Title 42, Real Property.

(a) If the condominium instruments provide that any officer or officers must be unit owners, then any such officer who disposes of all of his units in fee or for a term or terms of 6 months or more shall be deemed to have disqualified himself from continuing in office unless the …

(a)(1) Except to the extent otherwise provided by the condominium instruments, all powers and responsibilities with regard to maintenance, repair, renovation, restoration, and replacement of a condominium shall belong to: (A) The unit owners’ association in the case of the common…

(a) Except to the extent expressly prohibited by the condominium instruments, and subject to any restrictions and limitations specified herein, the unit owners’ association shall have the: (1) Power to adopt and amend bylaws or rules and regulations; (2) Power to adopt and amend …

(a) There is established a Condominium Association Advisory Council ("CAAC"). (b) The purpose of the CAAC shall be to serve as an advisory body to the Mayor, the Council, and District agencies on matters relating to condominiums located in the District. (c) The CAAC shall be comp…

(a) An action for tort alleging a wrong done: (1) by any agent or employee of the declarant or of the unit owners’ association; or (2) in connection with the condition of any portion of the condominium which the declarant or the association has the responsibility to maintain, sha…

(a) When any insurance policy has been obtained by or on behalf of the unit owners’ association, written notice of the procurement thereof and of any subsequent changes therein or termination thereof shall be promptly furnished to each unit owner by the officer required to send n…

Unless otherwise provided in the condominium instruments, any surplus funds of the unit owners’ association that remain after payment of or provision for common expenses and any prepayment of reserves shall be paid to the unit owners in proportion to the unit owners’ liabilities …

(a) Except to the extent that the condominium instruments provide otherwise, any common expenses associated with the maintenance, repair, renovation, restoration, or replacement of any limited common element shall be specially assessed against the condominium unit to which that l…

The unit owners' association shall, when advising the unit owner of its intention to take legal action to collect any past due amount owed by a unit owner, provide a notice to the unit owner to include: (1) A statement of the account showing the total amount that is past due, inc…

(a) Any assessment levied against a condominium unit in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and any lawful provision of the condominium instruments, along with any applicable interest, late fees, reasonable expenses and legal fees actually incurred, costs of collection…

(a) The unit owners’ association, or the declarant, the managing agent, or other person specified in the bylaws acting on behalf of the unit owners’ association, shall keep detailed records of the receipts and expenditures affecting the operation and administration of the condomi…

If the condominium instruments create any rights of first refusal or other restraints on free alienability of any of the condominium units, such rights and restraints shall be void unless the condominium instruments make provisions for promptly furnishing to any unit owner or pur…

(a) Repealed. (a-1)(1) The failure to comply with the applicable building code in effect at the time of construction shall create a rebuttable presumption that an affected component of a unit or common area falls below standards commonly accepted in the real estate market if: (A)…

(a) A judicial, non-judicial, regulatory, or administrative proceeding for breach of a warranty that arises under § 42-1903.16 shall be commenced within 5 years after the date the applicable warranty period began. (b) Filing of a claim with the Mayor shall not preclude the claima…

(a) If the condominium instruments for a condominium provide that any of the powers described in § 42-1903.08 are to be exercised by or may be delegated to a for-profit or nonprofit corporation or incorporated association that exercises the powers described in § 42-1903.08 or oth…

(a) Any 2 or more condominiums, by agreement of the unit owners as provided in subsection (b) of this section, may be merged or consolidated into a single condominium. Unless the agreement otherwise provides, if 2 or more condominiums merge or consolidate the resultant condominiu…

(a) A portion of the common elements may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest by the unit owners’ association if persons entitled to cast at least 80% of the votes in the unit owners’ association, including 80% of the votes allocated to units not owned by a declarant, …

With respect to a third person that deals with the unit owners’ association in the unit owners’ association’s capacity as a trustee, the existence and proper exercise of trust powers by the unit owners’ association, may be assumed without inquiry. A third person shall not be boun…

Unless the method of offer or disposition is adopted for the purpose of evasion of this chapter, the provisions of §§ 42-1904.02, 42-1904.03, 42-1904.04, 42-1904.05, 42-1904.06, 42-1904.07, 42-1904.08, 42-1904.09, and 42-1904.12 do not apply to: (1) Dispositions in a condominium …

(a) Neither declarant nor any person on behalf of declarant may offer or dispose of any interest in a condominium unit located in the District of Columbia, nor dispose in the District of Columbia of any interest in a condominium unit located without the District of Columbia prior…

(a) The application for registration of the condominium shall be filed as prescribed by the Mayor’s rules and shall contain the following documents and information: (1) An irrevocable appointment of an agent in the District of Columbia, and in the absence of such an agent, the ag…

(a) A public offering statement shall disclose fully and accurately the characteristics of the condominium and the units therein offered and shall make known to prospective purchasers all unusual and material circumstances or features affecting the condominium. The proposed publi…

Upon receipt of an application for registration in proper form, the Mayor may forthwith initiate an investigation to determine: (1) That there is reasonable assurance that the declarant can convey or cause to be conveyed the units offered for disposition if the purchaser complies…

(a) Upon receipt of the application for registration in proper form, the Mayor shall, within 5 business days, issue a notice of filing to the applicant. Within 60 days from the date of the notice of filing, the Mayor shall enter an order registering the condominium or rejecting t…

The declarant shall, during any period of control of the condominium by the declarant pursuant to § 42-1903.02 file a report in the form prescribed by the rules of the Mayor within 30 days of each anniversary date of the order registering the condominium. The report shall reflect…

(a) Any declarant of a conversion condominium shall include in his public offering statement, in addition to the requirements of § 42-1904.04: (1) Repealed; (2)(A) A statement by the declarant based upon a report of a qualified architect or engineer as to the present condition of…

(a) Any deposit made in regard to any disposition of a unit, including a nonbinding reservation agreement, shall be held in escrow until either delivered at settlement or returned to the prospective purchaser. Such escrow funds shall be deposited in a separate account for each co…

(a) Unless previously furnished, an exact copy of the recorded declaration, bylaws, and Condominium Association Bill of Rights and Responsibilities shall be furnished to each purchaser by the declarant within 10 days of recordation thereof as provided for in §§ 42-1902.01 and 42-…

(a) In the event of a resale of a condominium unit by a unit owner other than the declarant, the unit owner shall obtain from the unit owners’ association and furnish to the purchaser, on or prior to the 10th business day following the date of execution of the contract of sale by…

(a) This chapter shall be administered by the Mayor or his designee. The Mayor shall prescribe reasonable rules which shall be adopted, amended or repealed in accordance with the provisions of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act (§ 2-501 et seq.). The rules shal…

(a) The Mayor may make necessary public or private investigations in accordance with law within or outside of the District of Columbia to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate this chapter or any rule or order hereunder, or to aid in the enforcement of …

(a) If the Mayor determines after notice and hearing that a person has: (1) violated any provision of this chapter; (2) directly or through an agent or employee knowingly engaged in any false, deceptive or misleading advertising, promotional, or sales method to offer or dispose o…

(a)(1) A registration may be revoked after notice and hearing upon a written finding of fact that the declarant has: (A) Failed to comply with the terms of a cease and desist order; (B) Been convicted in any court subsequent to the filing of the application for registration for a…

Proceedings for judicial review of mayoral actions shall be subject to and be in accordance with the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act (§ 2-501 et seq.) applicable to “rule-making”; provided, however, that review of mayoral actions pursuant to § 42-1904.06 shall b…

(a) Notwithstanding § 22-3571.01, a person shall be fined not less than $1,000 or double the amount of gain from the transaction, whichever is the larger, but not more than $50,000, or may be imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both, for each offense, who knowingly or reckl…

If any provision of this chapter, or any paragraph, section, sentence, clause, phrase or word or the application thereof, in any circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this chapter, and of the application of any such provision, paragraph, section, sentenc…

This subchapter, including its table of contents, may be cited as the “Horizontal Property Act of the District of Columbia.”

Unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, as used herein: (1) “Unit” or “condominium unit” means an enclosed space, consisting of 1 or more rooms, occupying all or part of 1 or more floors in buildings of 1 or more floors or stories regar…

Whenever the owners or the co-owners of any square or lot shall subdivide the same into a condominium project in conformity with § 42-2009 with a plat of condominium subdivision there shall be established a horizontal property regime.

Once the property is subdivided into the horizontal property regime, a condominium unit in the project may be individually conveyed, leased, and encumbered and may be inherited or devised by will, as if it were sole and entirely independent of the other condominium units in the p…

Any condominium unit may be held and owned by more than 1 person as joint tenants, as tenants in common, as tenants by the entirety (in the case of husband and wife), or in any other real property tenancy relationship recognized under the laws of the District of Columbia.

(a) A condominium unit owner shall have the exclusive fee simple ownership of his unit and shall have a common right to a share, with the other co-owners, of an undivided fee simple interest in the common elements of the property, equivalent to the percentage representing the val…

(a) The common elements, both general and limited, shall remain undivided. No unit owner, or any other person, shall bring any action for partition or division of the co-ownership permitted under § 93, and related provisions, of the Act of March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1203), as amende…

(a) Each co-owner may use the elements held in common in accordance with the purposes for which they are intended, without hindering or encroaching upon the lawful rights of the other co-owners. (b) The manager, board of directors or of administration, as the case may be, shall h…

(a) Whenever the owner or the co-owners of any square or lot duly subdivided in conformity with § 1-1320 or other applicable laws of the District of Columbia shall deem it necessary to subdivide the same into a condominium project of convenient condominium units for sale and occu…

When a plat of a condominium project and subdivision shall be so certified, examined, and recorded, the purchaser of any condominium unit thereof or any person interested therein may refer to the plat and record for description in the same manner as to squares and lots divided be…