§ 47-246 — Transfer of special declarant rights. Obligations and liabilities.

(a) A special declarant right, as defined in subsection (29) of section 47-202, created or reserved under this chapter may be transferred only by an instrument evidencing the transfer recorded in every town in which any portion of the common interest community is located. (b) On transfer of any special declarant right, the liability of a transferor declarant is as follows: (1) A transferor is not relieved of any obligation or liability arising before the transfer and remains liable for warranty obligations imposed on him by this chapter. Lack of privity does not deprive any unit owner of standing to maintain an action to enforce any obligation of the transferor. (2) If a successor to any special declarant right is an affiliate of a declarant, as defined in subsection (1) of section 47-202 , the transferor is jointly and severally liable with the successor for any obligations or liabilities of the successor relating to the common interest community. (3) If a transferor retains any special declarant rights, but transfers other special declarant rights to a successor who is not an affiliate of the declarant, the transferor is liable for any obligations or liabilities imposed on a declarant by this chapter or by the declaration relating to the retained special declarant rights and arising after the transfer. (4) A transferor has no liability for any act or omission or any breach of a contractual or warranty obligation arising from the exercise of a special declarant right by a successor declarant who is not an affiliate of the transferor. (c) (1) Unless otherwise provided in a mortgage instrument, deed of trust or other agreement creating a security interest, in case of a sale by a trustee under an agreement creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale other than a foreclosure sale, or sale under bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, of any units owned by a declarant or real property in a common interest community subject to development rights, a person acquiring title to all the property being sold, but only on his request, succeeds to all special declarant rights related to that property held by that declarant, or only to any rights reserved in the declaration pursuant to section 47-234 and held by that declarant to maintain models, sales offices, management offices and signs. The judgment or instrument conveying title shall provide for transfer of only the special declarant rights requested. (2) Unless otherwise provided in a mortgage instrument, a foreclosure of a mortgage on property in a common interest community subject to development rights operates to vest absolute title to the development rights related to the property being foreclosed and held by the declarant whose interest is being foreclosed in the foreclosing mortgagee, or in a redeeming defendant, or in a purchaser at a foreclosure auction unless the foreclosing mortgagee, in its complaint for foreclosure, indicates that those development rights are not part of the mortgaged property for which the mortgagee is seeking a foreclosure. (d) On foreclosure of a security interest, sale by a trustee under an agreement creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale, or sale under bankruptcy or receivership proceedings, of all interests in a common interest community owned by a declarant: (1) The declarant ceases to have any special declarant rights; and (2) The period of declarant control, as provided in subsection (d) of section 47-245 , terminates unless the judgment or instrument conveying title provides for transfer of all special declarant rights held by that declarant to a successor declarant. (e) The liabilities and obligations of a person who succeeds to special declarant rights are as follows: (1) A successor to any special declarant right who is an affiliate of a declarant is subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed on the transferor by this chapter or by the declaration. (2) A successor to any special declarant right, other than a successor described in subdivisions (3) or (4) of this subsection or a successor who is an affiliate of a declarant, is subject to the obligations and liabilities imposed by this chapter or the declaration: (A) On a declarant which relate to the successor's exercise or nonexercise of special declarant rights; or (B) on his transferor, other than: (i) Misrepresentations by any previous declarant; (ii) warranty obligations on improvements made and sold by any previous declarant, or made before the common interest community was created; (iii) breach of any fiduciary obligation by any previous declarant or his appointees to the executive board; or (iv) any liability or obligation imposed on the transferor as a result of the transferor's acts or omissions after the transfer. (3) A successor to only a right reserved in the declaration to maintain models, sales offices, and signs, as provided in section 47-234 , may not exercise any other special declarant right, and is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant, except the obligation to provide a public offering statement and any liability arising as a result thereof. (4) A successor to all special declarant rights held by a transferor who succeeded to those rights pursuant to a deed or other instrument of conveyance in lieu of foreclosure or a judgment or instrument conveying title under subsection (c), may declare in a recorded instrument the intention to hold those rights solely for transfer to another person. Thereafter, until transferring all special declarant rights to any person acquiring title to any unit or real property subject to development rights owned by the successor, or until recording an instrument permitting exercise of all those rights, that successor may not exercise any of those rights other than any right held by his transferor to control the executive board in accordance with subsection (d) of section 47-245 for the duration of any period of declarant control, and any attempted exercise of those rights is void. As long as a successor declarant may not exercise special declarant rights under this subsection, he is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant other than liability for his acts and omissions under subsection (d) of section 47-245 . (f) Nothing in this section subjects any successor to a special declarant right to any claims against or other obligations of a transferor declarant, other than claims and obligations arising under this chapter or the declaration.

Legislative History

(P.A. 83-474, S. 47, 96; P.A. 84-472, S. 13, 23; P.A. 95-187, S. 18; P.A. 96-180, S. 127, 166.) History: P.A. 84-472 amended Subsec. (c) by adding “management offices”; P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (c) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and delete from said Subdiv. provisions concerning foreclosures and to add Subdiv. (2) re the effect of a foreclosure of a mortgage on property subject to development rights; P.A. 96-180 made technical grammatical change in Subsec. (c) effective June 3, 1996.