APPLICABILITY OF COMMON INTEREST OWNERSHIP ACT

Location:
CONDOMINIUMS;
Scope:
Connecticut laws/regulations; Background;


July 20, 2012		2012-R-0315
APPLICABILITY OF COMMON INTEREST OWNERSHIP ACT

By: James Orlando, Associate Analyst

You asked for a list of provisions in the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA) that apply to common interest communities created before 1984.

SUMMARY

CIOA generally applies to common interest communities (such as cooperatives and condominiums) created since 1984. However, many provisions of CIOA also apply to older common interest communities. These include, among other things, provisions concerning association powers; budgets and assessments; meeting and voting requirements; insurance; and dispute resolution. Pre-1984 communities may also choose to be governed by CIOA.

APPLICABILITY OF CIOA TO COMMUNITIES FORMED BEFORE 1984

CIOA generally governs the creation, alteration, management, termination, and sale of common interest communities (CGS § 47-200 et seq.). It generally applies to common interest communities formed in Connecticut on or after January 1, 1984 (CGS § 47-214). But some CIOA provisions, to the extent necessary to construe them, also apply to most common interest communities created in Connecticut before January 1, 1984 (CGS § 47-216). These provisions generally apply to such older communities only with respect to events and circumstances occurring after January 1, 1984, and do not invalidate existing provisions of such communities' declarations, bylaws, surveys, or plans. Table 1 lists these provisions.

Table 1: CIOA Provisions That Apply to Pre-1984 Common Interest Communities

*Statute* *(CGS §)*	*Subject Matter*
47-202	Definitions
47-204	Separate titles and taxation, recording of certificate by cooperative, and conveyance of interest in cooperative
47-205	Applicability of local land use laws to building conversions
47-206	Eminent domain
47-210	Unconscionable contracts, including leases that are presumed to be unconscionable
47-218	Amendments to governing instruments by pre-1984 communities
47-221 and -223	Description of units and unit boundaries
47-222	Interpretation and validity of bylaws, declaration, and rules; marketability of title; and recording surveys and plans
47-225(b) to (d)	Certain provisions relating to leaseholds
47-236(b), (d), (i), and (j)	Certain provisions relating to amendments to declarations or bylaws
47-237	Termination of common interest communities
47-240	Merger or consolidation
47-244	Association powers
47-245(f)	Election of the executive board and officers
47-250, -261b	Meetings and rules
47-251 and -252	Voting and quorums
47-253	Liability
47-255	Insurance
47-257 and -258	Assessments, including liens for assessments
47-260	Association records
47-261c	Notice to unit owners
47-261d	Removal of officers and directors
47-261e	Budgets, special assessments, and loan agreements
47-270	Resale of units
47-278	Statutory right of action and other methods to resolve disputes

The law exempts certain types of common interest communities from most or all requirements of CIOA, such as non-residential communities (see CGS §§ 47-215 and -217)).

PRE-1984 COMMUNITIES MAY CHOOSE TO BE GOVERNED BY CIOA

CIOA allows common interest communities created before January 1, 1984 to amend their declaration, bylaws, or surveys and plans to achieve any result CIOA permits regardless of what the applicable law provided before January 1, 1984. Such amendments must generally be adopted in conformity with procedures and requirements specified by the community's instruments or, if there are none, in conformity with CIOA (additional provisions apply in certain situations) (CGS § 47-218).

Pre-1984 common interest communities formed by a special act of the legislature are exempt from CIOA, unless a majority of unit owners vote, in conformity with applicable law, to subject the community to CIOA. In that case, CIOA applies to the community in the same manner as it applies to other pre-1984 communities, as described above (CGS § 47-217).

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