§ 18-13-101. Title

This chapter shall be known as the “Horizontal Property Act”.

§ 18-13-102. Definitions

As used in this chapter: (1) “Apartment” means a part of the property intended for residential, commercial, industrial, or any other type of independent use consisting of one (1) or more rooms or spaces occupying all or part of one (1) or more floors in a building or buildings of one (1) or more floors […]

§ 18-13-103. Establishment of horizontal property regimes

Whenever a sole owner or the co-owners of a building already constructed or the owners of property upon which a building is to be constructed expressly declare, through the recordation of a master deed setting forth the particulars enumerated in § 18-13-104, their desire to submit their property to the regime established by this chapter, […]

§ 18-13-104. Master deed

(a) The master deed creating and establishing the horizontal property regime shall be executed by the owner or owners of the real property making up the regime and shall be recorded in the office of the clerk and ex officio recorder of the county where the property is located. (b) The master deed shall express […]

§ 18-13-105. Plans to be attached to master deed

(a) (1) There shall be attached to the master deed, at the time it is filed for record, a full and exact copy of the plans of any existing building on the property or the plans for the building or buildings to be constructed thereon. The copy of the plans shall be entered of record […]

§ 18-13-106. Additional units in excess of those described in master deed

(a) The sole owner or co-owners of property constituted and established under this chapter as a horizontal property regime may, by description of their intentions in the master deed provided for in § 18-13-104, provide for the addition of apartments or units in the horizontal property regime in excess of those for which specific plans […]

§ 18-13-107. Waiver and reestablishment of regimes

(a) All of the co-owners or the sole owner of a building or property constituted into a horizontal property regime may waive this regime and regroup or merge the records of the individual apartments, or anticipated apartments, with the principal property if the individual apartments are unencumbered or, if encumbered, if the creditors in whose […]

§ 18-13-108. Bylaws

(a) The administration of every building constituted into horizontal property shall be governed by bylaws which shall be inserted in, or appended to, and recorded with the master deed. (b) The bylaws must necessarily provide for at least the following: (1) Form of administration, indicating whether this shall be in charge of an administrator or […]

§ 18-13-109. Modification of administration

(a) The sole owner of the building or, if there is more than one (1), the co-owners representing two-thirds (2/3) of the total value of the building may, at any time, modify the system of administration, but each one of the particulars set forth in § 18-13-108 shall always be embodied in the bylaws. (b) […]

§ 18-13-110. Book of receipts and expenditures — Examination

(a) The administrator, the board of administration, or other form of administration specified in the bylaws shall keep a book with a detailed account, in chronological order, of the receipts and expenditures affecting the building and its administration and specifying the maintenance and repair expenses of the common elements and any other expenses incurred. (b) […]

§ 18-13-111. Status of individual units

Once the property is submitted to the horizontal property regime, an apartment in the building may be individually conveyed and encumbered and may be the subject of ownership, possession, or sale and of all types of juridic acts intervivos or causa mortis as if it were sole and entirely independent of the other apartments in […]

§ 18-13-112. Ownership and valuation of separate units and common elements

(a) (1) An apartment owner shall have the exclusive ownership of his or her apartment and shall have a common right to a share, with the other co-owners, in the common elements of the property. (2) (A) This share is equivalent to the percentage representing the value of the individual apartment with relation to the […]

§ 18-13-113. Types of joint ownership

Any apartment may be held and owned by more than one (1) person as joint tenants, as tenants in common, as tenants by the entirety, or in any other real estate tenancy relationship recognized under the laws of this state.

§ 18-13-114. Common elements

(a) The common elements, both general and limited, shall remain undivided and shall not be the object of an action for partition or division of the co-ownership. Any covenant to the contrary shall be void. (b) Each co-owner may use the elements held in common in accordance with the purpose for which they are intended, […]

§ 18-13-115. Conveyances

(a) Any conveyance or other instrument affecting title to an apartment which describes the apartment by using the plan letter or number followed by the words “in Horizontal Property Regime” shall be deemed to contain a good and sufficient description for all purposes. (b) Any conveyance of an individual apartment shall be deemed to also […]

§ 18-13-116. Liability for expenses and assessments

(a) (1) The co-owners of the apartments are bound to contribute pro rata, in the percentages computed according to § 18-13-112, toward the expenses of administration and of maintenance and repair of the general common elements and, in the proper case, of the limited common elements of the building, and toward any other expense lawfully […]

§ 18-13-117. Insurance generally

The co-owners may, upon resolution of a majority, insure the building against risk, without prejudice to the right of each co-owner to insure his or her apartment on his or her own account and for his or her own benefit.

§ 18-13-118. Application of insurance proceeds to reconstruction

(a) In case of fire or any other disaster, the insurance indemnity shall, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, be applied to reconstruct the building. (b) Reconstruction shall not be compulsory when it comprises the whole or more than two-thirds (2/3) of the building. In such case, and unless otherwise unanimously agreed […]

§ 18-13-119. Sharing of reconstruction costs when building not insured or indemnity insufficient

(a) When the building is not insured or when the insurance indemnity is insufficient to cover the cost of reconstruction, the new building costs shall be paid by all the co-owners directly affected by the damage in proportion to the value of their respective apartments, or as may be provided by the bylaws. (b) If […]

§ 18-13-120. Taxation

(a) (1) Taxes, assessments, and other charges of this state, of any political subdivision, of any special improvement district, or of any other taxing or assessing authority shall be assessed against and collected on each individual apartment. (2) Each tax, assessment, or other charge on the apartment shall be carried on the tax books as […]