CHAPTER 683

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 55-79.2, 55-79.8, 55-79.4, 55-79.7, 55-79.9,
55-79.11, 55-79.18 and 55-79.14 of the Code of Virginia, and to fur-
ther amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 55-79.84
through 55-79.88, the amended and new sections, relating to con-

dominium developments. rH 882]

Approved April 6, 1966

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 55-79.2, 55-79.3, 55-79.4, 55-79.7, 55-79.9, 55-79.11, 55-79.18
and 55-79.14 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted, and that
the Code of Virginia be amended by adding sections numbered 55-79.34
through 55-79.38, the amended and new sections being as follows:

§ 55-79.2. As used in this chapter unless the context otherwise
requires:

(a) “Apartment” means an apartment, apartment dwelling unit, unit,
house or home which is an enclosed * space consisting of one or more
rooms occupying all or part of * one or more floors in a building or butld-
ings of one or more floors or stories regardless of whether it be * designed
or used for residence, for office, for the operation of any industry or bus-
iness, or for any other type of independent use, or combination of uses,
and shall include such accessories as may be appurtenant thereto, such a8
garage space, storage space, balcony, terrace and patio. Provided * that
the apartment has a direct exit to a thoroughfare or to a given common
space leading to a thoroughfare;

(b) “Commission” means the Virginia Real Estate Commission; __

(c) “Condominium” means the ownership of single units in a mult-
ple unit structure with common elements;

(d) “Condominium project” means a real estate condominium project;
a plan or project whereby four or more apartments, rooms, office spaces,
or other units in existing or proposed building(s) or structure(s) are
offered or proposed to be offered for sale;

(e) “Co-owner” means 2 person, firm, corporation, partnership, a8-
sociation, trust or other legal entity, or any combination thereof who owns
an apartment within the building or buildings;

(f) “Council of co-owners” means all the co-owners as defined in sub-
section (e) of this section, acting as a group in accordance with the
bylaws of the horizontal property regime;

(g) “Developer” means a person who undertakes to develop a real
estate condominium project;

(h) “General common elements” unless otherwise provided in the
master deed or lease means and includes:

(1) The land whether leased or in fee simple, on which the building *
or buildings stand; | .

(2) The foundations, main walls, roofs, halls, lobbies, stairways, and
entrances and exits or communication ways;
(8) The basements, fiat roofs, yards, and gardens, except as other-
wise provided or stipulated ;

(4) The premises for the lodging of janitors or persons in charge of
the building or buildings, except as otherwise provided or stipulated;

(5) The compartments or installations of central services such as
power, light, gas, cold and hot water, refrigeration, reservoirs, water
tanks and pumps, and the like;

(6) The elevators, garbage incinerators and, in general all devices or
installations existing for common use; and

(7) All other elements of the * property rationally of common use
or necessary to its existence, upkeep and safety;

(i) “Limited common elements” means and includes those common ele-
ments which are agreed upon by all of the co-owners to be reserved for
the use of a certain number of apartments to the exclusion of the other
apartments, such as special corridors, stairways and elevators, sanitary
services common to the apartments of a particular floor, and the like;

(j) “Majority of co-owners” means * more than fifty per cent of the
votes of the co-owners computed in accordance with the bylaws of the
horizontal property regime;

(k) “Master deed” or “master lease” means the deed or lease record-
ing the property of the horizontal property regime;

(1) “Person” means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, as-
sociation, trust or other legal entity or any combination thereto;

(m) “Property” means and includes the land whether leasehold or
in fee simple and the building or buildings, all improvements and struc-
een and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging

ereto,;

(n) “To record” means to record pursuant to the laws of this State
relating to the recordation of deeds.

§ 55-79.3. Whenever a developer, the sole owner or the co-owners
of a building or buildings expressly declare, through the recordation of a
master deed or lease, which shall set forth the particulars enumerated by
§ 55-79.7, their desire to submit their property to the regime established
by this chapter, there shall be thereby established a horizontal property

@.

_§ 55-79.4. Once the property is submitted to the horizontal property
regime, an apartment in the building or buildings may be individually
conveyed and encumbered and may be the subject of ownership, possession
or sale and of all types of juridic acts inter vivos or mortis causa, as if it
were sole and entirely independent of the other apartments in the building
or buildings of which they form a part, and the corresponding individual
titles and interests shall be recordable.

§ 55-79.7. A master deed or lease shall be recorded in the same man-
ner and subject to the same provisions of law as are deeds; provided, that
no State or local recordation tax upon the value of the property transferred
shall apply to any such deed or portion thereof recorded solely for the
purpose of complying with the provisions of § 55-79.3.

Provisions shall be made for the recordation of the individual apart-
ments on subsequent resales, mortgages and other encumbrances, as is
done with all other real estate recordation. The master deed or lease to
which § 55-79.3 refers shall express the following particulars:

(a) The description of the land, whether leased or in fee simple, and
the building or buildings, expressing their respective areas ;

) The general description and the number of each apartment, ex-
hl i area, location and any other data necessary for its identifica-
ion; an

_(c) The description of the general common elements of the building
§ 55-79.9. All of the co-owners or such lesser percentage as may be
authorized in the master deed, or the sole owner of a building or buildings
constituted into a horizontal property regime may by deed waive this
regime and regroup or merge the records of the filial estates with the
principal property, provided, that the filial estates are unencumbered, or
if encumbered, that the creditors in whose behalf the encumbrances are
recorded accept as security the undivided portions of the property owned
by the debtors.

§ 55-79.11. The administration of every building or buildings con-
stituted into a horizontal property regime shall be governed by bylaws
approved and adopted by the council of co-owners. The bylaws may be
amended from time to time by the council or the governing board provided
for in the counctl’s bylaws.

§ 55-79.13. All co-owners are bound to contribute pro rata toward
the expenses of administration and of maintenance and repairs of the
general common elements, and, in the proper case, of the limited common
elements of the building or buildings, and toward any other expenses law-
fully agreed upon by the council of co-owners.

If a co-owner fails to contribute his share as set forth above, the
manager or Board of Directors of the council of co-owners or, in a proper
case, an aggrieved co-owner, may maintain an action at law on behalf of
the council of co-owners to recover sums due, for damages, and in equity
for injunctive relief.

No co-owner shall be exempt from contributing toward such expenses
by waiver or nonuse of the use or enjoyment of the common elements,
pats, genecal and limited, or by abandonment of the apartment belonging

Said contributions may be determined, levied and assessed as a lien
as the master deed may provide upon default in the payment of any such
contribution.

§ 55-79.14. The laws relating to exemptions as set out in Title 34
of the Code of Virginia shall be applicable to the individual apartments
which shall have the benefit of said exemption in those cases the same as
in ownership of any other property. Property taxes assessed by the State
or by any municipality shall be assessed on and collected on the individual
apartments and not on the property, building or buildings as a whole.

§ 55-79.84. (a) The common elements, both general and limited,
shall remain undivided. No apartment owner, or any other person, 8
bring any suit or other proceeding for partition or division of the co-
ownership of the common elements as provided under § 55-79.6 of this
chapter.

(6) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as a lumitation
on partition by the owners of one or more apartments in a regime as to the
individual ownership of such apartment or apartments without terminating
the regime or as to the ownership of property outside the regime: pr
that upon partition of any such individual apartment the same shall be
sold as an entity and shall not be partitioned in kind.

§ 55-79.85. (a) Subsequent to establishment of a horizontal property
regime as provided in this chapter, and while the property remains subject
to this chapter, no lien shall thereafter arise or be effective against the
property. During such period liens or encumbrances shall arise or be
created and enforced only against each apartment and the percentage of
undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appurtenant to such
apartment in the same manner and under the same conditions in every
respect as liens or encumbrances may arise or be created upon or against
any other separate parcel of real property subject to individual ownership;
provided, that no labor performed or materials furnished with the consent
or at the request of an apartment owner or his agent or his contractor or
subcontractor, shall be the basis for the filing of a mechanic’s lien against
the apartment or any other property of any other apartment owner not
expressly consenting to or requesting the same, except that such express
consent shall be deemed to be given by the owner of any apartment in the
case of emergency repairs thereto. Labor performed or materials furnished
for the common areas and facilities, if duly authorized by the council of
co-owners, the manager, or Board of Directors in accordance with this
chapter, the master deed, or bylaws, shall be deemed to be performed or
furnished with the express consent of each apartment owner and shall
be the basis for the filing of a mechanic’s lien against each of the apart-
ments and shall be subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b) here-
under. Notice of said lien may be served on the manager or the Board of
Directors of the council of co-owners.

(b) In the event of filing of a lien against two or more apartments
and their respective percentage interest in the common elements, the
apartment owners of the separate apartments may remove their apart-
ment and their percentage interest in the common elements appurtenant
thereto from said lien by payment, or may file a written undertaking with
surety approved by the court of the fractional or proportional amounts
attributable to each of the apartments affected. Said individual payment,
or amount of bond, shall be computed by reference to the percentage
established pursuant to the bylaws of the horizontal property regime.
After such partial payment, filing of bond, partial discharge, or release,
or other satisfaction, the apartment and its percentage interest in the
common elements shall thereafter be free and clear of such lien. Such
partial payment, indemnity, satisfaction, or discharge shall not prevent
the lienor from proceeding to enforce his rights against any apartment
and its percentage interest in the common elements not so paid, indemni-
fied, satisfied, or discharged.

§ 55-79.86. The rule of property law known as the rule against per-
petuities, and the rule of property law known as the rule restricting unrea-
sonable restraints on alienation, shall not be applied to defeat any of the
provisions of this chapter or of any provisions of any master deed or
lease, bylaws or other document executed in accordance with this chapter
as to the condominium project. This exemption shall not apply to estates
in the individual condominiums.

§ 55-79.87. (1) The liability of the owner of an apartment for pro-
rata expenses shall be limited to the amounts for which he is assessed from
time to time in accordance with this chapter, the master deed or lease and
the bylaws.

(2) The owner of an apartment shall not be personally liable with
respect to the negligence of any other co-owner except insofar as the
negligent co-owner is acting for the council of co-owners.

§ 55-79.88. Each co-owner shall comply strictly with the bylaws of
the horizontal property regime and with the administrative rules and
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as either of the same may be law-
fully amended from time to time, and with the covenants, conditions and
restrictions set forth in the deed of his individual apartment. Failure to
comply with any of the same shall be ground for an action by the manager
or Board of Directors of the council of co-owners or, in a proper case, an
aggrieved owner, on behalf of the council of co-owners to recover sums
due, for damages and for injunctive relief.