Title 25, Property

§ 81-105. Separate titles and taxation. (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 home…

§ 81-106. Applicability of local ordinances, regulations, and building codes. (a) A building code may not impose any requirement upon any structure in a common interest community which it would not impose upon a physically identical development under a different form of ownership…

§ 81-107. Eminent domain. (a) If a unit is acquired by eminent domain or part of a unit is acquired by eminent domain leaving the unit owner with a remnant that may not practically or lawfully be used for any purpose permitted by the declaration, the award must include compensati…

§ 81-108. Supplemental general principles of law applicable. The principles of law and equity, including the law of corporations and any other form of business organization authorized by law in this State, the law of real property, and the law relative to capacity to contract, pr…

§ 81-109. Construction against implicit repeal. This chapter being a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter, no part of it shall be construed to be impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if that construction can reasonably be avoided.76 Del. Laws, …

§ 81-110. Uniformity of application and construction. This chapter shall be applied and construed so as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.76 Del. Laws, c. 422, § 2; 77 Del. Laws, c. 91, §…

§ 81-111. Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applicat…

§ 81-112. Unconscionable agreement or term of contract. (a) The court, upon finding as a matter of law that a contract or contract clause was unconscionable at the time the contract was made, may refuse to enforce the contract, enforce the remainder of the contract without the un…

§ 81-113. Obligation of good faith. Every contract or duty governed by this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.76 Del. Laws, c. 422, § 2; 77 Del. Laws, c. 91, § 82;

§ 81-114. Remedies to be liberally administered. (a) The remedies provided by this chapter shall be liberally administered to the end that the aggrieved party is put in as good a position as if the other party had fully performed. However, consequential, special, or punitive dama…

§ 81-115. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. This chapter modifies, limits and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001, et seq.) but does not modify, limit or supersede § 101(c) of that…

§ 81-116. Applicability to new common interest communities; effective date. (a) Except as provided in this subchapter, this chapter applies to all common interest communities created within this State after the effective date that are not excepted from this chapter by the provisi…

§ 81-117. Exception for small condominiums and cooperatives. If a condominium or cooperative contains no more than 20 units and is not subject to any development rights expanding it to include more than 20 units, it is subject only to §§ 81-106 (Applicability of local ordinances,…

§ 81-118. Exception for small and limited expense liability planned communities. (a) If a planned community: (1) Contains no more than 20 units and is not subject to any developmental rights expanding it to include more than 20 units; or (2) Provides, in its declaration, that dur…

§ 81-119. Applicability to preexisting common interest communities and approved common interest communities. Except as provided in § 81-120 (Exception for small preexisting cooperatives and planned communities), and § 81-124 and except as limited by § 81-122 of this title hereof,…

§ 81-120. 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 20 units and is not subject to any development rights expanding it to i…

§ 81-121. Amendments to governing instruments. (a) The declaration, bylaws, or plats and plans of any common interest community created before the effective date of this chapter, may be amended to achieve any result permitted by this chapter, regardless of what applicable law pro…

§ 81-122. Applicability to nonresidential and mixed-use common interest communities. (a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, this section applies only to nonresidential common interest communities. (b) A nonresidential common interest community is not subject to…

§ 81-123. Applicability to out-of-state common interest communities. This chapter does not apply to common interest communities or units located outside this State, but the public offering statement provisions in subchapter IV of this chapter apply to all contracts for the dispos…

§ 81-124. Applicability to continuing care common interest communities. Anything to the contrary in this chapter notwithstanding, this chapter does not apply to any condominium, cooperative or other common interest community created in this State before October 31, 2008, that is …

§ 81-125. Additional exceptions for preexisting common interest communities or approved common interest communities. Anything to the contrary in this chapter notwithstanding, an approved common interest community shall be treated under this chapter in the same manner as a preexis…

§ 81-126. Transition period for existing contracts prior to effective date. Anything to the contrary in this chapter notwithstanding, any declarant, dealer, or unit owner may, but shall not be obligated to, comply with the provisions of subchapter IV of this chapter regarding pub…

§ 81-127. Notice. (a) Unless otherwise required or permitted by the declaration or bylaws, the following methods of giving notice suffice when notice is required: (i) Hand delivered to the unit owner or other intended recipient; (ii) Sent prepaid by United States mail to the mail…

§ 81-201. Creation of common interest communities. (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 …

§ 81-202. Unit boundaries. Except as provided by the declaration: (a) If walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constitut…

§ 81-203. Construction and validity of declaration and bylaws. (a) All provisions of the declaration and bylaws are severable. (b) The rule against perpetuities does not apply to defeat any provision of the declaration, bylaws or rules. (c) In the event of a conflict between the …

§ 81-204. Description of units. A description of a unit which sets forth the name of the common interest community, the recording data for the declaration, the county in which the common interest community is located, and the identifying number of the unit, is a legally sufficien…

§ 81-205. Contents of declaration. (a) The declaration must contain: (1) The names of the common interest community and the association and a statement that the common interest community is either a condominium, cooperative, or planned community; (2) The name of every county in w…

§ 81-206. Leasehold common interest communities. (a) Any lease the expiration or termination of which may terminate the common interest community or reduce its size must be referenced in the declaration. Every lessor of those leases in a condominium or planned community shall sig…

§ 81-207. Allocation of allocated interests. (a) The declaration must allocate to each unit: (1) In a condominium, a fraction or percentage of undivided interests in the common elements and a fraction or percentage of undivided interests in the common expenses of the association,…

§ 81-208. Limited common elements. (a) Except for the limited common elements described in § 81-202(b) and (d) of this title, the declaration must specify to which unit or units each limited common element is allocated. An allocation may not be altered without the consent of the …

§ 81-209. Plats and plans. (a) Plats and plans are a part of the declaration, and are required for all condominiums and cooperatives. Each plat and plan must be clear and legible and contain a certification as required by subsection (g) of this section and by declarant that the p…

§ 81-210. Exercise of development rights. (a) To exercise any development right reserved under § 81-205(a)(8) of this title, the declarant shall prepare, execute, and record, without joinder of any other person required except as expressly provided in the declaration, an amendmen…

§ 81-211. Alterations of units. Subject to the provisions of the declaration and other provisions of law, a unit owner: (a) May, upon written notice to the association specifying the improvements or alterations planned, make any improvements or alterations to that unit owner’s un…

§ 81-212. Relocation of unit boundaries. (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 t…

§ 81-213. Subdivision of units. (a) In a condominium or cooperative if the declaration expressly so permits and approval as noted herein is obtained in writing, a unit may be subdivided into 2 or more units. Subject to the provisions of the declaration, payment of all expenses by…

§ 81-214. Variations in boundaries. The existing physical boundaries of a unit or a common element or the physical boundaries of a unit or a common element reconstructed in substantial accordance with the description contained in the original declaration are its legal boundaries,…

§ 81-215. Use for sales purposes. A declarant may maintain sales offices, management offices, and models in units or on common elements in the common interest community only if the declaration so provides and specifies the rights of a declarant with regard to the number, size, lo…

§ 81-216. Easement rights. (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 u…

§ 81-217. Amendment of declaration. (a) Except in cases of amendments that may be executed by a declarant under § 81-209(f) or § 81-210 of this title, or by the association under § 81-107, § 81-206(d), § 81-208(c), § 81-212(a), or § 81-213 of this title, or by certain unit owners…

§ 81-218. Termination of common interest community. (a) Except in the case of a taking of all the units by eminent domain or in the case of foreclosure against an entire cooperative of a security interest that has priority over the declaration, a common interest community may be …

§ 81-219. Rights of secured lenders. (a) The declaration may require that all or a specified number or percentage of the lenders who hold security interests encumbering the units or who have extended credit to the association approve specified actions of the unit owners or the as…

§ 81-220. Master associations. (a) If the declaration provides that any of the powers described in § 81-302 of this title are to be exercised by or may be delegated to a profit or nonprofit corporation that exercises those or other powers on behalf of one or more common interest …

§ 81-221. Merger or consolidation of common interest communities. (a) Any 2 or more common interest communities of the same form of ownership, by agreement of the unit owners as provided in subsection (b) of this section, may be merged or consolidated into a single common interes…

§ 81-222. Addition of unspecified real estate. In a planned community, if the right is originally reserved in the declaration, the declarant in addition to any other development right, may amend the declaration at any time during as many years as are specified in the declaration …

§ 81-223. Master planned communities. (a) The declaration for a common interest community may state that it is a master planned community if the declarant has reserved the development right to create at least 400 units that may be used for residential purposes, and at the time of…