Section 570. Return of assessment bond or letter of credit to declarant

A. The declarant of a condominium required to post a bond or letter of credit pursuant to § 55-79.84:1 of the Code of Virginia shall maintain such bond or letter of credit for all units registered with the board until the declarant owns less than 10% of the units in the condominium and is current in the payment of assessments. For condominiums containing less than 10 units, the bond or letter of credit shall be maintained until the declarant owns only one unit.

B. The declarant shall submit a written request to the board for the return of the bond or letter of credit. The written request shall attest that the declarant (i) owns less than 10% of the units or for condominiums containing less than 10 units, that the declarant owns only one unit and (ii) is current in the payment of assessments. The written request shall provide contact information for the unit owners' association.

C. Upon receipt of the written request from the declarant, the board shall send a request to the unit owners' association to confirm the information supplied by the declarant. The person certifying the information on behalf of the unit owners' association must not be affiliated with the declarant. The managing agent may confirm the information supplied by the declarant.

D. The board shall return the bond or letter of credit to the declarant if (i) the unit owners' association confirms that the declarant is current in the payment of assessments and owns less than 10% of the units in the condominium or (ii) no response is received from the unit owners' association within 90 days. The 90-day time frame in clause (ii) of this subsection may be extended at the discretion of the board.

E. If the unit owners' association attests the declarant is not current in the payment of assessments, the board shall retain the bond or letter of credit until evidence is received satisfactory to the board that the declarant is current in the payment of assessments.

F. The board may ask for additional information from the unit owners' association or the declarant as needed to confirm compliance with § 55-79.84:1 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 31, Issue 20, eff. August 1, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-2349 of the Code of Virginia.