Colorado § 38-33.3-304 - Transfer of special declarant rights.

§ 38-33.3-304. Transfer of special declarant rights.

(1) A special declarant right created or reserved under this article may be transferred only by an instrument evidencing the transfer recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located. The instrument is not effective unless executed by the transferee.

(2) Upon transfer of any special declarant right, the liability of a transferor declarant is as follows:

(a) A transferor is not relieved of any obligation or liability arising before the transfer and remains liable for warranty obligations imposed upon such transferor by this article. Lack of privity does not deprive any unit owner of standing to bring an action to enforce any obligation of the transferor.

(b) If a successor to any special declarant right is an affiliate of a declarant, the transferor is jointly and severally liable with the successor for the liabilities and obligations of the successor which relate to the common interest community.

(c) If a transferor retains any special declarant rights but transfers other special declarant rights to a successor who is not an affiliate of the declarant, the transferor is liable for any obligations or liabilities imposed on a declarant by this article or by the declaration relating to the retained special declarant rights and arising after the transfer.

(d) A transferor has no liability for any act or omission or any breach of a contractual or warranty obligation arising from the exercise of a special declarant right by a successor declarant who is not an affiliate of the transferor.

(3) Unless otherwise provided in a mortgage instrument, deed of trust, or other agreement creating a security interest, in case of foreclosure of a security interest, sale by a trustee under an agreement creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale, or sale under bankruptcy or receivership proceedings of any units owned by a declarant or real estate in a common interest community subject to development rights, a person acquiring title to all the property being foreclosed or sold succeeds to only those special declarant rights related to that property held by that declarant which are specified in a written instrument prepared, executed, and recorded by such person at or about the same time as the judgment or instrument or by which such person obtained title to all of the property being foreclosed or sold.

(4) Upon foreclosure of a security interest, sale by a trustee under an agreement creating a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale, or sale under bankruptcy act or receivership proceedings of all interests in a common interest community owned by a declarant:

(a) The declarant ceases to have any special declarant rights; and

(b) The period of declarant control terminates unless the instrument which is required by subsection (3) of this section to be prepared, executed, and recorded at or about the same time as the judgment or instrument conveying title provides for transfer of all special declarant rights to a successor declarant.

(5) The liabilities and obligations of persons who succeed to special declarant rights are as follows:

(a) A successor to any special declarant right who is an affiliate of a declarant is subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed on any declarant by this article or by the declaration.

(b) A successor to any special declarant right, other than a successor described in paragraph (c) or (d) of this subsection (5) or a successor who is an affiliate of a declarant, is subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed by this article or the declaration:

(I) On a declarant which relate to the successor's exercise or nonexercise of special declarant rights; or

(II) On the declarant's transferor, other than:

(A) Misrepresentations by any previous declarant;

(B) Warranty obligations on improvements made by any previous declarant or made before the common interest community was created;

(C) Breach of any fiduciary obligation by any previous declarant or such declarant's appointees to the executive board; or

(D) Any liability or obligation imposed on the transferor as a result of the transferor's acts or omissions after the transfer.

(c) A successor to only a right reserved in the declaration to maintain models, sales offices, and signs, if such successor is not an affiliate of a declarant, may not exercise any other special declarant right and is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant.

(d) A successor to all special declarant rights held by a transferor who succeeded to those rights pursuant to the instrument prepared, executed, and recorded by such person pursuant to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section may declare such successor's intention in such recorded instrument to hold those rights solely for transfer to another person. Thereafter, until transferring all special declarant rights to any person acquiring title to any unit or real estate subject to development rights owned by the successor or until recording an instrument permitting exercise of all those rights, that successor may not exercise any of those rights other than the right held by such successor's transferor to control the executive board in accordance with the provisions of section 38-33.3-303 (5) for the duration of any period of declarant control, and any attempted exercise of those rights is void. So long as a successor declarant may not exercise special declarant rights under this subsection (5), such successor declarant is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant, other than liability for the successor's acts and omissions under section 38-33.3-303 (4).

(6) Nothing in this section subjects any successor to a special declarant right to any claims against or other obligations of a transferor declarant, other than claims and obligations arising under this article or the declaration.

Source: L. 91: Entire article added, p. 1740, § 1, effective July 1, 1992.