed by the
statutory agent for service therein appointed.
(d) If a statutory agent for service dies, dissolves, withdraws from the state or resigns, the unit owners' association shall forthwith appoint another statutory agent for
service. If the statutory agent for service changes his or its address within the state from
that appearing upon the record in the office of the Secretary of the State, the unit owners'
association shall forthwith file with the Secretary of the State notice of the new address.
A statutory agent for service may resign by filing with the Secretary of the State a signed
statement in duplicate to that effect. The Secretary of the State shall forthwith file one
copy and mail the other copy of such statement to the unit owners' association at its
principal office. Upon the expiration of thirty days after such filing, the resignation shall
be effective and the authority of such statutory agent for service shall terminate. A unit
owners' association may revoke the appointment of a statutory agent for service by
making a new appointment as provided in this section and any new appointment so
made shall revoke all appointments theretofore made.
(e) The Secretary of the State shall charge and collect a fee of forty-five dollars for
filing an appointment of a statutory agent, and a fee of nine dollars for filing a change
of address of statutory agent or change of statutory agent.
(P.A. 91-341, S. 16, 19.)
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(b) If it appears from the records of the Secretary of the State that such a unit owners'
association has failed to appoint or maintain a statutory agent for service, or if it appears
by affidavit attached to the process, notice or demand of the officer or other proper
person directed to serve any process, notice or demand upon such an association's statutory agent for service appearing on the records of the Secretary of the State that such
agent cannot, with reasonable diligence, be found at the address shown on such records
as the agent's address, service of such process, notice or demand on such association
may, when timely made, be made by such officer or other proper person by: (1) Leaving
a true and attested copy thereof together with the required fee at the office of the Secretary
of the State or depositing the same in the United States mails, by registered or certified
mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such office, and (2) depositing in the United States
mails, by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, a true and attested copy thereof,
together with a statement by such officer or person that service is being made pursuant
to this section, addressed to such association at its principal office.
(c) The Secretary of the State shall file the copy of each process, notice or demand
received by him as provided in subsection (b) of this section and keep a record of the
day and hour of such receipt. Service made as provided in this section shall be effective
as of such day and hour.
(d) Nothing herein contained shall limit or affect the right to serve any process,
notice or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon a unit owners' association in any other manner now or hereafter permitted by law.
(P.A. 91-341, S. 17, 19.)
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(b) The executive board may not act on behalf of the association to amend the
declaration, to terminate the common interest community or to elect members of the
executive board or determine the qualifications, powers and duties, or terms of office
of executive board members, but the executive board may fill vacancies in its membership for the unexpired portion of any term.
(c) Within thirty days after adoption of any proposed budget for the common interest
community, the executive board shall provide a summary of the budget to all the unit
owners and shall set a date for a meeting of the unit owners to consider ratification of
the budget not less than fourteen nor more than thirty days after mailing of the summary.
Unless at that meeting a majority of all unit owners, or any larger vote specified in the
declaration, reject the budget, the budget is ratified, whether or not a quorum is present.
In the event the proposed budget is rejected, the periodic budget last ratified by the unit
owners shall be continued until such time as the unit owners ratify a subsequent budget
proposed by the executive board.
(d) Subject to subsection (e), the declaration may provide for a period of declarant
control of the association, during which a declarant, or persons designated by him, may
appoint and remove the officers and members of the executive board. Regardless of the
period provided in the declaration, a period of declarant control terminates no later than
the earlier of: (1) Sixty days after conveyance of sixty per cent of the units that may be
created to unit owners other than a declarant, except that in the case of a master planned
community, control terminates no later than sixty days after conveyance to unit owners
other than the declarant of sixty per cent of the maximum number of units that may be
built, if that number is specified, or, if no such number is specified, after conveyance
to unit owners other than the declarant of three hundred units; (2) two years after all
declarants have ceased to offer units for sale in the ordinary course of business; (3) two
years after any right to add new units was last exercised; or (4) the date the declarant,
after giving written notice to unit owners, records an instrument voluntarily surrendering
all rights to control activities of the association. A declarant may voluntarily surrender
the right to appoint and remove officers and members of the executive board before
termination of that period, but in that event the declarant may require, for the duration
of the period of declarant control, that specified actions of the association or executive
board, as described in a recorded instrument executed by the declarant, be approved by
the declarant before they become effective.
(e) Not later than sixty days after conveyance of one-third of the units that may be
created to unit owners other than a declarant, at least one member and not less than one-
third of the members of the executive board shall be elected by unit owners other than
the declarant.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of section 47-239, not later than
the termination of any period of declarant control, the unit owners shall elect an executive
board of at least three members, at least a majority of whom shall be unit owners. The
executive board shall elect the officers. The executive board members and officers shall
take office upon election.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of the declaration or bylaws to the contrary, the
unit owners, by a two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote at any meeting
of the unit owners at which a quorum is present, may remove any member of the executive board with or without cause, other than a member appointed by the declarant.
(h) Within thirty days after unit owners other than the declarant elect a majority of
the members of the executive board, the declarant shall deliver to the association all
property of the unit owners and of the association held by or controlled by the declarant,
including without limitation the following items: (1) The original or a certified copy of
the recorded declaration as amended; the association articles of incorporation, if the
association is incorporated; bylaws; minute books and other books and records of the
association; and any rules and regulations which may have been promulgated; (2) an
accounting for association funds and financial statements, from the date the association
received funds and ending on the date the period of declarant control ends. The financial
statements shall be audited by an independent certified public accountant and shall be
accompanied by the accountant's letter, expressing either (A) the opinion that the financial statements present fairly the financial position of the association in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles or (B) a disclaimer of the accountant's ability
to attest to the fairness of the presentation of the financial information in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles, and the reasons therefor. The expense
of the audit shall not be paid for or charged to the association; (3) association funds or
control thereof; (4) all of declarant's tangible personal property that has been represented
by the declarant to be the property of the association or, unless the declarant has disclosed
in the public offering statement that all such personal property used in the common
interest community will remain the declarant's property, all of the declarant's tangible
personal property that is necessary for, and has been used exclusively in, the operation
and enjoyment of the common elements, and inventories of these properties; (5) a copy
of any plans and specifications used in the construction of the improvements in the
common interest community which were completed within two years before the declaration was recorded; (6) all insurance policies then in force, in which the unit owners, the
association or its directors and officers are named as insured persons; (7) copies of any
certificates of occupancy that may have been issued with respect to any improvements
comprising the common interest community; (8) any other permits issued by governmental bodies applicable to the common interest community and which are currently
in force or which were issued within one year prior to the date on which unit owners
other than the declarant took control of the association; (9) written warranties of the
contractor, subcontractors, suppliers and manufacturers that are still effective; (10) a
roster of unit owners and mortgagees and their addresses and telephone numbers, if
known, as shown on the declarant's records; (11) employment contracts in which the
association is a contracting party; and (12) any service contract in which the association
is a contracting party or in which the association or the unit owners have any obligation
to pay a fee to the persons performing the services.
(i) During the period of declarant control, the declarant shall, at least every six
months, provide the unit owners with a current financial statement of the association.
The statement shall be on a cash basis and need not be audited by an independent accountant. It shall include, without limitation, (1) all income and expenses for the calendar
year to date; (2) all accounts payable and receivable, including the ages of those accounts
and showing all sums due to and from the declarant and affiliates of the declarant; (3)
the amount of any funded replacement reserves; and (4) the balance of any other funds
of the association.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 46, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 12, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 17; P.A. 96-180, S. 126, 166; 96-256, S. 204, 209.)
History: P.A. 84-472 added Subsec. (h) requiring the declarant to deliver to the association all property of unit owners
and of the association held by or controlled by the declarant within thirty days after unit owners other than the declarant
elect a majority of the members of the executive board and added Subsec. (i) requiring the declarant to provide the unit
owners with a current financial statement of the association at least every six months during the period of declarant control;
P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to revise and heighten the standard of care required of officers and members of the
executive board and amended Subsec. (d) to add exception re a master planned community in Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv.
(4) re the date the declarant records an instrument voluntarily surrendering control; P.A. 96-180 made technical change in
Subsec. (a), effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 96-256 amended Subsec. (a) to replace reference to chapter 600 with chapter 602,
effective January 1, 1997.
Cited. 208 C. 318, 327.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 429.
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(b) On transfer of any special declarant right, the liability of a transferor declarant
is as follows:
(1) A transferor is not relieved of any obligation or liability arising before the transfer and remains liable for warranty obligations imposed on him by this chapter. Lack
of privity does not deprive any unit owner of standing to maintain an action to enforce
any obligation of the transferor.
(2) If a successor to any special declarant right is an affiliate of a declarant, as
defined in subsection (1) of section 47-202, the transferor is jointly and severally liable
with the successor for any obligations or liabilities of the successor relating to the common interest community.
(3) If a transferor retains any special declarant rights, but transfers other special
declarant rights to a successor who is not an affiliate of the declarant, the transferor is
liable for any obligations or liabilities imposed on a declarant by this chapter or by the
declaration relating to the retained special declarant rights and arising after the transfer.
(4) A transferor has no liability for any act or omission or any breach of a contractual
or warranty obligation arising from the exercise of a special declarant right by a successor
declarant who is not an affiliate of the transferor.
(c) (1) Unless otherwise provided in a mortgage instrument, deed of trust or other
agreement creating a security interest, in case of a sale by a trustee under an agreement
creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale other than a foreclosure sale, or sale
under bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, of any units owned by a declarant or
real property in a common interest community subject to development rights, a person
acquiring title to all the property being sold, but only on his request, succeeds to all
special declarant rights related to that property held by that declarant, or only to any
rights reserved in the declaration pursuant to section 47-234 and held by that declarant
to maintain models, sales offices, management offices and signs. The judgment or instrument conveying title shall provide for transfer of only the special declarant rights requested.
(2) Unless otherwise provided in a mortgage instrument, a foreclosure of a mortgage
on property in a common interest community subject to development rights operates to
vest absolute title to the development rights related to the property being foreclosed and
held by the declarant whose interest is being foreclosed in the foreclosing mortgagee, or
in a redeeming defendant, or in a purchaser at a foreclosure auction unless the foreclosing
mortgagee, in its complaint for foreclosure, indicates that those development rights are
not part of the mortgaged property for which the mortgagee is seeking a foreclosure.
(d) On foreclosure of a security interest, sale by a trustee under an agreement creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale, or sale under bankruptcy or receivership
proceedings, of all interests in a common interest community owned by a declarant:
(1) The declarant ceases to have any special declarant rights; and
(2) The period of declarant control, as provided in subsection (d) of section 47-245,
terminates unless the judgment or instrument conveying title provides for transfer of
all special declarant rights held by that declarant to a successor declarant.
(e) The liabilities and obligations of a person who succeeds to special declarant
rights are as follows:
(1) A successor to any special declarant right who is an affiliate of a declarant is
subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed on the transferor by this chapter or by
the declaration.
(2) A successor to any special declarant right, other than a successor described in
subdivisions (3) or (4) of this subsection or a successor who is an affiliate of a declarant,
is subject to the obligations and liabilities imposed by this chapter or the declaration:
(A) On a declarant which relate to the successor's exercise or nonexercise of special
declarant rights; or (B) on his transferor, other than: (i) Misrepresentations by any previous declarant; (ii) warranty obligations on improvements made and sold by any previous
declarant, or made before the common interest community was created; (iii) breach of
any fiduciary obligation by any previous declarant or his appointees to the executive
board; or (iv) any liability or obligation imposed on the transferor as a result of the
transferor's acts or omissions after the transfer.
(3) A successor to only a right reserved in the declaration to maintain models, sales
offices, and signs, as provided in section 47-234, may not exercise any other special
declarant right, and is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant, except the
obligation to provide a public offering statement and any liability arising as a result
thereof.
(4) A successor to all special declarant rights held by a transferor who succeeded
to those rights pursuant to a deed or other instrument of conveyance in lieu of foreclosure
or a judgment or instrument conveying title under subsection (c), may declare in a recorded instrument the intention to hold those rights solely for transfer to another person.
Thereafter, until transferring all special declarant rights to any person acquiring title to
any unit or real property subject to development rights owned by the successor, or until
recording an instrument permitting exercise of all those rights, that successor may not
exercise any of those rights other than any right held by his transferor to control the
executive board in accordance with subsection (d) of section 47-245 for the duration of
any period of declarant control, and any attempted exercise of those rights is void.
As long as a successor declarant may not exercise special declarant rights under this
subsection, he is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant other than liability
for his acts and omissions under subsection (d) of section 47-245.
(f) Nothing in this section subjects any successor to a special declarant right to
any claims against or other obligations of a transferor declarant, other than claims and
obligations arising under this chapter or the declaration.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 47, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 13, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 18; P.A. 96-180, S. 127, 166.)
History: P.A. 84-472 amended Subsec. (c) by adding "management offices"; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (c) to
designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and delete from said Subdiv. provisions concerning foreclosures and to add
Subdiv. (2) re the effect of a foreclosure of a mortgage on property subject to development rights; P.A. 96-180 made
technical grammatical change in Subsec. (c) effective June 3, 1996.
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(b) This section does not apply to: (1) Any lease the termination of which would
terminate the common interest community or reduce its size, unless the real property
subject to that lease was included in the common interest community for the purpose
of avoiding the right of the association to terminate a lease under this section, or (2) a
proprietary lease.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 48, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 19.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to add exception for nonresidential common interest communities.
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(b) Subject to the provisions of the declaration, the bylaws may provide for any
other matters the association deems necessary and appropriate.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 49, 96.)
Cited. 208 C. 318, 326.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 428.
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(b) In addition to the liability that a declarant as a unit owner has under this chapter,
the declarant alone is liable for all expenses in connection with real property subject to
development rights. No other unit owner and no other portion of the common interest
community is subject to a claim for payment of those expenses. Unless the declaration
provides otherwise, any income or proceeds from real property subject to development
rights inures to the declarant.
(c) In a planned community, if all development rights have expired with respect to
any real property, the declarant remains liable for all expenses of that real property
unless, on expiration, the declaration provides that the real property becomes common
elements or units.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 50, 96.)
Cited. 207 C. 441, 452. Cited. 208 C. 318, 327.
Cited. 38 CA 420, 429.
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(P.A. 83-474, S. 51, 96.)