Form 24-1

Declaration of [name of condominium], a Condominium

Basic Information

Date:

Declarant:

Declarant’s Address:

Association: [name], a Texas [for-profit/nonprofit] corporation

Association’s Address:

Property: [include legal description] [include county], including the following easements and licenses appurtenant to, included in, or to which the condominium is or may become sub­ject [include recording data for easements and licenses]

Plat/Plan: [attached hereto as Exhibit [exhibit number/letter]/recorded at [recording data]]

[Reservations from Declaration:]

[Property Subject to Development Right of Withdrawal: [include legal description]]

Definitions

“Act” means chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code, as amended, and any successor law, known as the Texas Uniform Condominium Act.

“Assessment” means regular and special assessments, dues, fees, charges, interest, late fees, fines, collection costs, attorney’s fees, and any other amount due to the association by the Owner or levied against the Unit by the Association.

“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Association.

“Bylaws” means the Bylaws of the Association adopted by the Board. The initial Bylaws are attached as Exhibit [exhibit number/letter].

“Certificate of Formation” means the Association’s certificate of formation.

“Common Elements” means all portions of the Condominium other than the Units and includes both General and Limited Common Elements. The Common Elements are directly owned by the Condominium Unit Owners in undivided interests.

“Common Expenses” means expenditures made by or financial liabilities of the Associ­ation, together with any allocations to reserves.

“Condominium” means the Property covered by the Plat and any additional property that is subject to this Declaration.

“Covenants” means the covenants, conditions, and restrictions contained in this Decla­ration.

“Declarant” means the person or persons identified as Declarant in the Basic Informa­tion or who reserves or succeeds to any special declarant right.

“Declarant Control Period” means the period of time during which Declarant can appoint a majority of the Board members and officers as provided in paragraph E.2.

“Dedicatory Instruments” means this Declaration and the Certificate of Formation, Bylaws, and Rules, as amended.

“Development Rights” means a right or combination of rights reserved by the Declarant set forth in paragraph L.3.

“General Common Elements” means common elements that are not Limited Common Elements.

“Limited Common Elements” means a portion of the Common Elements allocated by the Declaration or by the Act for the exclusive use of one or more but less than all of the Units, including [include as applicable and consider expressly excluding any of the following items that are not intended as limited common elements: shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, and exterior doors and windows or other fixtures designed to serve one or more but less than all of the Units, but located outside the boundaries of the Unit(s)]. [Include any additional building features that are to be characterized or expressly excluded as limited common elements.]

“Member” means Owner.

“Owner” means every record Owner of a fee interest in a Unit.

“Plat” means the Plat and any plans for the Condominium [recorded in [recording data] of the real property records of [county] County, Texas/recorded with this Declaration as Exhibit [exhibit number/letter]] and any replat of or amendment to the Plat made in accor­dance with this Declaration.

“Residential Purposes” means recreational or dwelling purposes or both.

“Rules” means the Rules related to the Condominium adopted by the Board that do not conflict with law or the Dedicatory Instruments. On request, an Owner will be provided a copy of the Rules.

“Single Family” means a group of individuals related by blood, adoption, or marriage or a number of unrelated roommates not exceeding the number of bedrooms in a Unit.

“Special Declarant Rights” means a right or combination of rights reserved by the Declarant set forth in paragraph L.1.

“Unit” means a physical portion of the Condominium designated for separate owner­ship, the boundaries of which are described by the Declaration.

Each capitalized term not otherwise defined in this Declaration has the meaning speci­fied in the Act.

Clauses and Covenants

A.Imposition of and Agreement to the Covenants

A.1.Declarant imposes the Covenants on the Property and subjects the Property to a condominium form of ownership in accordance with the provisions of the Act [include if applicable: , subject to the Reservations from Declaration]. The Covenants run with the land and bind all Owners, occupants, and any other person holding an interest in a Unit.

A.2.All Owners and other occupants of the Units by their acceptance of their deeds, leases, or by occupancy of any Unit agree that the Condominium is subject to the Covenants. Each Owner, each occupant of a Unit, and the Association agree to comply with the Dedica­tory Instruments and to be subject to an action arising out of or related to the Dedicatory Instruments for declaratory judgment, damages, or for injunctive relief.

B.Plat

B.1.The Plat is part of this Declaration and is incorporated by reference.

B.2.To the extent that a Unit or Common Element encroaches on another Unit or Common Element, a valid easement for the encroachment exists. The easement does not relieve an Owner of liability in case of willful misconduct or relieve Declarant or any other person of liability for failure to adhere to the Plat.

C.Regulated Activities

C.1.Permitted Purposes.      A Unit [shall/shall not] be utilized [only] for Residential Purposes [by a Single Family]. [Include if applicable: A Unit shall be used only for [office/warehouse/industrial/other nonresidential] purposes.]

C.2.Prohibited Activities and Occupancy Restrictions.      Subject to the Special Declarant Rights, the following use restrictions apply to all Units and to the Common Ele­ments:

a.any activity that is otherwise prohibited by the Dedicatory Instruments;

b.any illegal activity;

c.any nuisance, noxious, or offensive activity;

d.any dumping of trash or rubbish, except in approved locations and in an approved manner;

e.any storage of—

i.building materials except during the construction or renovation of a Unit or

ii.vehicles, except vehicles in a garage or operable automobiles on a driveway or in a parking space;

f.any keeping or raising of animals, except for common domesticated house­hold pets, such as dogs and cats, not to exceed [number] confined to the Unit;

g.any commercial or professional activity except reasonable home office activity;

h.the drying of clothes outside of a Unit;

i.the display of any sign except—

i.one not more than five square feet, advertising the Unit for sale or rent and

ii.political signage not prohibited by law or the Dedicatory Instru­ments;

[j.   the renting of a portion of a Unit;]

[j./k.]      [Insert any additional restrictions, e.g., renting a residence or structure for less than thirty consecutive days or allowing a renter, guest, or other person who is a registered sex offender to reside at the Property.]

D.Units

D.1.Number of Units.      The number of Units in the Condominium is as shown on Exhibit [exhibit number/letter]. [Include as applicable: Declarant reserves no rights to create additional Units./Declarant reserves the right to create [number] additional Units as shown in section L./Declarant reserves the right to withdraw [number] Units as shown in section L.]

D.2.Identification of Units.      The identification number of each Unit is shown on Exhibit [exhibit number/letter] and on the Plat.

D.3.Unit Boundaries.      The boundaries of each Unit are the walls, floors, and ceil­ings of the Unit. The boundaries of each Unit are located as shown on the Plat and are more particularly described in paragraph D.4.

D.4.Parts of Unit.      A Unit includes all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plas­ter, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constituting part of the finished surfaces that are a part of a Unit, and the spaces, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a Unit are a part of the Unit. A Unit also includes [include any additional things that represent part of a unit]. A Unit does not include any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column, or any other fixture that is partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of a Unit, of which the portion serving only that Unit is a Limited Common Element allocated solely to that Unit and of which the portion serving more than one Unit or the Common Elements is a part of the General Common Elements.

D.5.No Subdivision or Consolidation of Units.      No Unit will be subdivided or con­solidated with another Unit (unless approved by the Board).

D.6.No Structural Modification of Unit without Board Approval.      No structural modifications or alterations will be made in a Unit unless plans, specifications, and any other documents requested by the Board are submitted to and approved by the Board in accordance with the Rules. The Association, the Board, and their members will not be liable to any person submitting requests for approval or to any Owner by reason of any action, failure to act, approval, disapproval, or failure to approve or disapprove any request. Any structural modifi­cation made to a Unit (a) without Board approval, (b) not in conformity with the Board approval, or (c) without the required permit from the applicable entity are unauthorized modi­fications. The Board may require the Owner to restore the Unit, at the Owner’s expense, to the condition before the unauthorized modifications were made.

D.7.Maintenance.      Each Unit will be maintained by its Owner.

D.8.Restrictions on Transfer

A Unit may not be conveyed pursuant to a time-sharing arrangement.

A Unit may not be leased or rented for a term of less than [number] days.

All leases and rental agreements shall be in writing and subject to the reasonable requirements of the Board.

If an Owner receives an acceptable purchase offer for a Unit, the Owner must first offer to sell the Unit to the Association for the same price and terms as the offer received. The Owner will give the Board written notice of the price and terms of the offer received and the name and address of the person making such offer. If, within ten days from the date the Board receives the Owner’s notice, the Board fails to give the Owner notice that the Association elects to purchase the Unit, the Owner may sell the Unit to the person(s) making the offer. In such case, the Board will certify in writing, duly acknowledged and in recordable form, that the Association has declined to purchase the Unit. The Board may waive the provisions of this paragraph for any Unit. Any mortgagee of any Unit that acquires title to a Unit is exempt from this “right of first refusal.”

E.Association

E.1.Establishment and Governance.      The Association is established by filing its Certificate of Formation and is governed by the Dedicatory Instruments. The Association, act­ing through the Board, will administer and manage the Condominium in accordance with the Dedicatory Instruments. The Association has the powers (a) of a [for-profit/nonprofit] corpo­ration under the Texas Business Organizations Code, (b) of a condominium association under the Act, and (c) stated in the Dedicatory Instruments, respectively as amended. All acts of the Association must be by and through the Board, except as otherwise provided by the Declara­tion or Bylaws or by law.

E.2.Declarant Control.      Declarant has all the powers reserved in section 82.103(c) of the Act to appoint and remove officers and members of the Board until the 120th day after conveyance of 50 percent of the Units that may be created to Owners other than Declarant, at which time not less than one-third of the Board members must be elected by Owners other than Declarant. Not later than the 120th day after conveyance of 75 percent of the Units to Owners other than Declarant, the Declarant Control Period terminates, and all the Board and Association officers shall be elected by the Owners as provided in the Bylaws.

E.3.Membership and Voting Rights.      Every Owner is a Member of the Association. Membership is appurtenant to and may not be separated from ownership of a Unit. On termi­nation of the Declarant Control Period, the Members have the voting rights provided in the Bylaws.

E.4.Assignment of Future Income.      The Association may assign its future income, including its rights to receive Common Expenses assessments, [in accordance with section 82.102 of the Act/only by the affirmative vote of Unit Owners of Units to which at least [num­ber] of the votes in the Association are allocated].

F.Assessments

F.1.Authority.      The Association will charge Assessments as provided in the Act.

F.2.Personal Obligation.      An Assessment is a personal obligation of each Owner when the Assessment accrues.

F.3.Creation of Lien.      Assessments are secured by a continuing lien on each Unit as provided in section 82.113 of the Act. By acceptance of a deed to a Unit, each Owner grants the lien, together with the power of sale, to the Association to secure Assessments.

F.4.Commencement.      A Unit becomes subject to Assessments as provided in the Act.

F.5.Regular Assessments

F.5.a.Rate.      Regular assessments will be charged by the Board to fund the budgeted Common Expenses.

F.5.b.Changes to Regular Assessments.      Regular assessments may be changed by the Board. Written notice of the regular assessment will be sent to every Owner at least thirty days before its effective date.

F.5.c.Collections.      Regular assessments will be collected [annually/semiannually/monthly] in advance, payable on the [first/tenth/[other]] day of the [month/year] and on [the same day of each succeeding [month/year]/the [first/tenth/[other]] day of [month] of each year].

F.5.d.Expenses for Maintenance, Repair, or Replacement of Limited Common Elements.      Expenses for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of a Limited Common Ele­ment shall be assessed to the Owner(s) whose Unit(s) benefit from the Limited Common Ele­ment.

F.6.Special Assessments.      In addition to the regular assessments, the Board may charge special assessments for the purpose of funding the cost of any construction, reconstruc­tion, repair, or replacement of any capital improvement on the Common Elements or for any other purpose benefiting the Condominium but requiring funds exceeding those available from the regular assessments. Written notice of the terms of the special assessment will be sent to every Owner. Any special assessment must be approved by a [majority/two-thirds] vote at a meeting of the Members in accordance with the Bylaws.

F.7.Subordination of Lien to Mortgages.      The lien granted and reserved to the Association is subordinate to the liens described in section 82.113(b) of the Act.

F.8.Delinquent Assessments.      Any Assessment not paid within [number] days after it is due is delinquent.

G.Remedial Rights

G.1. Late Charges and Interest.      Owners will pay the Association a late charge of [$[amount]/[percent] percent of the delinquent amount] for Delinquent Assessments. Owners will pay the Association interest at the rate of [percent] percent per year on Delinquent Assessments from the delinquent date until the date paid. The Board may change the late charge and the interest rate; however, the interest rate may not exceed the maximum permitted by law.

G.2.Costs, Attorney’s Fees, and Expenses.      The prevailing party in any legal pro­ceeding among the Association, an Owner, or an occupant of a Unit related to the Dedicatory Instruments is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs of such proceeding incurred by the prevailing party. A prevailing party is the party who successfully prosecutes the action or successfully defends against it, prevailing on the main issue, even though not to the extent of its original contention.

G.3.Nonjudicial Foreclosure of Lien.      The Association may foreclose the Associa­tion’s lien against a Unit in accordance with section 82.113 of the Act.

G.4.Judicial Action.      The Association may sue an Owner and an occupant of a Unit to enforce the Dedicatory Instruments for damages for breach of the Dedicatory Instruments, for injunctive relief regarding the Dedicatory Instruments, and to foreclose the Association’s lien on a Unit. An Owner and an occupant of a Unit may sue the Association, any Owner, and any occupant of a Unit to enforce the Dedicatory Instruments, for injunctive relief regarding the Dedicatory Instruments, and for damages for breach of the Dedicatory Instruments.

G.5.Remedy of Violations.      The Association may access an Owner’s Unit to rem­edy a violation of the Dedicatory Instruments.

G.6.Suspension of Voting.      An Owner delinquent in payment of any Assessment may not vote.

G.7.Suspension of Other Rights.      If an Owner violates the Dedicatory Instruments, the Association may suspend the Owner’s rights under the Dedicatory Instruments in accor­dance with law until the violation is cured.

G.8.Damage to Property or Violation of Dedicatory Instruments.      An Owner is lia­ble to the Association (a) for damage to Common Areas caused by the Owner or the Owner’s family, guests, agents, independent contractors, and invitees (“Owner Affiliates”), and (b) for violations of the Dedicatory Instruments by the Owner or Owner Affiliates, in accordance with law.

H.Limited Common Elements

H.1. Allocation of Reserved Limited Common Elements

H.1.a.Limited Common Elements are marked on the Plat and include [include as applicable: vehicle parking areas, storage areas, and others].

H.1.b.To the extent the Limited Common Elements are not allocated to a Unit by the Declaration, Declarant reserves the right to allocate the Limited Common Elements for the exclusive use of one or more Units (i) by making the allocation in a recorded instrument, (ii) in the deed to the Unit(s) to which the Limited Common Element is ancillary, or (iii) by recording an appropriate amendment to this Declaration.

H.2.Allocation of Specified Common Elements.      The Board may designate parts of the Common Elements from time to time for use by less than all of the Owners or by nonown­ers for specified periods of time or by only those persons paying fees or satisfying other rea­sonable conditions for use as may be established by the Board. Any such designation by the Board shall not be a sale or disposition of such portions of the Common Elements.

I.Allocated Interests

I.1. Allocated Interests.      The Owners’ respective undivided interest in the Com­mon Elements, the Owners’ respective Common Expense liability, and the Owners’ respec­tive votes in the Association allocated to each Unit are set forth in Exhibit [exhibit number/letter].

I.2.Determination of Allocated Interests.      The interests allocated to each Unit have been calculated as follows:

a.the undivided interest in Common Elements, on the basis of [include the method of calculation used];

b.the percentage of liability for Common Expenses, on the basis of [include the method of calculation used]; and

c.the number of votes in the Association, on the basis of [include the method of calculation used].

J.Amendment of Declaration

The Declaration may be amended by consent of Owners to which at least [67 percent of the votes (or higher for residential condominiums)/[smaller percentage] percent of the votes (if all units are restricted to nonresidential use)] in the Association are allocated—

1.by written ballot that states the exact wording or substance of the amendment and that specifies the date by which a ballot must be received to be counted;

2.at a meeting of the Members of the Association after written notice of the meeting has been delivered to an Owner of each Unit stating that a purpose of the meeting is to con­sider an amendment to the Declaration;

3.by unanimous written consent of the Owners; or

4.[other method].

K.Reconstruction after Loss

 On a casualty to any portion of the Condominium for which insurance is required, the Association must promptly repair or replace that portion unless (1) the Condominium is termi­nated, (2) repair or replacement would be illegal under any state or local health or safety stat­ute or ordinance, or (3) at least 80 percent of the Owners, including each Owner of a Unit or assigned Limited Common Element that will not be rebuilt or repaired, vote to not rebuild. Each unit owner may vote (in person or by proxy at a meeting; electronically or by written ballot in the absence of a meeting) regardless of whether the owner’s unit or limited common element has been damaged or destroyed. Costs will be assessed and paid as provided in sec­tion 82.111 of the Act. [Specify alternative provisions if desired and if all units are restricted to nonresidential use, as the provisions of section 82.111 of the Act may then be varied or waived.]

L.Special Declarant Rights and Development Rights

L.1. Special Declarant Rights.      The Declarant reserves the following Special Declarant Rights:

a.The right to complete or make improvements indicated on the Plats and Plans.

b.The right to maintain sales offices, management offices, leasing offices, and models in Units or on the Common Elements, but only [include limits in number, size, location, and relocation].

c.The right to maintain signs on the Condominium to advertise the Condo­minium.

d.The right to use, and to permit others to use, easements through the Com­mon Elements as may be reasonably necessary for the purpose of discharg­ing the Declarant’s obligations under the Act and this Declaration.

e.The right to appoint or remove any officer of the Association or any direc­tor under paragraph E.2. or section 82.003(a)(22)(F) or 82.103(c) of the Act.

L.2.Limitations on Special Declarant Rights.      Unless sooner terminated by a recorded instrument signed by the Declarant, any Special Declarant Right may be exercised by the Declarant [until [date]/for the period of time specified in the Act].

L.3.Development Rights.      The Declarant reserves the following development rights: [specify rights reserved].

M.General Provisions

M.1.Term.      The Condominium may be terminated—

a.by a taking of all of the Units by condemnation; or

b.by the approval of 100 percent of the votes in the Association and each holder of a deed of trust or vendor’s lien on a Unit.

b.by the approval of at least [percent] percent of the Members of the Associ­ation and each holder of a deed of trust or vendor’s lien on a Unit.

M.2.No Waiver.      Failure by the Association or an Owner to enforce the Dedicatory Instruments is not a waiver.

M.3.Corrections.      The Board may correct typographical or grammatical errors, ambiguities, or inconsistencies contained in this Declaration, provided that any correction must not impair or affect a vested property right of any Owner.

M.4.Conflict.      This Declaration controls over the other Dedicatory Instruments.

M.5.Severability.      If a provision of this Declaration is unenforceable for any reason, to the extent the unenforceability does not destroy the basis of the bargain among the parties, the unenforceability does not affect any other provision of this Declaration, and this Declara­tion is to be construed as if the unenforceable provision is not a part of the Declaration.

M.6.Notices.       Any notice required or permitted by the Dedicatory Instruments must be in writing. To the extent required by law, notices regarding remedial rights must be given by certified mail, return receipt requested. All other notices may be given by regular mail. Notice is deemed delivered (whether actually received or not) when properly deposited with the United States Postal Service, addressed to a Member at the Member’s last known address according to the Association’s records and the Association, the Board, or a managing agent at the Association’s principal office or another address designated in a notice to the Members. Unless otherwise required by law or the Dedicatory Instruments, actual notice, however delivered, is sufficient.

   
[Name of declarant]

After recording, please return to:

[name and address of declarant or attorney]