dcrodriguez/Code-of-Virginia huggingface dataset:
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 18 (Property Owners' Association Act)
§ 55.1-1832. Use of technology.
A. Unless expressly prohibited by the declaration, (i) any notice required to be sent or received or (ii) any signature, vote, consent, or approval required to be obtained under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished using electronic means.

B. The association, the lot owners, and those entitled to occupy a lot may perform any obligation or exercise any right under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter by use of electronic means.

C. An electronic signature meeting the requirements of applicable law shall satisfy any requirement for a signature under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter.

D. Voting on, consent to, and approval of any matter under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished by electronic means, provided that a record is created as evidence of such vote, consent, or approval and maintained as long as such record would be required to be maintained in nonelectronic form. If the vote, consent, or approval is required to be obtained by secret ballot, the electronic means shall protect the identity of the voter. If the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used.

E. Subject to other provisions of law, no action required or permitted by any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter need be acknowledged before a notary public if the identity and signature of such person can otherwise be authenticated to the satisfaction of the board of directors.

F. Any meeting of the association, the board of directors, or any committee may be held entirely or partially by electronic means, provided that the board of directors has adopted guidelines for the use of electronic means for such meetings. Such guidelines shall ensure that persons accessing such meetings are authorized to do so and that persons entitled to participate in such meetings have an opportunity to do so. The board of directors shall determine whether any such meeting may be held entirely or partially by electronic means.

G. If any person does not have the capability or desire to conduct business using electronic means, the association shall make available a reasonable alternative, at its expense, for such person to conduct business with the association without use of such electronic means.

H. This section shall not apply to any notice related to an enforcement action by the association, an assessment lien, or foreclosure proceedings in enforcement of an assessment lien.

2010, c. 432, § 55-515.3; 2019, c. 712; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 9, 494.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 18 (Property Owners' Association Act)
§ 55.1-1834. Notice of sale under deed of trust.
In accordance with the provisions of § 15.2-979, the association shall be given notice whenever a lot becomes subject to a sale under a deed of trust. Upon receipt of such notice, the board of directors, on behalf of the association, shall exercise whatever due diligence it deems necessary with respect to the lot subject to a sale under a deed of trust to protect the interests of the association.

2015, cc. 93, 410, § 55-516.01; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 18 (Property Owners' Association Act)
§ 55.1-1835. Annual report by association.
The association shall file an annual report in a form and at such time as prescribed by regulations of the Common Interest Community Board. The annual report shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by the Board, which shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Common Interest Community Management Information Fund established pursuant to § 54.1-2354.2.

1993, c. 958, § 55-516.1; 2008, cc. 851, 871; 2009, c. 557; 2012, cc. 481, 797; 2019, cc. 391, 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 18 (Property Owners' Association Act)
§ 55.1-1836. Condemnation of common area; procedure.
When any portion of the common area is taken or damaged under the power of eminent domain, any award or payment for such portion shall be paid to the association, which shall be a party in interest in the condemnation proceeding. The common area that is affected shall be valued on the basis of the common area's highest and best use as though it were free from restriction to sole use as a common area.

Except to the extent that the declaration or any rules and regulations duly adopted pursuant to such declaration otherwise provide, the board of directors shall have the authority to negotiate with the condemning authority, agree to an award or payment amount with the condemning authority without instituting condemnation proceedings, and, upon such agreement, convey the subject common area to the condemning authority. Thereafter, the president of the association may unilaterally execute and record the deed of conveyance to the condemning authority.

A member of the association, by virtue of his membership, shall be estopped from contesting the action of the association in any proceeding held pursuant to this section.

1995, c. 377, § 55-516.2; 1998, c. 32; 2016, c. 719; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 18 (Property Owners' Association Act)
§ 55.1-1837. Termination and duration of certain management contracts.
A management contract that contains an automatic renewal provision may be terminated by the association or the common interest community manager at any time without cause and without penalty upon not less than 60 days' written notice.

2023, c. 109; 2025, c. 105.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1901. Application and construction of chapter.
A. This chapter applies to all condominiums and to all horizontal property regimes or condominium projects. This chapter supersedes the Horizontal Property Act (§ 55.1-2000 et seq.), and no condominium shall be established under the Horizontal Property Act on or after July 1, 1974. This chapter shall not be construed to affect the validity of any provision of any condominium instrument recorded prior to July 1, 1974. For the purposes of this chapter, as used in the Horizontal Property Act (§ 55.1-2000 et seq.):

"Apartment" corresponds to the term "unit."

"Co-owner" corresponds to the term "unit owner."

"Council of co-owners" corresponds to the term "unit owners' association."

"Developer" corresponds to the term "declarant."

"General common elements" corresponds to the term "common elements."

"Horizontal property regime" and "condominium project" correspond to the term "condominium."

"Master deed" and "master lease" correspond to the term "declaration" and are included in the term "condominium instruments."

B. This chapter does not apply to condominiums located outside the Commonwealth. Sections 55.1-1971, 55.1-1974 through 55.1-1982, and 55.1-1985 through 55.1-1989 apply to all contracts for the disposition of condominium units signed in the Commonwealth by any person, unless exempt under § 55.1-1972.

C. Subsection B of § 55.1-1955 and § 55.1-1982 do not apply to the declarant of a conversion condominium if that declarant is a proprietary lessees' association that, immediately before the creation of the condominium, owned fee simple title to or a fee simple reversionary interest in the real estate described pursuant to subdivision A 3 of § 55.1-1916.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.40; 1982, c. 545; 1989, c. 63; 2006, c. 646; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1902. Variation by agreement.
Except as expressly provided in this chapter, provisions of this chapter shall not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by this chapter shall not be waived. A declarant shall not act under power of attorney or use any other device to evade the limitations or prohibitions of this chapter or of the condominium instruments.

1982, c. 545, § 55-79.41:1; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1903. Separate assessments, titles, and taxation.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, each condominium unit constitutes a separate parcel of real estate. If there is any unit owner other than the declarant, each unit, together with its common element interest, but excluding its common element interest in convertible land and in any withdrawable land within which the declarant has the right to create units or limited common elements, shall be separately assessed and taxed. Each convertible land and withdrawable land within which the declarant has the right to create units or limited common elements shall be separately assessed and taxed against the declarant.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.42; 1986, c. 324; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1904. Association charges.
Except as expressly authorized in this chapter, in the condominium instruments, or as otherwise provided by law, no unit owners' association may impose a charge against one or more but less than all unit owners unless the charge is (i) authorized under § 55.1-1964, (ii) a fee for services provided, or (iii) a fee expressly authorized by § 55.1-2316. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a unit owners' association from using assessments, charges, or fees to pay the unit owners' association's contractual or other legal obligations in the exercise of the unit owners' association's duties and responsibilities. The Common Interest Community Board may assess a monetary penalty for a violation of this section against any (a) unit owners' association pursuant to § 54.1-2351 or (b) common interest community manager pursuant to § 54.1-2349 and may issue a cease and desist order pursuant to § 54.1-2352.

2015, c. 277, § 55-79.42:1; 2019, c. 712; 2020, c. 592; 2023, cc. 387, 388; 2024, c. 685.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1907. How condominium may be created.
No condominium shall come into existence except by the recordation of condominium instruments pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. No condominium instruments shall be recorded unless all units located or to be located on any portion of the submitted land, other than within the boundaries of any convertible lands, are depicted on plats and plans that comply with the provisions of subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.45; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1908. Release of liens.
A. At the time of the conveyance to the first purchaser of a condominium unit following the recordation of the declaration, every mortgage, deed of trust, any other perfected lien, or any mechanics' or materialmen's liens affecting all of the condominium or a greater portion of the condominium than the condominium unit conveyed shall be paid and satisfied of record, or the declarant shall forthwith have such condominium unit released of record from all such liens not so paid and satisfied. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply, however, to any withdrawable land in a contractable condominium, nor shall any provision of this subsection be construed to prohibit the unit owners' association from mortgaging or causing a deed of trust to be placed on any portion of the condominium within which no units are located, so long as the period of declarant control specified in § 55.1-1943 has expired and so long as the bylaws authorize such action. This subsection does not apply to any lien on more than one condominium unit in a condominium in which all units are restricted to nonresidential use and in which all unit owners whose condominium units will be subject to such lien expressly agree to assume or take subject to such lien.

B. If any lien, other than a deed of trust or mortgage, becomes effective against two or more condominium units subsequent to the creation of the condominium, any unit owner may remove his condominium unit from that lien by payment of the amount attributable to his condominium unit. Such amount shall be computed by reference to the liability for common expenses appertaining to that condominium unit pursuant to subsection D of § 55.1-1964. Subsequent to such payment, discharge, or other satisfaction, the unit owner of that condominium unit shall be entitled to have that lien released as to his condominium unit in accordance with the provisions of § 55.1-341, and the unit owners' association shall not assess, or have a valid lien against, that condominium unit for any portion of the common expenses incurred in connection with that lien, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in §§ 55.1-1964 and 55.1-1966.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.46; 1985, c. 107; 1992, c. 72; 1993, c. 667; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1909. Description of condominium units.
After the creation of the condominium, no description of a condominium unit shall be deemed vague, uncertain, or otherwise insufficient or infirm if it sets forth the identifying number of that unit, the name of the condominium, the name of the county or city in which the condominium is situated, and either the deed book and page number where the first page of the declaration is recorded or the document number assigned to the declaration by the clerk. Any such description shall be deemed to include the undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to such unit even if such interest is not defined or referred to in the description.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.47; 1975, c. 415; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1910. Execution of condominium instruments.
The declaration and bylaws, and any amendments to either made pursuant to § 55.1-1934, shall be duly executed by or on behalf of all of the owners and lessees of the submitted land. The phrase "owners and lessees" in this section and in § 55.1-1926 does not include, in their capacity as such, any mortgagee, any trustee or beneficiary under a deed of trust, any other lien holder, any person having an equitable interest under any contract for the sale or lease of a condominium unit, any lessee whose leasehold interest does not extend to any portion of the common elements, any person whose land is subject to an easement included in the condominium, or, in the case of a leasehold condominium subject to any lease executed before July 1, 1962, any lessor of the submitted land who is not a declarant.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.48; 1980, c. 702; 1984, c. 21; 1990, c. 831; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1911. Recordation of condominium instruments.
All condominium instruments and all amendments and certifications of such condominium instruments shall be recorded in every county and city in which any portion of the condominium is located. The condominium instruments, amendments, and certifications shall set forth the county or city in which the condominium is located, the name of the condominium, and either the deed book and page number where the first page of the declaration is recorded or the document number assigned to the declaration by the clerk.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.49; 1975, c. 415; 1982, c. 545; 2019, c. 712; 2020, c. 592.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1912. Construction of condominium instruments.
Except to the extent otherwise provided by the condominium instruments:

1. The terms defined in § 55.1-1900 shall be deemed to have the meanings therein specified wherever they appear in the condominium instruments unless the context requires a different meaning.

2. To the extent that walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as the boundaries of the units or of any specified units, all lath, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, and finished flooring and any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces of such walls, floors, or ceilings are part of such units, while all other portions of such walls, floors, or ceilings are a part of the common elements.

3. If any chutes, flues, ducts, conduits, wires, bearing walls, bearing columns, or other apparatus lies partially within and partially outside of the designated boundaries of a unit, any portions serving only that unit are a part of that unit, while any portions serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements are a part of the common elements.

4. Subject to the provisions of subdivision 3, all space, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a unit are a part of that unit.

5. Any shutters, awnings, doors, windows, window boxes, doorsteps, porches, balconies, patios, or other apparatus designed to serve a single unit, but located outside the boundaries of such unit, are limited common elements appertaining to that unit exclusively, except that if a single unit's electrical master switch is located outside the designated boundaries of the unit, the switch and its cover are a part of the common elements.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.50; 1982, cc. 206, 545; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1913. Complementarity of condominium instruments; controlling construction.
The condominium instruments shall be construed together and shall be deemed to incorporate one another to the extent that any requirement of this chapter as to the content of one shall be deemed satisfied if the deficiency can be cured by reference to any of the others. In the event of any conflict between the condominium instruments, the declaration shall control; but particular provisions shall control more general provisions, except that a construction consistent with the statute shall in all cases control over any inconsistent construction.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.51; 1975, c. 415; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1914. Validity of condominium instruments; discrimination prohibited.
A. All provisions of the condominium instruments shall be deemed severable, and any unlawful provision of such condominium instruments shall be void.

B. No provision of the condominium instruments shall be deemed void by reason of the rule against perpetuities.

C. No restraint on alienation shall discriminate or be used to discriminate on any basis prohibited under the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§ 36-96.1 et seq.).

D. Subject to the provisions of subsection C, the rule of property law known as the rule restricting unreasonable restraints on alienation shall not be applied to defeat any provision of the condominium instruments restraining the alienation of condominium units other than such units as may be restricted to residential use only.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.52; 1975, c. 415; 1998, cc. 32, 454; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1915. Compliance with condominium instruments.
A. The declarant, every unit owner, and all those entitled to occupy a unit shall comply with all lawful provisions of this chapter and all provisions of the condominium instruments. Any lack of such compliance shall be grounds for an action to recover sums due, for damages or injunctive relief, or for any other remedy available at law or in equity, maintainable by the unit owners' association or by its executive board or any managing agent on behalf of such association or, in any proper case, by one or more aggrieved unit owners on their own behalf or as a class action. A unit owners' association shall have standing to sue in its own name for any claims or actions related to the common elements as provided in subsection B of § 55.1-1956. Except as provided in subsection B, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees, costs expended in the matter, and interest on the judgment as provided in § 8.01-382. This section does not preclude an action against the unit owners' association and authorizes the recovery, by the prevailing party in any such action, of reasonable attorney fees, costs expended in the matter, and interest on the judgment as provided in § 8.01-382 in such actions.

B. In actions against a unit owner for nonpayment of assessments in which the unit owner has failed to pay assessments levied by the unit owners' association on more than one unit or such unit owner has had legal actions taken against him for nonpayment of any prior assessment and the prevailing party is the association or its executive board or any managing agent on behalf of the association, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees, costs expended in the matter, and interest on the judgment as provided in subsection A, even if the proceeding is settled prior to judgment. The delinquent unit owner shall be personally responsible for reasonable attorney fees and costs expended in the matter by the unit owners' association, whether any judicial proceedings are filed.

C. The condominium instruments may provide for arbitration of disputes or other means of alternative dispute resolution. Any such arbitration held in accordance with this subsection shall be consistent with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 21 (§ 8.01-577 et seq.) of Title 8.01. The place of any such arbitration or alternative dispute resolution shall be in the county or city in which the condominium is located or as mutually agreed by the parties.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.53; 1975, c. 415; 1993, c. 667; 1996, c. 977; 2012, c. 758; 2014, c. 569; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1917. Allocation of interests in the common elements.
A. The declaration may allocate to each unit depicted on plats and plans that comply with subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920 an undivided interest in the common elements proportionate to either the size or par value of each unit. If par value is stated in terms of dollars, that statement shall not be deemed to reflect or control the sales price or fair market value of any unit, and no opinion, appraisal, or fair market transaction at a different figure shall affect the par value of any unit or any undivided interest in the common elements, voting rights in the unit owners' association, or liability for common expenses assigned on the basis of such par value.

B. If the basis for allocation provided in subsection A is not used, then the declaration shall allocate to each such unit an equal undivided interest in the common elements, subject to the following exception: Each convertible space so depicted shall be allocated an undivided interest in the common elements proportionate to the size of each such space, vis-a-vis the aggregate size of all units so depicted, while the remaining undivided interest in the common elements shall be allocated equally to the other units so depicted.

C. The undivided interests in the common elements allocated in accordance with subsection A or B shall add up to 1 if stated as fractions or 100 percent if stated as percentages.

D. If, in accordance with subsection A or B, an equal undivided interest in the common elements is allocated to each unit, the declaration may state that fact and need not express the fraction or percentage so allocated.

E. Unless an equal undivided interest in the common elements is allocated to each unit, the undivided interest allocated to each unit in accordance with subsection A or B shall be reflected by a table in the declaration, or by an exhibit to the declaration, containing three columns. The first column shall identify the units, listing them serially or grouping them together in the case of units to which identical undivided interests are allocated. Corresponding figures in the second and third columns shall set forth the respective areas or par values of those units and the fraction or percentage of undivided interest in the common elements allocated to such units.

F. Except to the extent otherwise expressly provided by this chapter, the undivided interest in the common elements allocated to any unit shall not be altered, and any purported transfer, encumbrance, or other disposition of that interest without the unit to which it appertains is void.

G. The common elements shall not be subject to any action for partition until and unless the condominium is terminated.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.55; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1918. Reallocation of interests in common elements.
A. If a condominium contains any convertible land or is an expandable condominium, then the declaration shall not allocate undivided interests in the common elements on the basis of par value unless the declaration:

1. Prohibits the creation of any units not substantially identical to the units depicted on the plats and plans recorded pursuant to subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920; or

2. Prohibits the creation of any units not described pursuant to subdivision B 6 of § 55.1-1916, in the case of convertible lands, and subdivision C 12 of § 55.1-1916, in the case of additional land, and contains from the outset a statement of the par value that shall be assigned to every such unit that may be created.

B. Interests in the common elements shall not be allocated to any units to be created within any convertible land or within any additional land until plats and plans depicting the same are recorded pursuant to subsection C of § 55.1-1920. But simultaneously with the recording of such plats and plans, the declarant shall execute and record an amendment to the declaration reallocating undivided interests in the common elements so that the units depicted on such plats and plans shall be allocated undivided interests in the common elements on the same basis as the units depicted on the plats and plans recorded simultaneously with the declaration pursuant to subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920.

C. If all of a convertible space is converted into common elements, including limited common elements, then the undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to such space shall then appertain to the remaining units, being allocated among them in proportion to their undivided interests in the common elements. The principal officer of the unit owners' association, or such other officer as the condominium instruments may specify, shall forthwith prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocation of undivided interests produced by such conversion.

D. In the case of a leasehold condominium, if the expiration or termination of any lease causes a contraction of the condominium that reduces the number of units, then the undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to any units withdrawn from the condominium shall then appertain to the remaining units, being allocated among them in proportion to their undivided interests in the common elements. The principal officer of the unit owners' association, or such other officer as the condominium instruments may specify, shall forthwith prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocation of undivided interests produced by such contraction.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.56; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1921. Bond to insure completion of improvements.
A. The declarant shall file with the Common Interest Community Board a bond entered into by the declarant in the sum of 100 percent of the estimated cost of completion, to the extent of the declarant's obligation as stated in the declaration, of all improvements to the common elements of the condominium labeled in the plat or plats as "NOT YET COMPLETED" or "NOT YET BEGUN" located upon submitted land and which the declarant reasonably believes will not be substantially complete at the time of conveyance of the first condominium unit. Such bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the declarant's obligation to complete such improvements in strict conformity with the plans and specifications for the same as described in the declaration.

B. The declarant shall file with the Common Interest Community Board a bond entered into by the declarant in the sum of 100 percent of the estimated cost of completion of a unit in which a time-share interest is conveyed before the unit has been certified as substantially complete in accordance with subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920. The bond required by this subsection shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the declarant's obligation to complete such improvements in strict conformity with the plans and specifications for the same as described in the declaration.

C. All bonds required in this section shall be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth or by such other surety as is satisfactory to the Board.

D. The Board may promulgate reasonable regulations that govern the return of bonds submitted in accordance with this section.

1977, c. 428, § 55-79.58:1; 1988, c. 15; 1999, c. 560; 2008, cc. 851, 871; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1922. Preliminary recordation of plats and plans.
Plats and plans previously recorded pursuant to subsections A, B, and C of § 55.1-1916 may be used in lieu of new plats and plans to satisfy in whole or in part the requirements of subsection B of § 55.1-1918, subsection B of § 55.1-1924, or § 55.1-1926 if certifications of such plats and plans are recorded by the declarant in accordance with subsections A and B of § 55.1-1920; and if such certifications are recorded, the plats and plans that they certify shall be deemed recorded pursuant to subsection C of § 55.1-1920 within the meaning of §§ 55.1-1918, 55.1-1924, and 55.1-1926. All condominium instruments for condominiums created prior to July 1, 1991, are hereby validated notwithstanding that the plats were prerecorded as if in compliance with this section and not recorded with amendments converting convertible land or adding additional land if the plats or subsequent amendments contained the required certifications.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.59; 1991, c. 497; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1923. Easement for encroachments.
To the extent that any unit or common element encroaches on any other unit or common element, whether by reason of any deviation from the plats and plans in the construction, repair, renovation, restoration, or replacement of any improvement or by reason of the settling or shifting of any land or improvement, a valid easement for such encroachment shall exist. The purpose of this section is to protect the unit owners, except in cases of willful and intentional misconduct by them or their agents or employees, and not to relieve the declarant or any contractor, subcontractor, or materialman of any liability which any of them may have by reason of any failure to adhere strictly to the plats and plans.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.60; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1924. Conversion of convertible lands.
A. The declarant may convert all or any portion of any convertible land into one or more units or limited common elements subject to any restrictions and limitations that the condominium instruments may specify. Any such conversion shall be deemed to have occurred at the time of the recordation of appropriate instruments pursuant to subsection B of this section and subsection C of § 55.1-1920.

B. Simultaneously with the recording of plats and plans pursuant to subsection C of § 55.1-1920, the declarant shall prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration describing the conversion. Such amendment shall assign an identifying number to each unit formed out of a convertible land and shall reallocate undivided interests in the common elements in accordance with subsection B of § 55.1-1918. Such amendment shall describe or delineate any limited common elements formed out of the convertible land, showing or designating the unit to which each is assigned.

C. All convertible lands shall be deemed a part of the common elements except for such portions of such convertible lands as are converted in accordance with the provisions of this section. Until the expiration of the period during which conversion may occur or until actual conversion, whichever occurs first, the declarant alone shall be liable for real estate taxes assessed against the convertible land and any improvements on such convertible land and all other expenses in connection with that real estate, and no other unit owner and no other portion of the condominium shall be subject to a claim for payment of those taxes or expenses, and, unless the declaration provides otherwise, any income or proceeds from the convertible land and any improvements on such convertible land shall inure to the declarant. No such conversion shall occur after 10 years from the recordation of the declaration, or such shorter period of time as the declaration may specify.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.61; 1975, c. 415; 1986, c. 324; 1991, c. 497; 1993, c. 45; 2012, c. 520; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1925. Conversion of convertible spaces.
A. The declarant may convert all or any portion of any convertible space into one or more units or common elements, including limited common elements, subject to any restrictions and limitations that the condominium instruments may specify. Any such conversion shall be deemed to have occurred at the time of the recordation of appropriate instruments pursuant to subsection B and subsection E of § 55.1-1920.

B. Simultaneously with the recording of plats and plans pursuant to subsection E of § 55.1-1920, the declarant shall prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration describing the conversion. Such amendment shall assign an identifying number to each unit formed out of a convertible space and shall allocate to each unit a portion of the undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to that space. Such amendment shall describe or delineate any limited common elements formed out of the convertible space, showing or designating the unit to which each is assigned.

C. If all or any portion of any convertible space is converted into one or more units in accordance with this section, the declarant shall prepare and execute, and record simultaneously with the amendment to the declaration, an amendment to the bylaws. The amendment to the bylaws shall reallocate votes in the unit owners' association, rights to future common profits, and liabilities for future common expenses not specially assessed, all as in the case of the subdivision of a unit in accordance with subsection D of § 55.1-1933.

D. Any convertible space not converted in accordance with the provisions of this section, or any portion of such convertible space not so converted, shall be treated for all purposes as a single unit until and unless it is so converted, and the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed applicable to any such convertible space, or portion of such convertible space, as though the same were a unit.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.62; 1999, c. 560; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1926. Expansion of condominium.
No condominium shall be expanded except in accordance with the provisions of the declaration and of this chapter. Any such expansion shall be deemed to have occurred at the time of the recordation of plats and plans pursuant to subsection C of § 55.1-1920, together with an amendment to the declaration, duly executed by the declarant, including all of the owners and lessees of the additional land added to the condominium. Such amendment shall contain a legal description by metes and bounds of the land added to the condominium and shall reallocate undivided interests in the common elements in accordance with the provisions of subsection B of § 55.1-1918. Such amendment may create convertible or withdrawable lands or both within the land added to the condominium, but this provision shall not be construed in derogation of the time limits imposed by or pursuant to subdivision D 3 of § 55.1-1916 and subsection C of § 55.1-1924.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.63; 1975, c. 415; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1927. Contraction of condominium.
No condominium shall be contracted except in accordance with the provisions of the declaration and of this chapter. Any such contraction shall be deemed to have occurred at the time of the recordation of an amendment to the declaration, executed by the declarant, containing a legal description by metes and bounds of the land withdrawn from the condominium. If portions of the withdrawable land were described pursuant to subdivision D 5 of § 55.1-1916, then no such portion shall be so withdrawn after the conveyance of any unit on such portion. If no such portions were described, then none of the withdrawable land shall be withdrawn after the first conveyance of any unit.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.64; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1928. Easement to facilitate conversion and expansion.
Subject to any restrictions and limitations the condominium instruments may specify, the declarant shall have a transferable easement over and on the common elements for the purpose of making improvements on the submitted land and any additional land pursuant to the provisions of those instruments and of this chapter and for the purpose of doing all things reasonably necessary and proper in connection with making such improvements.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.65; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1929. Easement to facilitate sales.
The declarant and his duly authorized agents, representatives, and employees may maintain sales offices or model units on the submitted land if and only if the condominium instruments provide for maintaining such sales offices or model units and specify the rights of the declarant with regard to the number, size, location, and relocation of such sales offices or model units. Any such sales office or model unit that is not designated a unit by the condominium instruments shall become a common element as soon as the declarant ceases to be a unit owner, and the declarant shall cease to have any rights with regard to such sales office or model unit unless it is removed forthwith from the submitted land in accordance with a right reserved in the condominium instruments to make such removal.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.66; 2019, c. 712.

Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1930. Declarant's obligation to complete and restore.
A. No covenants, restrictions, limitations, or other representations or commitments in the condominium instruments with regard to anything that is or is not to be done on the additional land, the withdrawable land, or any portion of either shall be binding as to any portion of either lawfully withdrawn from the condominium or never added to the condominium, except to the extent that the condominium instruments so provide. But in the case of any covenant, restriction, limitation, or other representation or commitment in the condominium instruments or in any other agreement requiring the declarant to add all or any portion of the additional land or to withdraw any portion of the withdrawable land, or imposing any obligations with regard to anything that is or is not to be done on such land or with regard to such land, or imposing any obligations with regard to anything that is or is not to be done on or with regard to the condominium or any portion of such condominium, this subsection shall not be construed to nullify, limit, or otherwise affect any such obligation.

B. The declarant shall complete all improvements labeled "NOT YET COMPLETED" on plats recorded pursuant to the requirements of this chapter unless the condominium instruments expressly exempt the declarant from such obligation and shall, in the case of every improvement labeled "NOT YET BEGUN" on such plats, state in the declaration either the extent of the obligation to complete the same or that there is no such obligation.

C. To the extent that damage is inflicted on any part of the condominium by any person utilizing the easements reserved by the condominium instruments or created by §§ 55.1-1928 and 55.1-1929, the declarant together with any person causing the same shall be jointly and severally liable for the prompt repair of such damage and for the restoration of the same to a condition compatible with the remainder of the condominium.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.67; 1975, c. 415; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1931. Alterations within units.
A. Except to the extent prohibited, restricted, or limited by the condominium instruments, any unit owner may make any improvements or alterations within his unit that do not impair the structural integrity of any structure or otherwise lessen the support of any portion of the condominium. However, no unit owner shall do anything that would change the exterior appearance of his unit or of any other portion of the condominium except to such extent and subject to such conditions as the condominium instruments may specify.

B. If a unit owner acquires an adjoining unit, or an adjoining part of an adjoining unit, then such unit owner shall have the right to remove all or any part of any intervening partition or to create doorways or other apertures in such unit, notwithstanding the fact that such partition may in whole or in part be a common element, so long as no portion of any bearing wall or bearing column is weakened or removed and no portion of any common element other than that partition is damaged, destroyed, or endangered. Such creation of doorways or other apertures shall not be deemed an alteration of boundaries within the meaning of § 55.1-1932.

1974, c. 416, § 55-79.68; 2019, c. 712.
Code of Virginia — Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances), Chapter 19 (Virginia Condominium Act)
§ 55.1-1935. Use of technology.
A. Unless expressly prohibited by the condominium instruments, (i) any notice required to be sent or received or (ii) any signature, vote, consent, or approval required to be obtained under any condominium instrument or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished using electronic means.

B. The unit owners' association, unit owners, and other persons entitled to occupy a unit may perform any obligation or exercise any right under any condominium instrument or any provision of this chapter by use of electronic means.

C. An electronic signature meeting the requirements of applicable law shall satisfy any requirement for a signature under any condominium instrument or any provision of this chapter.

D. Voting, consent to, and approval of any matter under any condominium instrument or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished by electronic means provided that a record is created as evidence of such vote, consent, or approval and maintained as long as such record would be required to be maintained in nonelectronic form. If the vote, consent, or approval is required to be obtained by secret ballot, the electronic means shall protect the identity of the voter. If the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used.

E. Subject to other provisions of law, no action required or permitted by any condominium instrument or any provision of this chapter need be acknowledged before a notary public if the identity and signature of such person can otherwise be authenticated to the satisfaction of the executive board.

F. Any meeting of the unit owners' association, the executive board, or any committee may be held entirely or partially by electronic means, provided that the executive board has adopted guidelines for the use of electronic means for such meetings. Such guidelines shall ensure that persons accessing such meetings are authorized to do so and that persons entitled to participate in such meetings have an opportunity to do so. The executive board shall determine whether any such meeting may be held entirely or partially by electronic means.

G. If any person does not have the capability or desire to conduct business using electronic means, the unit owners' association shall make available a reasonable alternative, at its expense, for such person to conduct business with the unit owners' association without use of such electronic means.

H. This section shall not apply to any notice related to an enforcement action by the unit owners' association, an assessment lien, or foreclosure proceedings in enforcement of an assessment lien.

2010, c. 432, § 55-79.71:1; 2019, c. 712; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 9, 494.