reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1823.1. Electric vehicle charging stations permitted

A. Except to the extent that the declaration or other recorded governing document provides otherwise, no association shall prohibit any lot owner from installing an electric vehicle charging station for the lot owner's personal use on property owned by the lot owner. An association may establish reasonable restrictions concerning the number, size, place, and manner of placement or installation of such electric vehicle charging station on the exterior of property owned by the lot owner.
B. An association may prohibit or restrict the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on the common area within the development served by the association and may establish reasonable restrictions as to the number, size, place, and manner of placement or installation of electric vehicle charging stations on the common area.
C. Any lot owner installing an electric vehicle charging station shall indemnify and hold the association harmless from all liability, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the association resulting from a claim, arising out of the installation, maintenance, operation, or use of such electric charging station. An association may require the lot owner to obtain and maintain insurance covering claims and defenses of claims related to the installation, maintenance, operation, or use of the electric vehicle charging station and require the association to be included as a named insured on such policy.
2020, c. 1012.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1824. Assessments; late fees

Except to the extent that the declaration or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to such declaration provide otherwise, the board may impose a late fee that does not exceed the penalty provided in § 58.1-3915 for any assessment or installment that is not paid within 60 days of the due date for payment of such assessment.
2013, c. 256, § 55-513.3; 2014, c. 239; 2019, c. 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1825. Authority to levy special assessments

A. In addition to all other assessments that are authorized in the declaration, the board of directors shall have the power to levy a special assessment against its members if (i) the purpose in so doing is found by the board to be in the best interests of the association and (ii) the proceeds of the assessment are used primarily for the maintenance and upkeep of the common area and such other areas of association responsibility expressly provided for in the declaration, including capital expenditures. A majority of votes cast, in person or by proxy, at a meeting of the membership convened in accordance with the provisions of the association's bylaws within 60 days of promulgation of the notice of the assessment shall rescind or reduce the special assessment. No director or officer of the association shall be liable for failure to perform his fiduciary duty if a special assessment for the funds necessary for the director or officer to perform his fiduciary duty is rescinded by the owners pursuant to this section, and the association shall indemnify such director or officer against any damage resulting from any such claimed breach of fiduciary duty.
B. The failure of a member to pay the special assessment allowed by subsection A shall entitle the association to the lien provided by § 55.1-1833 as well as any other rights afforded a creditor under law.
C. The failure of a member to pay the special assessment allowed by subsection A will provide the association with the right to deny the member access to any or all of the common areas. However, the member shall not be denied direct access to the member's lot over any road within the development that is a common area.
1989, c. 679, § 55-514; 1991, c. 667; 1992, c. 450; 1998, cc. 32, 751; 2008, cc. 851, 871; 2019, c. 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1826. Annual budget; reserves for capital components

A. Except to the extent provided in the declaration, the board of directors shall, prior to the commencement of the fiscal year, make available to lot owners either (i) the annual budget of the association or (ii) a summary of such annual budget.
B. Except to the extent otherwise provided in the declaration and unless the declaration imposes more stringent requirements, the board of directors shall:
1. Conduct at least once every five years a study to determine the necessity and amount of reserves required to repair, replace, and restore the capital components as defined in § 55.1-1800;
2. Review the results of that study at least annually to determine if reserves are sufficient; and
3. Make any adjustments the board of directors deems necessary to maintain reserves, as appropriate.
C. To the extent that the reserve study conducted in accordance with this section indicates a need to budget for reserves, the association budget shall include:
1. The current estimated replacement cost, estimated remaining life, and estimated useful life of the capital components as defined in § 55.1-1800;
2. As of the beginning of the fiscal year for which the budget is prepared, the current amount of accumulated cash reserves set aside to repair, replace, or restore capital components and the amount of the expected contribution to the reserve fund for that year;
3. A statement describing the procedures used for estimation and accumulation of cash reserves pursuant to this section; and
4. A statement of the amount of reserves recommended in the study and the amount of current cash for replacement reserves.
2002, c. 459, § 55-514.1; 2019, cc. 33, 44, 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1827. Deposit of funds; fidelity bond

A. All funds deposited with a managing agent shall be handled in a fiduciary capacity and shall be kept in a fiduciary trust account in a federally insured financial institution separate from other assets of the managing agent. The funds shall be the property of the association and shall be segregated for each account in the managing agent's records in a manner that permits the funds to be identified on an individual association basis.
B. Any association collecting assessments for common expenses shall obtain and maintain a blanket fidelity bond or employee dishonesty insurance policy insuring the association against losses resulting from theft or dishonesty committed by the officers, directors, or persons employed by the association or committed by any managing agent or employees of the managing agent. Such bond or insurance policy shall provide coverage in an amount equal to the lesser of $1 million or the amount of the reserve balances of the association plus one-fourth of the aggregate annual assessment income of such association. The minimum coverage amount shall be $10,000. The board of directors or managing agent may obtain such bond or insurance on behalf of the association.
2007, cc. 696, 712, § 55-514.2; 2008, cc. 851, 871; 2019, c. 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1828. Compliance with declaration

A. Every lot owner, and all those entitled to occupy a lot, shall comply with all lawful provisions of this chapter and all provisions of the declaration. 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 association or by its board of directors or any managing agent on behalf of such association or, in any proper case, by one or more aggrieved lot owners on their own behalf or as a class action. 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 shall not preclude an action against the 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 lot owner for nonpayment of assessments in which the lot owner has failed to pay assessments levied by the association on more than one lot or in which such lot owner has had legal actions taken against him for nonpayment of any prior assessment, and the prevailing party is the association or its board of directors 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 owner shall be personally responsible for reasonable attorney fees and costs expended in the matter by the association, whether any judicial proceedings are filed.
C. A declaration 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 development is located, or as mutually agreed to by the parties.
1989, c. 679, § 55-515; 1993, c. 956; 2012, c. 758; 2014, c. 569; 2019, c. 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1829. Amendment to declaration and bylaws; consent of mortgagee

A. In the event that any provision in the declaration requires the written consent of a mortgagee in order to amend the bylaws or the declaration, the association shall be deemed to have received the written consent of a mortgagee if the association sends the text of the proposed amendment by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by regular mail with proof of mailing to the mortgagee at the address supplied by such mortgagee in a written request to the association to receive notice of proposed amendments to the declaration and receives no written objection to the adoption of the amendment from the mortgagee within 60 days of the date that the notice of amendment is sent by the association, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise. If the mortgagee has not supplied an address to the association, the association shall be deemed to have received the written consent of a mortgagee if the association sends the text of the proposed amendment by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the mortgagee at the address filed in the land records or with the local tax assessor's office and receives no written objection to the adoption of the amendment from the mortgagee within 60 days of the date that the notice of amendment is sent by the association, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise.
B. Subsection A shall not apply to amendments that alter the priority of the lien of the mortgagee or that materially impair or affect a lot as collateral or the right of the mortgagee to foreclose on a lot as collateral.
C. Where the declaration is silent on the need for mortgagee consent, no mortgagee consent shall be required if the amendment to the declaration does not specifically affect mortgagee rights.
D. Except as otherwise provided in the declaration, a declaration may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the lot owners.
E. An action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association may not be brought more than one year after the amendment is effective.
F. Agreement of the required majority of lot owners to any amendment of the declaration adopted pursuant to subsection D shall be evidenced by their execution of the amendment, or ratifications of such amendment, and the same shall become effective when a copy of the amendment is recorded together with a certification, signed by the principal officer of the association or by such other officer or officers as the declaration may specify, that the requisite majority of the lot owners signed the amendment or ratifications of such amendment.
G. Subsections D and F shall not be construed to affect the validity of any amendment recorded prior to July 1, 2017.
1997, c. 887, § 55-515.1; 1998, c. 32; 1999, c. 805; 2003, cc. 59, 74; 2017, c. 374; 2019, c. 712.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 55.1 - Property and Conveyances › Chapter 18 - Property Owners' Association Act › § 55.1-1830. Validity of declaration; corrective amendments

A. All provisions of a declaration shall be deemed severable, and any unlawful provision of the declaration shall be void.
B. No provision of a declaration 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 a declaration restraining the alienation of lots other than such lots as may be restricted to residential use only.
E. The rule of property law known as the doctrine of merger shall not apply to any easement included in or granted pursuant to a right reserved in a declaration.
F. The declarant may unilaterally execute and record a corrective amendment or supplement to the declaration to correct a mathematical mistake, an inconsistency, or a scrivener's error or clarify an ambiguity in the declaration with respect to an objectively verifiable fact, including recalculating the liability for assessments or the number of votes in the association appertaining to a lot, within five years after the recordation of the declaration containing or creating such mistake, inconsistency, error, or ambiguity. No such amendment or supplement may materially reduce what the obligations of the declarant would have been if the mistake, inconsistency, error, or ambiguity had not occurred. Regardless of the date of recordation of the declaration, the principal officer of the association may also unilaterally execute and record such a corrective amendment or supplement upon a vote of two-thirds of the members of the board of directors. All corrective amendments and supplements recorded prior to July 1, 1997, are hereby validated to the extent that such corrective amendments and supplements would have been permitted by this subsection.
1998, c. 32, § 55-515.2; 2001, c. 271; 2019, c. 712.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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 make an assessment or impose a charge against a unit owner unless the charge is (i) authorized under § 55.1-1964, (ii) a fee for services provided, or (iii) related to the provisions set out in § 55.1-2316. 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.