Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB234 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 234
2	2	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 234:
3	3	By: Quintanilla C.S.S.B. No. 234
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the operation of property owners' associations.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 5.006(a), Property Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) In an action based on breach of a restrictive covenant
13	13	or a statute pertaining to real property, the court may [shall]
14	14	allow to a prevailing party [who asserted the action] reasonable
15	15	attorney's fees in addition to the party's costs and claim.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 5.012, Property Code, is amended by
17	17	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read
18	18	as follows:
19	19	(a) A seller of residential real property that is subject to
20	20	membership in a property owners' association and that comprises not
21	21	more than one dwelling unit located in this state shall give to the
22	22	purchaser of the property a written notice that reads substantially
23	23	similar to the following:
24	24	NOTICE OF MEMBERSHIP IN PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION CONCERNING THE
25	25	PROPERTY AT (street address) (name of residential community)
26	26	As a purchaser of property in the residential community in
27	27	which this property is located, you are obligated to be a member of
28	28	a property owners' association. Restrictive covenants governing
29	29	the use and occupancy of the property and all [a] dedicatory
30	30	instruments [instrument] governing the establishment, maintenance,
31	31	or [and] operation of this residential community have been or will
32	32	be recorded in the Real Property Records of the county in which the
33	33	property is located. Copies of the restrictive covenants and
34	34	dedicatory instruments [instrument] may be obtained from the county
35	35	clerk.
36	36	You are obligated to pay assessments to the property owners'
37	37	association. The amount of the assessments is subject to change.
38	38	Your failure to pay the assessments could result in a lien on and
39	39	the foreclosure of your property.
40	40	Section 207.003, Property Code, entitles an owner to receive
41	41	copies of any document that governs the establishment, maintenance,
42	42	or operation of a subdivision, including, but not limited to,
43	43	restrictions, bylaws, rules and regulations, and a resale
44	44	certificate from a property owners' association. A resale
45	45	certificate contains information including, but not limited to,
46	46	statements specifying the amount and frequency of regular
47	47	assessments and the style and cause number of lawsuits to which the
48	48	property owners' association is a party. These documents must be
49	49	made available to you by the seller on your request.
50	50	Date: ____________________________________________
51	51	Signature of Purchaser
52	52	(f) On the purchaser's request for a resale certificate from
53	53	the seller, the seller shall:
54	54	(1) promptly deliver a copy of a current resale
55	55	certificate if one has been issued for the property under Chapter
56	56	207; or
57	57	(2) if the seller does not have a current resale
58	58	certificate:
59	59	(A) request the property owners' association or
60	60	its agent to issue a resale certificate under Chapter 207; and
61	61	(B) promptly deliver a copy of the resale
62	62	certificate to the purchaser on receipt of the resale certificate
63	63	from the property owners' association or its agent.
64	64	(g) The seller or the purchaser, as agreed to by the
65	65	parties, shall pay the fee to the property owners' association or
66	66	its agent for issuing the resale certificate under Chapter 207
67	67	within ten days of delivery of the resale certificate.
68	68	SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 207.003, Property Code,
69	69	is amended to read as follows:
70	70	(b) A resale certificate under Subsection (a) must contain:
71	71	(1) a statement of any right of first refusal or other
72	72	restraint contained in the restrictions or restrictive covenants
73	73	that restricts the owner's right to transfer the owner's property;
74	74	(2) the frequency and amount of any regular
75	75	assessments;
76	76	(3) the amount of any special assessment that is due
77	77	after the date the resale certificate is prepared;
78	78	(4) the total of all amounts due and unpaid to the
79	79	property owners' association that are attributable to the owner's
80	80	property;
81	81	(5) capital expenditures, if any, approved by the
82	82	property owners' association for the property owners' association's
83	83	current fiscal year;
84	84	(6) the amount of reserves, if any, for capital
85	85	expenditures;
86	86	(7) the property owners' association's current
87	87	operating budget and balance sheet;
88	88	(8) the total of any unsatisfied judgments against the
89	89	property owners' association;
90	90	(9) the style and cause number of any pending lawsuit
91	91	in which the property owners' association is a party, other than a
92	92	lawsuit relating to unpaid property taxes of an individual member
93	93	of the association [defendant];
94	94	(10) a copy of a certificate of insurance showing the
95	95	property owners' association's property and liability insurance
96	96	relating to the common areas and common facilities;
97	97	(11) a description of any conditions on the owner's
98	98	property that the property owners' association board has actual
99	99	knowledge are in violation of the restrictions applying to the
100	100	subdivision or the bylaws or rules of the property owners'
101	101	association;
102	102	(12) a summary or copy of notices received by the
103	103	property owners' association from any governmental authority
104	104	regarding health or housing code violations existing on the
105	105	preparation date of the certificate relating to the owner's
106	106	property or any common areas or common facilities owned or leased by
107	107	the property owners' association;
108	108	(13) the amount of any administrative transfer fee
109	109	charged by the property owners' association for a change of
110	110	ownership of property in the subdivision;
111	111	(14) the name, mailing address, and telephone number
112	112	of the property owners' association's managing agent, if any; [and]
113	113	(15) a statement indicating whether the restrictions
114	114	allow foreclosure of a property owners' association's lien on the
115	115	owner's property for failure to pay assessments; and
116	116	(16) a statement of all fees associated with the
117	117	transfer of ownership, including a description of each fee, to whom
118	118	each fee is paid, and the amount of each fee.
119	119	SECTION 4. (a) Subsection (a), Section 5.006, Property
120	120	Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an action filed on or
121	121	after the effective date of this Act. An action filed before the
122	122	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
123	123	immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
124	124	continued in effect for that purpose.
125	125	(b) Section 5.012, Property Code, as amended by this Act,
126	126	applies only to a sale of property that occurs on or after the
127	127	effective date of this Act. For the purposes of this section, a
128	128	sale of property occurs before the effective date of this Act if the
129	129	executory contract binding the purchaser to purchase the property
130	130	is executed before that date. A sale of property that occurs before
131	131	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
132	132	immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect
133	133	for that purpose.
134	134	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.