Title 25, Property

§ 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…

§ 81-224. Other exempt real estate arrangements. (a) An agreement between 2 or more common interest communities to share the costs of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, services, maintenance or improvements of real estate or other activities specified in their agreement or de…

§ 81-225. Termination following catastrophe. If substantially all the units in a common interest community have been destroyed or are uninhabitable and the available methods for giving notice for a meeting of unit owners to consider termination under § 81-218 of this title will n…

§ 81-301. 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 association must have an executive board and the membership of the association at all times con…

§ 81-302. Powers of unit owners’ association. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section and other provisions of this chapter, the association: (1) Must adopt and may amend recorded bylaws consistent with § 81-306 of this title and may adopt rules consiste…

§ 81-303. Executive board members and officers. (a) The declaration must create an executive board. Except as provided in the declaration, the bylaws, subsection (b) of this section, or other provisions of this chapter, the executive board may act in all instances on behalf of th…

§ 81-304. Transfer of special declarant rights. (a) A special declarant right created or reserved under this chapter may be transferred only by an instrument evidencing the transfer recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located. The ins…

§ 81-305. Termination of contracts and leases of declarant. Except as provided in § 81-122 of this title, if entered into before the executive board elected by the unit owners pursuant to § 81-303(f) of this title takes office: (i) Any management contract, employment contract, or…

§ 81-306. Bylaws. (a) The bylaws of the association must provide for: (1) The number of members of the executive board and the titles of the officers of the association; (2) Election by the executive board, or if the declaration so requires by the unit owners, of a president, tre…

§ 81-307. Upkeep of common interest community. (a) Except to the extent provided by the declaration, subsection (b) of this section, or § 81-313(h) of this title, the association, through its executive board, is responsible for maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common e…

§ 81-308. Unit owner meetings. A meeting of the association must be held at least once each year. Special meetings of the association may be called by the president, a majority of the executive board, or by unit owners having at least 20 percent, or any lower percentage specified…

§ 81-308A. Executive board meeting. (a) A meeting of the executive board must be held at least quarterly. Special meetings of the executive board may be called by the president or a majority of the executive board. For purposes of this section, “meetings of the executive board” d…

§ 81-309. Quorums. (a) Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a quorum is present throughout any meeting of the association if: (1) Persons entitled to cast at least 20 percent of the votes in the association are present in person, by proxy or by ballot at the beginning of the meet…

§ 81-310. Voting; proxies. (a) If only 1 of several owners of a unit is present at a meeting of the association, that owner is entitled to cast all the votes allocated to that unit. If more than 1 of the owners is present, the votes allocated to that unit may be cast only in acco…

§ 81-311. Tort and contract liability; tolling of limitation period. (a) A unit owner is not liable, solely by reason of being a unit owner, for an injury or damage arising out of the condition or use of the common elements. Neither the association nor any unit owner except the d…

§ 81-312. Conveyance or encumbrance of common elements. (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 80 percent of the votes in the associatio…

§ 81-313. Insurance. (a) Commencing not later than the time of the first conveyance of a unit to a person other than a declarant, the association shall maintain, to the extent reasonably available: (1) Property insurance on the common elements and, in a planned community, also on…

§ 81-314. Surplus funds. Unless otherwise provided in the declaration, any surplus funds of the association remaining after payment of or provision for common expenses and any prepayment of reserves must be paid annually to the unit owners in proportion to their common expense li…