Section 20. Definitions  


Latest version.
  • A. Section 54.1-2345 of the Code of Virginia provides definitions of the following terms and phrases as used in this chapter:

    "Association"

    "Board"

    B. Section 55-79.41 of the Code of Virginia provides definitions of the following terms and phrases as used in this chapter:

    "Common elements"

    "Identifying number"

    "Common expenses"

    "Land"

    "Condominium"

    "Leasehold condominium"

    "Condominium instruments"

    "Limited common element"

    "Condominium unit"

    "Nonbinding reservation agreement"

    "Conversion condominium"

    "Offer"

    "Convertible land"

    "Person"

    "Convertible space"

    "Purchaser"

    "Declarant"

    "Special declarant rights"

    "Dispose" or "disposition"

    "Unit"

    "Executive organ"

    "Unit owner"

    "Expandable condominium"

    C. The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

    "Annual report" means a completed, board-prescribed form and required documentation submitted in compliance with § 55-79.93 of the Code of Virginia.

    "Application" means a completed, board-prescribed form submitted with the appropriate fee and other required documentation in compliance with § 55-79.89 of the Code of Virginia.

    "Class of physical assets" means two or more physical assets that are substantially alike in function, manufacture, date of construction or installation, and history of use and maintenance.

    "Condominium Act" means Chapter 4.2 (§ 55-79.39 et seq.) of Title 55 of the Code of Virginia.

    "Department" means the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

    "Expected useful life" means the estimated number of years from the date on which such estimate is made until the date when, because of the effects of time, weather, stress, or wear, a physical asset will become incapable of performing its intended function and will have to be replaced.

    "Firm" means a sole proprietorship, association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or any other form of business organization recognized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

    "Full and fair disclosure" means the degree of disclosure necessary to ensure reasonably complete and materially accurate representation of the condominium in order to protect the interests of purchasers.

    "Limited common expense" means any common expense against one or more, but less than all, of the units.

    "Major utility installation" means a utility installation or portion thereof that is a common element or serves more than one unit.

    "Material change" means a change in any information or document disclosed in the application for registration, including the public offering statement or an attachment thereto, that renders inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading any information or document in such a way as to affect substantially a purchaser's rights or obligations or the nature of a unit or appurtenant limited common element or the amenities of the project available for the purchaser's use as described in the public offering statement.

    "Offering" means the continuing act of the declarant in making condominium units owned by the declarant within a particular condominium available for acquisition by purchasers or, where appropriate, to the aggregate of the condominium units thus made available.

    "Offering literature" means any written promise, assertion, representation, or statement of fact or opinion made in connection with a condominium marketing activity mailed or delivered directly to a specific prospective purchaser, except that information printed in a publication shall not be deemed offering literature solely by virtue of the fact that the publication is mailed or delivered directly to a prospective purchaser.

    "Personal communication" means a communication directed to a particular prospective purchaser that has not been and is not intended to be directed to any other prospective purchaser.

    "Physical asset" means either a structural component or a major utility installation.

    "Present condition" means condition as of the date of the inspection by means of which condition is determined.

    "Registration file" means the application for registration, supporting materials, annual reports, and amendments that constitute all information submitted and reviewed pertaining to a particular condominium registration. A document that has not been accepted for filing by the board is not part of the registration file.

    "Regular common expense" means a common expense apportioned among and assessed to all of the condominium units pursuant to subsection D of § 55-79.83 of the Code of Virginia or similar law or condominium instrument provision.

    "Replacement cost" means the expenditure that would be necessary to replace a physical asset with an identical or substantially equivalent physical asset as of the date on which replacement cost is determined and includes all costs of (i) removing the physical asset to be replaced, (ii) obtaining its replacement, and (iii) erecting or installing the replacement.

    "Structural component" means a component constituting any portion of the structure of a unit or common element.

    "Structural defect" shall have the meaning given in subsection B of § 55-79.79 of the Code of Virginia.

    "Substituted public offering statement" means a document originally prepared in compliance with the laws of another jurisdiction and modified in accordance with the provisions of this chapter to fulfill the disclosure requirements established for public offering statements by subsection A of § 55-79.90 of the Code of Virginia and, if applicable, subsection A of § 55-79.94 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.