Relating to the operations and governance of certain common interest communities and including applicability provisions

Cooperatives under Code chapter 499A and horizontal property regimes under Code chapter 499B are also defined to be common interest communities. The bill specifies that a common interest community does not include a covenant that requires the owners of separate parcels of real estate to share certain costs or other obligations, unless all such owners consent in writing to the creation of a common interest community, and does not include a community where all units are owned by a single owner. The bill does not allow for the provisions of new Code chapter 499C to be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by new Code chapter 499C may not be waived. The bill specifies that unless otherwise provided by law new Code chapter 499C applies to all common interest communities established within this state having eight or more units. However, the bill provides that for horizontal property regimes with seven or fewer apartments, if the form of administration is a board of administration, the board of administration must comply with specified requirements of new Code chapter 499C regarding meetings, records, and notice. The bill establishes requirements and procedures for common interest communities, unit owners associations, and executive boards. The bill provides that the membership of a unit owners association shall at all times consist exclusively of all unit owners except following termination of the common interest community, at which time the unit owners association shall consist of all former unit owners entitled to distributions of proceeds or their heirs, successors, or assigns. The bill requires each unit owners association to have an executive board. A unit owners association must be organized as a for-profit or nonprofit corporation, trust, limited liability company, partnership, unincorporated association, or any other form of organization authorized by the laws of this state. The bill provides that the requirements of new Code chapter 499C relating to a unit owners association preempt any conflicting provision of the statute under which the unit owners association is organized. The bill specifies the duties and powers of a unit owners association, including powers of the unit owners association for enforcement of the provisions of declaration, bylaws, or rules. The bill specifies the duties and powers of an executive board. An executive board, except as otherwise provided in the declaration, the bylaws, or other provision of law, acts on behalf of the unit owners association. The bill specifies the duty of care required for members and officers of the executive board. The bill establishes requirements relating to meetings of unit owners associations, executive boards, and committees of such entities including requirements for the contents of meeting notices, allowable actions during meetings, requirements relating to unit owner comments, and the manner in which meetings may be conducted. The bill also specifies the manner and the reasons for which certain meetings may be called. The bill enacts requirements relating to the retention of records by unit owners associations and specifies the records retained by a unit owners association which may be withheld from inspection and copying. The bill requires a unit owners association or executive board, as applicable, to deliver each notice required to be given by the association under new Code chapter 499C to the regular mail address or electronic mail address provided by each unit owner. If a regular mail or electronic mail address is not provided by the unit owner, the unit owners association may deliver the notice by a different method specified in the bill. The bill provides that the ineffectiveness of a good-faith effort to deliver notice does not invalidate an action taken at a meeting or an action taken by other means. The bill provides that a declarant, unit owners association, unit owner, or any other person subject to new Code chapter 499C may bring an action to enforce a right granted or obligation imposed by the Code chapter, the declaration, or the bylaws. In any such action, the court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party. Unless provided prior to receiving an offer to purchase a unit, the bill requires a unit owner to provide in writing to each person making an offer to purchase the unit in the common interest community a copy of the current bylaws, declaration, and rules of the common interest community, including any unit use restrictions and applicable periods of applicability, within 24 hours of receiving the offer to purchase. The bill prohibits the sale of a unit unless the condition is met or the buyer waives the condition in writing. The bill delays until January 1, 2020, the applicability of certain provisions related to declarant control periods and executive board membership for certain common interest communities established prior to July 1, 2019. Division II of the bill makes corresponding changes relating to the enactment of new Code chapter 499C.