ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 376
(By Senator Beach)
____________
[Passed March 12, 2011; in effect ninety days from passage.]
____________
AN ACT to amend and reenact §36B-3-102 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting unit
owners' associations to institute legal action against a unit
owner to collect dues or assessments that are overdue or in
arrears to the association.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §36B-3-102 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. MANAGEMENT OF THE COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITY.
§36B-3-102. Powers of unit owners' association.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), and subject to the
provisions of the declaration, the association, even if
unincorporated, may:
(1) Adopt and amend bylaws and rules and regulations;
(2) Adopt and amend budgets for revenues, expenditures, and
reserves and collect assessments for common expenses from unit
owners;
(3) Hire and discharge managing agents and other employees, agents, and independent contractors;
(4) Institute, defend, or intervene in litigation or
administrative proceedings in its own name on behalf of itself or
two or more unit owners on matters affecting the common interest
community;
(5) Make contracts and incur liabilities;
(6) Regulate the use, maintenance, repair, replacement, and
modification of common elements;
(7) Cause additional improvements to be made as a part of the
common elements;
(8) Acquire, hold, encumber, and convey in its own name any
right, title, or interest to real estate or personal property, but
(i) common elements in a condominium or planned community may be
conveyed or subjected to a security interest only pursuant to
section one hundred twelve of this article and (ii) part of a
cooperative may be conveyed, or all or part of a cooperative may be
subjected to a security interest, only pursuant to section one
hundred twelve of this article
;
(9) Grant easements, leases, licenses, and concessions through
or over the common elements;
(10) Impose and receive any payments, fees, or charges for the
use, rental, or operation of the common elements, other than
limited common elements described in subsections (1) and (4),
section one hundred two, article two of this chapter, and for
services provided to unit owners;
(11) Impose charges for late payment of assessments and, after
notice and an opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules, and regulations of
the association;
(12) Impose reasonable charges for the preparation and
recordation of amendments to the declaration, resale certificates
required by section one hundred nine, article four of this chapter,
or statements of unpaid assessments;
(13) Provide for the indemnification of its officers and
executive board and maintain directors' and officers' liability
insurance;
(14) Assign its right to future income, including the right to
receive common expense assessments, but only to the extent the
declaration expressly so provides;
(15) Exercise any other powers conferred by the declaration or
bylaws;
(16) Exercise all other powers that may be exercised in this
state by legal entities of the same type as the association;
(17) Institute litigation or administrative proceedings in its
own name against a unit
owner for the collection of dues or
assessments that are overdue or in arrears
; and
(18) Exercise any other powers necessary and proper for the
governance and operation of the association.
(b) The declaration may not impose limitations on the power of
the association to deal with the declarant which are more
restrictive than the limitations imposed on the power of the
association to deal with other persons.