Source: http://cloverdaleheights.org/the-documents/ucioa-36b/
Timestamp: 2020-04-08 11:42:13
Document Index: 167525815

Matched Legal Cases: ['§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36', '§36']

UCIOA 36B | Cloverdale Heights HOA – P.O. Box 1201 – Charles Town – West Virginia 25414
>>> UCIOA_36b WV Code 36B
179KB 60 pages
Regulations for most, though not all, homeowner associations in the state of West Virginia.
at this writing [2012-15] the Eastern Panhandle Organization of Homeowners Associations (EPOHOA) continues to work with our WV elected members, attorneys and yes, homeowners like yourself, in drafting WV legislation to update by amendment the WV UCIOA 36B
RECOGNIZED BY JEFFERSON COUNTY 1972 – effective 1984
WEST VIRGINIA CODE CHAPTER 36B.
UNIFORM COMMON INTEREST OWNERSHIP ACT.
This chapter may be cited as the “Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act.”
In the declaration and bylaws (section one hundred six [106], article three [3] of this chapter), unless specifically provided otherwise or the context otherwise requires, and in this chapter:
(1) “Affiliate of a declarant” means any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a declarant. 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 percent of the voting interest in the declarant;
(iv) has contributed more than twenty percent of the capital of the declarant. 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 percent of the voting interest in the person;
(iv) has contributed more than twenty percent of the capital of the person. Control does not exist if the powers described in this paragraph are held solely as security for an obligation and are not exercised.
(2) “Allocated interests” means the following interests allocated to each unit:
(i) In a condominium, the undivided interest in the common elements, the common expense liability, and votes in the association;
(ii) in a cooperative, the common expense liability and the ownership interest and votes in the association; and
(iii) 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 one hundred one [101], article three [3] of this chapter.
(4) “Common elements” means:
(i) In a condominium or cooperative, all portions of the common interest community other than the units; and
(ii) in a planned community, any real estate within a planned community owned or leased by the association, other than a unit.
(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 one hundred seven [107], article two [2] of this chapter.
(7) “Common interest community” means real estate with respect to which a person, by virtue of his ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance or improvement of other real estate described in a declaration: Provided, That any resort owner which, prior to the effective date of this article, began the development of a resort and imposed fees or assessments upon owners of real estate in the resort for maintenance and care of the roads, streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, common areas and common facilities in and around the resort, for fire and police protection and for such other services as may be made available to owners of real estate, may also impose the same fees and assessments to be used for the same or similar purposes upon persons purchasing real estate in the resort after the effective date of this article without creating a common interest community.
“Ownership of a unit” does not include holding a leasehold interest of less than twenty years in a unit, including renewal options.
(8) “Condominium” means a common interest community in which portions of the real estate are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of the real estate is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. A common interest community is not a condominium unless the undivided interest 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 estate 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 in the business of selling units for his own account.
(12) “Declarant” means any person or group of persons acting in concert who:
(i) As part of a common promotional plan, offers to dispose of his or its interest in a unit not previously disposed of; or
(ii) 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:
(i) Add real estate to a common interest community;
(ii) create units, common elements or limited common elements within a common interest community;
(iii) subdivide units or convert units into common elements; or
(iv) withdraw real estate 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 estate 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 subdivision (2) or (4), section one hundred two [102], article two [2] of this chapter for the exclusive use of one or more but fewer than all of the units.
(20) “Master association” means an organization described in section one hundred twenty [120], article two [2] of this chapter, whether or not it is also an association described in section one hundred one [101], article three [3] of this chapter.
(21) “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, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or other legal or commercial entity. In the case of a trust, the corpus of which is real estate, however, “person” means the beneficiary of the trust rather than the trust or the trustee.
(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: (i) A leasehold interest (including renewal options) of less than twenty years; or (ii) as security for an obligation.
(26) “Real estate” means any leasehold or other estate or interest in, over, or under land, including structures, fixtures and other improvements and interest 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 estate” 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) “Resort” means a destination location which consists of:
(i) One or more persons offering recreational facilities and services such as skiing, golf, tennis or boating to the general public and commercial facilities such as retail stores, restaurants and hotels or other lodging accommodations; and
(ii) at least one hundred [100] residential units, a majority of which are used as vacation or second homes rather than primary residences.
(29) “Resort owner” means any person owning or operating substantially all of the recreational facilities located within a resort, or the predecessor in title of any such person.
(30) “Security interest” means an interest in real estate 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.
(31) “Special declarant rights” means rights reserved for the benefit of a declarant to:
(i) Complete improvements indicated on plans and plans filed with the declaration (section one hundred nine [109], article two [2] of this chapter) or, in a cooperative, to complete improvements described in the public offering statement pursuant to subdivision (2), subsection (a), section one hundred three [103], article four [4] of this chapter;
(ii) exercise any development right (section one hundred ten [110], article two [2] of this chapter);
(iii) maintain sales offices, management offices, signs advertising the common interest community, and models (section one hundred fifteen [115], article two [2] of this chapter);
(iv) use easements through the common elements for the purpose of making improvements within the common interest community or within real estate which may be added to the common interest community (section one hundred sixteen [116], article two [2] of this chapter);
(v) make the common interest community subject to a master association (section one hundred twenty [120], article two [2] of this chapter);
(vi) merge or consolidate a common interest community with another common interest community of the same form of ownership (section one hundred twenty-one [121], article two [2] of this chapter); or
(vii) appoint or remove any officer of the association or any master association or any executive board member during any period of declarant control (subsection (d), section one hundred three [103], article three [3] of this chapter.
(32) “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.
(33) “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), subsection (a), section one hundred five [105], article two [2] of this chapter . 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.
(34) “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 (section one hundred seven [107], article two [2] of this chapter) until that unit has been conveyed to another person.
(a) In a cooperative, unless the declaration provides that a unit owner’s interest in a unit and its allocated interests is real estate for all purposes, that interest is personal property. (That interest is subject to the provisions of all homestead exemptions from taxation provided by law, even if it is personal property.)
(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 must include compensation to the unit owner for that unit and its allocated interests, whether or not any common elements are acquired. Upon 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 remaing after part of a unit is taken under this subsection is thereafter a common element.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), if part of a unit is acquired by eminent domain, the award must 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. Upon acquisition, unless the decree otherwise provides,
(i) 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
(ii) 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.
(a) From time to time the dollar amounts specified in sections 1-203 and 4-101(b)(7) must change, as provided in subsections (b) and (c), according to and to the extent of changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: United States 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.
(ii)The dollar amounts must not change if the amounts required by this section are those currently in effect pursuant to this chapter as a result of earlier application of this section; and
Except as provided in sections 1-202 and 1-203, this chapter applies to all common interest communities created within this state after the effective date of this chapter.
The provisions of chapter fifty-three [53], acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three [1963], chapter one hundred twenty-nine [129], acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred eighty [1980], and chapter thirty-eight [38], acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four [1984], do not apply to common interest communities created after the effective date of this chapter.
§36B-1-202. Same — Exception for small cooperatives.
§36B-1-203. Applicability to new common interest communities. — Exception for small and limited expense liability planned communities.
(2) Provides, in its declaration, 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 [$300] as adjusted pursuant to section 1-114 (adjustment of dollar amounts), it is subject only to sections 1-105 (separate titles and taxation), 1-106 (applicability of local ordinances, regulations and building codes) and 1-107 (eminent domain) unless the declaration provides that this entire chapter is applicable.
(a) Except as provided in section 1-205, Same; exception for small preexisting cooperatives and planned communities, sections 1-105 (separate titles and taxation), 1-106 (Applicability of local ordinances, regulations and building codes), 1-107 (Eminent domain), 2-103 (Construction and validity of declaration and bylaws), 2-104 (Description of units), 2-121 (Merger or consolidation of common interest communities), 3-102(a)(1) through (6) and (11) through (16) (Powers of unit owners’ association), 3-111 (Tort and contract liability), 3-116 (Lien for assessments), 3-118 (Association records), 4-109 (Resales of units), and 4-117 (Effect of violation on rights of action; attorney’s fees), and section 1-103 (Definitions) to the extent necessary in construing any of those sections, apply to all common interest communities created in this state before the effective date of this chapter; but those sections apply only with respect to events and circumstances occurring after the effective date of this chapter and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws or plats or plans of those common interest communities.
(b) The provisions of chapter one hundred fifty-three [153], Acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three [1963], chapter one hundred twenty-nine [129], Acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred eighty [1980], or of chapter thirty-eight [38], Acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four [1984], do not apply to condominiums or other common interest communities created after the effective date of this chapter and do not invalidate any amendment to the declaration, rules, bylaws, plats and plans and code of regulations of any condominium or common interest community created before the effective date of this chapter if the amendment would be permitted by this chapter. The amendment must be adopted in conformity with the procedures and requirements specified by those instruments and by chapter one hundred fifty-three [153], Acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three [1963]. If the 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.
(d) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all condominiums or common interest communities to the extent such provisions conflict or are inconsistent with the provisions of chapter one hundred fifty-three [153], Acts of the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three [1963]: Provided, That the provisions of this chapter shall not modify, limit or nullify any rights, duties or obligations created or existing under any declaration, bylaws or plats or plans of condominiums created in this state before the effective date of this chapter.
§36B-1-205. Same — Exception for small preexisting cooperatives and planned communities.
If a cooperative or planned community created within this state before the effective date of this chapter contains no more than twelve [12] units and is not subject to any development rights, it is subject only to sections 1-105 (separate titles and taxation), 1-106 (applicability of local ordinances, regulations and building codes), and 1-107 (eminent domain) 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 1-206, in which case all the sections enumerated in section 1-204 apply to that cooperative or planned community.
§36B-1-206. Same — Amendments to governing instruments.
(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 estate subject to that declaration to the association. The declaration must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located and must 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.
(b) In a condominium, a declaration or an amendment to a declaration, adding units may not be recorded unless
(i) all structural components and mechanical systems 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 an independent registered engineer, surveyor or architect.
(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.
(e) A declaration or the bylaws may not change or alter a restrictive covenant in a deed to any real estate that is or that becomes subject to the provisions of this chapter. The restrictive covenants that are in effect at the time real estate is purchased that is or that becomes subject to the provisions of this chapter may not be changed or altered as to the purchaser of that real estate or as to any assign, heir or beneficiary of the original purchaser unless that original purchaser, assign, heir or beneficiary agrees in writing to a change of a restrictive covenant. This subdivision does not apply to the change of restrictive covenants of homeowner fees if the fees do not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars [$100] a year. The provisions of this section have no application to restrictive covenants which contain provisions authorizing amendment when those provisions for amendment are duly followed.
(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 plats 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;
(12) Any restrictions
(i) on use, occupancy and alienation of the units, and
(ii) 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;
(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.
(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 percent [100%] 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.
(6) The location and dimensions of any vertical unit boundaries not shown or projected on plans recorded pursuant to subsection (d) and that unit’s identifying number;
(7) The location with reference to an established datum of any horizontal unit boundaries not shown or projected on plans recorded pursuant to subsection (d) and that unit’s identifying number;
(8) A legally sufficient description of any real estate in which the unit owners will own only an estate for years, labeled as “leasehold real estate”;
(c) A plat 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 must be labeled either “MUST BE BUILT” or “NEED NOT BE BUILT.”
(1) The location and dimensions of the vertical boundaries of each unit and that unit’s identifying number;
(2) Any horizontal unit boundaries, with reference to an established datum and that unit’s identifying number; and
(a) Subject to the provisions of the declaration and other provisions of law, the boundaries between adjoining units may be relocated by an amendment to the declaration upon 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 must state the proposed reallocations. Unless the executive board determines, within thirty days, that the reallocations are unreasonable, the association shall prepare an amendment that identifies the units involved and states the reallocations. The amendment must 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.
(b) The association
(i) in a condominium or planned community shall prepare and record plats or plans necessary to show the altered boundaries between adjoining units and their dimensions and identifying numbers, and
(ii) in a cooperative shall prepare and record amendments to the declaration, including any plans, necessary to show or describe the altered boundaries between adjoining units and their dimensions and identifying numbers.
(a) Subject to the provisions of the declaration, a declarant has 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.
(b) In a planned community, subject to the provisions of sections 3-102(a)(6) and 3-112, the unit owners have an easement
(i) in the common elements for purposes of access to their units and
(ii) to use the common elements and all real estate that must become common elements (section 2-105(a)(6)) for all other purposes.
(a) Except in cases of amendments that may be executed by a declarant under section 2-109(f) or 2-110, or by the association under section 1-107, 2-106(d), 2108(c), 2- 112(a), or 2-113, or by certain unit owners under section 2- 108(b), 2-112(a), 2-113(b), or 2-118(b), and except as limited by subsection (d), the declaration, including any plats and plans, may be amended only by vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least sixty-seven percent 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.
(c) Every amendment to the declaration must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located and is effective only upon recordation. An amendment, except an amendment pursuant to section 2- 112(a), must 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.
(e) The association, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract for the sale of real estate in a common interest community, but the contract is not binding on the unit owners until approved pursuant to subsections (a) and (b). If any real estate is to be sold following termination, title to that real estate, upon 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 must 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 estate, each unit owner and the unit owner’s successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupancy of the portion of the real estate 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 estate 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 estate in the common interest community, vests in the unit owners upon termination as tenants in common in proportion to their respective interests as provided in subsection (j), 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 estate that formerly constituted the unit.
(1) The lien of each creditor of the association which was perfected against the association before termination becomes, upon 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 upon 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 paragraphs (1) and (2) against each of the unit owners’ interest must 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 must 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.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 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 must 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 percent 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:
(iii) in a planned community, their respective common expense liabilities immediately before the termination.
The declaration may require that all or a specified number or percentage of the lenders who hold security interests encumbering the units 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
(i) deny or delegate control over the general administrative affairs of the association by the unit owners or the executive board, or
(ii) prevent the association or the executive board from commencing, intervening in, or settling any litigation or proceeding, or
(iii) prevent any insurance trustee or the association from receiving and distributing any insurance proceeds except pursuant to section 3-113.
(a) If the declaration provides that any of the powers described in section 3-102 are to be exercised by or may be delegated to a profit or nonprofit corporation or to a 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.
(d) The rights and responsibilities of unit owners with respect to the unit owners’ association set forth in sections 3-103, 3-108, 3-109, 3-110 and 3-112 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.
(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.
(c) Every merger or consolidation agreement must provide for the reallocation of the allocated interests in the new association among the units of the resultant common interest community either
(i) by stating the reallocations or the formulas upon which they are based or
(ii) by stating the percentage of overall allocated interests of the new common interest community which are allocated to all of the units comprising each of the preexisting common interest communities, and providing that the portion of the percentages allocated to each unit formerly comprising a part of the preexisting common interest community must be equal to the percentages of allocated interests allocated to that unit by the declaration of the preexisting common interest community.
§36B-3-101. Organization of unit owners’ association.
A unit owners’ association must 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 consists 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 2-118 or their heirs, successors, or assigns. The association must be organized as a profit or nonprofit corporation, trust, partnership, or as an unincorporated association.
§36B-3-102. Powers of unit owners’ association. [Senate Bill No. 376]
(8) Acquire, hold, encumber, and convey in its own name any right, title, or interest to real estate or personal property, but (i) common elements in a condominium or planned community may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest only pursuant to section 3-112 and (ii) 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 3-112;
(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 sections 2-102(2) and (4), and for services provided to unit owners;
(12) Impose reasonable charges for the preparation and recordation of amendments to the declaration, resale certificates required by section 4-109, or statements of unpaid assessments;
(13) Provide for the indemnification of its officers and executive board and maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance;
(b) The executive board may not act on behalf of the association to amend the declaration (section 2-117), to terminate the common interest community (section 2118) or to elect members of the executive board or determine the qualifications, powers and duties, or terms of office of executive board members (section 3103(f)), but the executive board may fill vacancies in its membership for the unexpired portion of any term.
(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:
(i) Sixty days after conveyance of seventy-five percent of the units that may be created to unit owners other than a declarant;
(ii) two years after all declarants have ceased to offer units for sale in the ordinary course of business; or
(iii) two years after any right to add new units was last exercised. 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.
(i) On a declarant which relates to the successor’s exercise or nonexercise of special declarant rights; or
(D) Any liability or obligation imposed on the transferor as a result of the transferor’s acts or omissions after the transfer.
If entered into before the executive board elected by the unit owners pursuant to section 3-103(f) takes office,
(i) any management contract, employment contract, or lease of recreational or parking areas or facilities,
(ii) any other contract or lease between the association and a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant, or
(iii) any contract or lease that is not bona fide or was unconscionable 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 section 3- 103(f) takes office upon not less than ninety days’ notice to the other party. This section does not apply to:
(i) Any lease the termination of which would terminate the common interest community or reduce its size, unless the real estate 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
(ii) a proprietary lease.
(a) Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a quorum is present throughout any meeting of the association if persons entitled to cast twenty percent [20%] of the votes that may be cast for election of the executive board are present in person or by proxy at the beginning of the meeting.
(c) If the declaration requires that votes on specified matters affecting the common interest community be cast by lessees rather than unit owners of leased units:
(i) The provisions of subsections (a) and (b) apply to lessees as if they were unit owners;
(ii) unit owners who have leased their units to other persons may not cast votes on those specified matters; and
(iii) lessees are entitled to notice of meetings, access to records, and other rights respecting these matters as if they were unit owners. Unit owners must also be given notice, in the manner provided in section 3-108, of all meetings at which lessees are entitled to vote.
Neither the association nor any unit owner except the declarant is liable for that declarant’s torts in connection with any part of the common interest community which that declarant has the responsibility to maintain. Otherwise, an action alleging a wrong done by the association must be brought against the association and not against any unit owner. If the wrong occurred during any period of declarant control and the association gives the declarant reasonable notice of and an opportunity to defend against the action, the declarant who then controlled the association is liable to the association or to any unit owner for
(i) all tort losses not covered by insurance suffered by the association or that unit owner, and
(ii) all costs that the association would not have incurred but for a breach of contract or other wrongful act or omission. Whenever the declarant is liable to the association under this section, the declarant is also liable for all expenses of litigation, including reasonable attorney’s fees, incurred by the association. Any statute of limitation affecting the association’s right of action under this section is tolled until the period of declarant control terminates. A unit owner is not precluded from maintaining an action contemplated by this section because he is a unit owner or a member or officer of the association. Liens resulting from judgments against the association are governed by section 3- 117 (Other Liens).
(a) In a condominium or planned community, portions of the common elements may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest by the association if persons entitled to cast at least eighty percent [80%] of the votes in the association, including eighty percent [80%] of the votes allocated to units not owned by a declarant, or any larger percentage the declaration specifies, agree to that action; but all owners of units to which any limited common element is allocated must agree in order to convey that limited common element or subject it to a security interest. The declaration may specify a smaller percentage only if all of the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential uses. Proceeds of the sale are an asset of the association.
(d) The association, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract to convey an interest in a common interest community pursuant to subsection (a), but the contract is not enforceable against the association until approved pursuant to subsections (a), (b), and
(c). Thereafter, the association has all powers necessary and appropriate to effect the conveyance or encumbrance, including the power to execute deeds or other instruments.
(4) If, at the time of a loss under the policy, there is other insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same risk covered by the policy, the association’s policy provides primary insurance.
(h) Any portion of the common interest community for which insurance is required under this section which is damaged or destroyed must be repaired or replaced promptly by the association unless
(i) the common interest community is terminated, in which case section 2-118 applies
(ii) repair or replacement would be illegal under any state or local statute or ordinance governing health or safety, or
(iii) eighty percent of the unit owners, including every owner of a unit or assigned limited common element that will not be rebuilt, vote not to rebuild. The cost of repair or replacement in excess of insurance proceeds and reserves is a common expense.
If the entire common interest community is not repaired or replaced,
(i) the insurance proceeds attributable to the damaged common elements must be used to restore the damaged area to a condition compatible with the remainder of the common interest community, and
(ii) except to the extent that other persons will be distributees (section 2-105(a)(12(ii)),
(A) the insurance proceeds attributable to units limited common elements that are not rebuilt must be distributed to the owners of those units and the owners of the units to which those limited common elements were allocated, or to lien holders, as their interests may appear, and
(B) the remainder of the proceeds must be distributed to all the unit owners or lien holders, as their interests may appear, as follows:
(1) In a condominium, in proportion to the common element interests of all the units and
(2) in a cooperative or planned community, in proportion to the common expense liabilities of all the units. If the unit owners vote not to rebuild any unit, that unit’s allocated interests are automatically reallocated upon the vote as if the unit had been condemned under section 1-107(a), and the association promptly shall prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocations.
(b) A lien under this section is prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except
(i) liens and encumbrances recorded before the recordation of the declaration and, in a cooperative, liens and encumbrances which the association creates, assumes, or takes subject to,
(ii) a first security interest on the unit recorded before the date on which the assessment sought to be enforced became delinquent, or, in a cooperative, the first security interest encumbering only the unit owner’s interest and perfected before the date on which the assessment sought to be enforced became delinquent, and
(iii) liens for real estate taxes and other governmental assessments or charges against the unit or cooperative. The lien is also prior to all security interests described in clause (ii) above to the extent of the common expense assessments based on the periodic budget adopted by the association pursuant to section 3-115(a) which would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien. This subsection does not affect the priority of mechanics’ or materialmen’s liens, or the priority of liens for other assessments made by the association. (The lien under this section is not subject to the provisions of (insert appropriate reference to state homestead, dower and curtesy, or other exemptions).)
(f) A judgment or decree in any action brought under this section must include costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for the prevailing party.
(g) The association upon written request shall furnish to a unit owner a statement setting forth the amount of unpaid assessments against the unit. If the unit owner’s interest is real estate, the statement must be in recordable form. The statement must be furnished within ten business days after receipt of the request and is binding on the association, the executive board, and every unit owner.
The clerk of the county commission in whose office the notice is recorded shall index the notice in the appropriate deedbooks and lien books in the name of the unit owners and of the association. The cost of recordation shall be assessed against any unit owner found to be delinquent in a subsequent proceeding to enforce the lien.
(i) At any time before the association has disposed of a unit in a cooperative or entered into a contract for its disposition under the power of sale, the unit owners or the holder of any subordinate security interest may cure the unit owner’s default and prevent sale or other disposition by tendering the performance due under the security agreement, including any amounts due because of exercise of a right to accelerate, plus the reasonable expenses of proceeding to foreclosure incurred to the time of tender, including reasonable attorney’s fees of the creditor.
(3) Whether perfected before or after the creation of the common interest community, if a lien, other than a deed of trust or mortgage, including a judgment lien or lien attributable to work performed or materials supplied before creation of the common interest community, becomes effective against two or more units, the unit owner of an affected unit may pay to the lien holder the amount of the lien attributable to his unit and the lien holder, upon receipt of payment, promptly shall deliver a release of the lien covering that unit. The amount of the payment must be proportionate to the ratio which that unit owner’s common expense liability bears to the common expense liabilities of all unit owners whose units are subject to the lien. After payment, the association may not assess or have a lien against that unit owner’s unit for any portion of the common expenses incurred in connection with that lien.
(1) If the association receives notice of an impending foreclosure on all or any portion of the association’s real estate, the association shall promptly transmit a copy of that notice to each unit owner of a unit located within the real estate to be foreclosed. Failure of the association to transmit the notice does not affect the validity of the foreclosure.
(2) Whether or not a unit owner’s unit is subject to the claims of the association’s creditors, no other property of a unit owner is subject to those claims.
With respect to a third person dealing with the association in the association’s capacity as a trustee, the existence of trust powers and their proper exercise by the association may be assumed without inquiry. A third person is not bound to inquire whether the association has power to act as trustee or is properly exercising trust powers. A third person, without actual knowledge that the association is exceeding or improperly exercising its powers, is fully protected in dealing with the association as if it possessed and properly exercised the powers it purports to exercise. A third person is not bound to assure the proper application of trust assets paid or delivered to the association in its capacity as trustee.
(7) A disposition of a unit in a planned community in which the declaration limits the maximum annual assessment of any unit to not more than five hundred dollars, as adjusted pursuant to section 1-114 (Adjustment of dollar amounts) if:
(ii) The declaration cannot be amended to increase the assessment during the period of declarant or declarant’s family control without the consent of a majority of unit owners other than the declarant; and
(2) A general description of the common interest community, including to the extent possible, the types, number, and declarant’s schedule of commencement and completion of construction of buildings and amenities that the declarant anticipates including in the common interest community;
(5) Any current balance sheet and a projected budget for the association, either within or as an exhibit to the public offering statement, for one year after the date of the first conveyance to a purchaser and thereafter the current budget of the association, a statement of who prepared the budget and a statement of the budget’s assumptions concerning occupancy and inflation factors. The budget must include, without limitation:
(ii) If a declarant fails to provide a public offering statement to a purchaser before conveying a unit, that purchaser may recover from the declarant ten percent of the sales price of the unit plus ten percent of the share, proportionate to his common expense liability, of any indebtedness of the association secured by security interests encumbering the common interest community: Provided, That purchaser is required to show that he or she has been actually damaged as a result of the failure to provide such offering statement and that his or her action to recover such damage and the penalty provided in this paragraph is instituted within three years from the date on which purchaser’s right ofaction shall have accrued; and
(17) The extent to which financial arrangements have been provided for completion of all improvements that the declarant is obligated to build pursuant to section 4-119 (Declarant’s Obligation to Complete and Restore);
(20) In a cooperative,
(i) whether the unit owners will be entitled, for federal, state and local income tax purposes, to a pass through of deductions for payments made by the association for real estate taxes and interest paid the holder of a security interest encumbering the cooperative; and
(ii) a statement as to the effect on every unit owner if the association fails to pay real estate taxes or payments due the holder of a security interest encumbering the cooperative.
§36B-4-104. Same — Common interest communities subject to development rights.
(5) A statement of the maximum extent to which each unit’s allocated interests may be changed by the exercise of any development right described in paragraph (3);
§36B-4-105. Same — Time shares.
(4) The extent to which the creation of time shares will or may affect the enforceability of the association’s lien for assessments provided in section 3-116.
§36B-4-106. Same — Common interest communities containing conversion buildings.
§36B-4-107. Same — Common interest community securities.
§36B-4-108. Purchaser’s right to cancel.
(c) If a person required to deliver a public offering statement pursuant to section 4-102(c) fails to provide a purchaser to whom a unit is conveyed with that public offering statement and all amendments thereto as required by subsection (a), the purchaser, in addition to any rights to damages or other relief, is entitled to receive from that person an amount equal to ten percent of the sale price of the unit, plus ten percent of the share, proportionate to his common expense liability, of any indebtedness of the association secured by security interests encumbering the common interest community: Provided, That purchaser must show that he or she has been actually damaged as a result of the failure to provide such offering statement and that his or her action to recover such damage and the penalty provided in this subsection is instituted within three years from the date on which purchaser’s right of action shall have accrued.
(14) In a cooperative, an accountant’s statement, if any was prepared, as to the deductibility for federal income tax purposes by the unit owner of real estate taxes and interest paid by the association.
Any deposit made in connection with the purchase or reservation of a unit from a person required to deliver a public offering statement pursuant to section 4-102(c) must be placed in escrow and held either in this state or in the state where the unit is located in an account designated solely for that purpose by an institution whose accounts are insured by a governmental agency or instrumentality until
(i) delivered to the declarant at closing;
(ii) delivered to the declarant because of the purchaser’s default under a contract to purchase the unit; or
(iii) refunded to the purchaser.
(b) Before conveying real estate to the association, the declarant shall have that real estate released from:
(1) All liens the foreclosure of which would deprive unit owners of any right of access to or easement of support of their units, and
(2) all other liens on that real estate unless the public offering statement describes certain real estate that may be conveyed subject to liens in specified amounts.
(a) A declarant of a common interest community containing conversion buildings, and any dealer who intends to offer units in such a common interest community, shall give each of the residential tenants and any residential subtenant in possession of a portion of a conversion building notice of the conversion and provide those persons with the public offering statement no later than one hundred twenty days before the tenants and any subtenant in possession are required to vacate.
The notice must set forth generally the rights of tenants and subtenants under this section and must be hand delivered to the unit or mailed by prepaid United States mail to the tenant and subtenant at the address of the unit or any other mailing address provided by a tenant. No tenant or subtenant may be required to vacate upon less than one hundred twenty [120] days’ notice, except by reason of nonpayment of rent, waste, or conduct that disturbs other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises, and the terms of the tenancy may not be altered during that period.
Failure to give notice as required by this section is a defense to an action for possession.
(b) Neither formal words, such as “warranty” or “guarantee,” nor a specific intention to make a warranty, are necessary to create an express warranty of quality, but a statement purporting to be merely an opinion or commendation of the real estate or its value does not create a warranty.
(b) A declarant and any dealer impliedly warrants that a unit and the common elements in the common interest community are suitable for the ordinary uses of real estate of its type and that any improvements made or contracted for by him, or made by any person before the creation of the common interest community, will be:
(f) Any conveyance of a unit transfers to the purchaser all of the declarant’s implied warranties of quality.
(2) Are excluded by expression of disclaimer, such as “as is,”"with all faults” or other language that in common understanding calls the purchaser’s attention to the exclusion of warranties.
(b) Subject to subsection (c), a cause of action for breach of warranty of quality, regardless of the purchaser’s lack of knowledge of the breach, accrues:
(2) As to each common element, at the time the common element is completed or, if later, as to
(i) a common element that may be added to the common interest community or portion thereof, at the time the first unit therein is conveyed to a bona fide purchaser, or
(ii) a common element within any other portion of the common interest community, at the time the first unit is conveyed to a bona fide purchaser.
§36B-4-117. Effect of violations on rights of action; attorney’s fees.
If a declarant or any other person subject to this chapter fails to comply with any of its provisions or any provision of the declaration or bylaws, any person or class of persons adversely affected by the failure to comply has a claim for appropriate relief. Punitive damages may be awarded for a willful failure to comply with this chapter. The court, in an appropriate case, may award reasonable attorney’s fees.
No promotional material may be displayed or delivered to prospective purchasers which describes or portrays an improvement that is not in existence unless the description or portrayal of the improvement in the promotional material is conspicuously labeled or identified either as “MUST BE BUILT” or as “NEED NOT BE BUILT.”
§36B-4-119. Declarant’s obligation to complete and restore.
(a) Except for improvements labeled “Need Not Be Built,” the declarant shall complete all improvements depicted on any site plan or other graphic representation, including any plats or plans prepared pursuant to section 2-109, whether or not that site plan or other graphic representation is contained in the public offering statement or in any promotional material distributed by or for the declarant.
AN ACT to amend and reenact §36B-3-102 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting unit owners’ associations to institute legal action against a unit owner to collect dues or assessments that are overdue or in arrears to the association.
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