SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1324
102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MCCREERY.
4387S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 448, RSMo, by adding thereto ten new sections relating to binding agreements
running with land.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 448, RSMo, is amended by add ing thereto 1
ten new sections, to be known as sections 448.300, 448.305, 2
448.310, 448.315, 448.320, 448.325, 448.330, 448.335, 448.340, 3
and 448.345, to read as follows:4
448.300. Sections 448.300 to 448.345 shall be known 1
and may be cited as the "Mis souri Uniform Homeowners' 2
Association Act". 3
448.305. Sections 448.300 to 448.345 shall apply to 1
all planned communities; provided, however, sections 448.300 2
to 448.345 only apply with respect to events and 3
circumstances occurring af ter January 1, 2025, and do not 4
invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws, 5
articles of incorporation or plats of those planned 6
communities. 7
448.310. As used in sections 448.300 to 448.345, the 1
following terms mean: 2
(1) "Allocated interests", the common expense 3
liability and votes in the association; 4
(2) "Assessment", the sum attributable to each lot and 5
due to the association based upon the lot's common expense 6
liability or other moneys owed to the asso ciation pursuant 7 SB 1324 2
to sections 448.300 to 448.345 or the governing documents of 8
the association; 9
(3) "Association", the lot owners association; 10
(4) "Board of directors", the governing body, 11
regardless of name, that has the power to act on beha lf of 12
the association as designated in the governing documents; 13
(5) "Common ground", any real estate within a planned 14
community which is owned or leased by the association other 15
than a lot; 16
(6) "Common expense", expenditures made by, or the 17
financial liabilities of, the association including any 18
allocation to reserves; 19
(7) "Common expense liability", liability for common 20
expenses allocated to each lot; 21
(8) "Declarant", a person or group of persons acting 22
in concert that: 23
(a) as part of a common promotional plan, offers to 24
dispose of the interest of the person or group of persons in 25
a lot not previously disposed of; or 26
(b) reserves or succeeds to any declarant right; 27
(9) "Declaration", the recorded instrument , however 28
denominated, that creates a planned community; 29
(10) "Governing documents", the declaration, articles 30
of incorporation, bylaws, and rules and regulations of the 31
association; 32
(11) "Lot", a physical portion of the planned 33
community designated for separate ownership or occupancy as 34
depicted on the plats of the planned community or as more 35
particularly described in a declaration; 36
(12) "Lot owner", a declarant or other person who owns 37
a lot excluding a person having an interest in a lot solely 38
as security for an obligation; 39 SB 1324 3
(13) "Planned community", real property described in a 40
declaration that sets forth the duties and obligations of 41
the association and lot owner. For the purposes of sections 42
448.300 to 448.345, neith er a cooperative, timeshare, or 43
condominium is a planned community; provided, however, a 44
cooperative, timeshare, or condominium may be part of a 45
planned community. 46
448.315. 1. No provision in sections 448.300 to 1
448.345 shall impact, hinder, impair, alter, or affect the 2
rights of a declarant to administer, develop, construct, or 3
convey real property subject to the declaration. 4
2. Except as expressly provided in sections 448.300 to 5
448.345, the effect of these sections shall not be varied by 6
agreements, and rights conferred by such sections shall not 7
be waived. 8
448.320. Each lot constitutes for all purposes a 1
separate parcel of real estate, and shall be separately 2
assessed and taxed consistent with its restricted use. The 3
personal property of an association, if any, shall not be 4
subject to taxation under chapter 137, and common ground 5
shall not be subject to separate assessment or taxation. 6
448.325. 1. Consent of the declarant i s required for 1
any amendment to the governing documents that would impair 2
any rights reserved by the declarant in the declaration. 3
2. The declaration may be amended pursuant to the 4
procedures as contained in the declaration. 5
3. If a declaration is silent regarding amendment 6
procedures, or if a planned community has multiple differing 7
amendment procedures, or if any provision in a declaration 8
requires a percentage larger than sixty -seven percent of the 9
votes in the association to amend the declaration, the 10
provision regarding amendment procedures is hereby declared 11 SB 1324 4
void as contrary to public policy and shall be deemed to 12
specify a percentage of sixty -seven percent of the votes in 13
the association until the declaration is otherwise amende d. 14
4. A unanimous vote of the lot owners is required to 15
amend any declaration to change the allocated interest of a 16
lot. A unanimous vote of the lot owners is not required to 17
change or add a restriction that may be more burdensome. 18
5. No action to challenge the validity of an amendment 19
to the declaration may be brought more than one year after 20
the amendment to the declaration is recorded. 21
6. If an amendment is proposed to the declaration by 22
the board of directors and an insufficient number of votes 23
are obtained to decide the question within ninety days of 24
distributing the amendment to the lot owners, the amendment 25
may be made if the association provides a second notice to 26
all lot owners containing a statement that the proposed 27
amendment will be deemed approved by the lot owners unless 28
one-third of the votes in the association submit a vote to 29
reject the proposed amendment within sixty days of the date 30
of the second notice with a copy of the proposed amendment. 31
7. The board of directors is authorized to amend 32
governing documents to correct drafting or technical errors. 33
448.330. An owners association shall be organized 1
prior to the conveyance of the first lot in the planned 2
community. The association shall be incorporated as a 3
mutual benefit nonprofit corporation under chapter 355 no 4
later than one year from the date of transfer of the control 5
from the declarant. For an association not incorporated 6
under chapter 355 as of January 1, 2025, the boa rd of 7
directors shall be authorized to form such corporation and 8
the nonprofit corporation shall be deemed to be the 9
successor to the unincorporated association. No assignment 10 SB 1324 5
agreement or other legal instrument shall be required to 11
effectuate the assignment of duties and obligations from the 12
unincorporated association to its successor. If a 13
declaration contains the same provisions as required under 14
chapter 355 for bylaws of the association, the association 15
need not adopt bylaws; provided, howeve r, the amendment 16
procedure of the declaration shall govern all provisions of 17
said declaration. 18
448.335. 1. After transition of control of the 1
association from the declarant pursuant to the provisions of 2
the declaration, if an elect ion of the board of directors is 3
not held because of a lack of quorum of the members, the 4
board of directors shall call a special meeting of the 5
association to conduct the election. Said special meeting 6
shall have a quorum requirement of ten percent o f the votes 7
in the association. If said special meeting is not held 8
because of a lack of quorum, the board of directors shall 9
call a second special meeting to conduct the election with 10
no quorum requirement. No action to challenge an election 11
held in accordance with this subsection shall be brought 12
more than thirty days after the date of the election. 13
2. To ensure that the board of directors is not 14
vacated in whole or part, the term of a director shall 15
expire only upon the election of a repl acement. Any 16
provision in a governing document that purports to specify a 17
date when the term of a member of the board expires is 18
hereby declared void as contrary to public policy and null 19
and void. 20
3. In the absence of a board of directors, ten percent 21
of the lot owners may call a special meeting to conduct an 22
election and any quorum requirement for that special meeting 23
shall be suspended. The newly elected board shall be deemed 24 SB 1324 6
to be the board of directors of the association unless suit 25
is filed within sixty days of the election held in 26
accordance with this subsection. In the event of such suit, 27
a court of competent jurisdiction shall appoint a receiver 28
with experience in management of an association during the 29
pendency of the case. 30
448.340. 1. After transition of control of the 1
association from the declarant pursuant to the provisions of 2
the declaration, the board of directors, at least annually, 3
shall adopt a proposed budget for the planned community for 4
consideration by the lot owners. Not later than thirty days 5
after adoption of a proposed budget, the board of directors 6
shall provide to all lot owners a copy of the proposed 7
budget, including any reserves and a statement of the basis 8
on which any reserves are calculated and funded. 9
Simultaneously, the board of directors shall set a date, not 10
less than fourteen days or more than thirty days after 11
providing the summary, for a meeting of the lot owners to 12
consider ratification of the budget. Unless at that meeting 13
a majority of all lot owners, or a larger number if 14
specified in the declaration, reject the budget, the budget 15
shall be deemed ratified whether or not a quorum is 16
present. If a proposed budget is rejected, the current 17
budget shall remain in effect until lot owners ratify a 18
subsequent budget. 19
2. Any provision in a governing document that purports 20
to specify a maximum rate of assessments, or a limitation on 21
the amount an assessment may be increased, is hereby 22
declared void as contrary to public policy. 23
3. The association shall be entitled to recover from 24
the lot owner any costs and reasonable attorneys' fees 25
incurred in connection with the collection of delinquent 26 SB 1324 7
assessments. A judgment or decree in any action brought 27
pursuant to this section shall include costs and reasonable 28
attorney's fees for the prevailing party with the amount of 29
the unpaid assessments not to be considered by the court in 30
determining the reasonableness of such attorney's fees and 31
costs. Upon request of any party to the action, the court 32
shall provide the basis for its determination of the award 33
of attorney's fees and costs. Any application for execution 34
upon a judgment shall include any post -judgment attorney's 35
fees and costs incurred, which, unless otherwise determined 36
by the court by motion submitted by the owner within thirty 37
days of the date of service of such application, shall be 38
recoverable. 39
4. An association is not subject to the limitation on 40
the number of small claims petitions that may be filed as 41
provided in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 42
482.330, and any judgment thereafter entered, so long as the 43
lot owner was personally served, shall be enforceable as a 44
judgment entered by an associate circuit cour t under chapter 45
517. 46
5. If a lot is occupied by a tenant and the lot owner 47
is delinquent in payment of assessments in excess of sixty 48
days, the association may demand payment of subsequent 49
rental payments until the lot owner is no longer delinque nt, 50
the association releases the tenant from liability, or the 51
tenant is no longer in possession of the lot. The demand to 52
the tenant shall be in writing, with a copy to the lot 53
owner, sent via first -class United States mail, postage pre - 54
paid, or hand delivery. A tenant is immune from any claim 55
by the lot owner related to rent timely paid to the 56
association after the association has made written demand. 57
If the tenant fails to make payment to the association, the 58 SB 1324 8
association may issue notice and evict the tenant under 59
chapters 534 or 535. The tenant shall not, by virtue of 60
payment, have any rights of a lot owner to vote in an 61
election or examine the books and records of the association. 62
6. After transition of control of the association 63
pursuant to the provisions of the declaration, the board of 64
directors may propose a special assessment or an amended 65
budget so long as the board of directors follows the 66
procedures in subsection 1 of this section and the lot 67
owners do not reject it. 68
7. No action to challenge an assessment levied 69
pursuant to the procedures specified in this section shall 70
be brought more than sixty days from the first date the 71
assessment is due. 72
8. After transition of control of the association 73
pursuant to the provisions of the declaration, if the board 74
of directors determines that a special assessment is 75
necessary to respond to an emergency to the health or safety 76
of lot owners or occupants: 77
(1) The special assessment shall become effective 78
immediately in accordance with the terms of the vote; 79
(2) The notice of the emergency assessment shall be 80
provided promptly to all lot owners; and 81
(3) The board of directors may spend the funds paid on 82
account of the emergency assessment only for the purposes 83
described in the vote. 84
448.345. 1. Should a declaration compel binding 1
arbitration as provided for in sections 435.350 to 435.470, 2
the disclosure requirement of section 435.460 shall be 3
included in the declaration. 4
2. If specified in the declaration or any other 5
governing documents, disputes between lot owners, or between 6 SB 1324 9
two or more lot owners regarding a matter related to the 7
planned community, may be required to be submitted to 8
nonbinding dispute resolution as a prerequisite to 9
commencement of a judicial proceeding. 10