Title 38

SECTION 36.4363

36.4363 Miscellaneous legal requirements.

§ 36.4363 Miscellaneous legal requirements.

(a) Declarant transfer of control of owners' association - (1) Standards for transfer of control. The declarant shall relinquish all special rights, expressed or implied, through which the declarant may directly or indirectly control, direct, modify, or veto any action of the owners' association, its executive board, or a majority of unit owners, and control of the owners' association shall pass to the owners of units within the project, not later than the earlier of the following:

(i) 120 days after the date by which 75 percent of the units have been conveyed to unit purchasers,

(ii) The last date of a specified period of time following the first conveyance to a unit purchaser; such period of time is to be reasonable for the particular project. The maximum acceptable period usually will be from 3 to 5 years for single-phased condominium regimes and 5 to 7 years for expandable condominiums, or

(iii) On a case basis, modifications or variations of the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section will be acceptable, particularly in circumstances involving very large condominium developments.

(2) Declarant's unit votes after transfer of control. The requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall not affect the declarant's rights, as a unit owner, to exercise the votes allocated to units which the declarant owns.

(3) Unit owners' participation in management. Declarant should provide for and foster early participation of unit owners in the management of the project.

(b) Taxes. Unless otherwise provided by State law, real estate taxes must be assessed and be lienable only against the individual units, together with their undivided interests in the common elements, and not against the multifamily structure. The owners' association usually owns no real estate, so it has no obligation concerning ad valorem taxes. Unless taxes are assessed only against the individual units, a tax lien could amount to more than the value of any particular unit in the structure.

(d) Policies for bylaws. The bylaws of the condominium should be sufficiently detailed for the successful governance of the condominium by unit owners. Among other things, such documents should contain adequate provisions for the election and removal of directors and officers.

(e) Insurance and related requirements - (1) Insurance. The holder shall require hazard and flood insurance policies to be procured and maintained in accordance with § 36.4329. Because of the nature of condominiums, additional types of insurance coverages - such as tort liability insurance for injuries sustained on the premises, personal liability insurance for directors and officers managing association affairs, boiler insurance, etc. - should be considered in appropriate circumstances.

(2) Fidelity bond coverage. The securing of appropriate fidelity bond coverage is recommended but not required, for any person or entity handling funds of the owners' association, including, but not limited to, employees of the professional managers. Such fidelity bonds should name the association as an obligee, and be written in an amount equal to at least the estimated maximum of funds, including reserve funds, in the custody of the owners' association or the management agent at any given time during the term of the fidelity bond. However, the bond should not be less than a sum equal to 3 months' aggregate assessments on all units plus reserve funds.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3703(c)(1), 3710(a)(6)) [73 FR 6310, Feb. 1, 2008. Redesignated at 75 FR 33705, June 15, 2010, as amended at 80 FR 34319, June 16, 2015]