499B.2 Definitions.

Unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, as used in this chapter:

1. “Apartment” means one or more rooms occupying all or a part of a floor or floors in a building of one or more floors or stories and notwithstanding whether the apartment be intended for use or used as a residence, office, for the operation of any industry or business or for any other use not prohibited by law.

2. “Building” means and includes one or more buildings, whether attached to one or more buildings or unattached; provided, however, that if there is more than one building, all such buildings shall be described and included in the declaration, or an amendment thereto, and comprise an integral part of a single horizontal property regime.

3. “Co-owner” means a person, corporation, or other legal entity capable of holding or owning any interest in real property who owns all or an interest in an apartment within the building.

4. “Council of co-owners” means all the co-owners of the building. The business and affairs of the council of co-owners may be conducted by organizing a corporation not for pecuniary profit of which the co-owners are members.

5. “General common elements”, unless otherwise provided in the declaration or lawful amendments thereto, means and includes:

a. The land on which the building is erected.

b. The foundations, basements, floors, exterior walls of each apartment and of the building, ceilings and roofs, halls, lobbies, stairways, and entrances and exits or communication ways, elevators, garbage incinerators and in general all devices or installations existing for common use.

c. Compartments or installations of central services for public utilities, common heating and refrigeration units, reservoirs, water tanks and pumps servicing other than one apartment.

d. Premises for lodging of service personnel engaged in performing services other than services within a single apartment.

6. “Limited common elements” means and includes those common elements which are specified in or determined under the declaration to be reserved for the use of one or more apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments, such as special corridors, stairways and elevators, sanitary services common to the apartments of a particular floor, and the like.

7. “Majority of co-owners” or “percent of co-owners” means the owners of more than one-half or owners of that percent of interest in the building irrespective of the total number of co-owners.

8. “Property” includes the land whether committed to the horizontal property regime in fee or as a leasehold interest, the building, all other improvements located thereon, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto.

9. All pronouns used herein include the male, female and neuter genders and include the singular or plural numbers, as the case may be.

[C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §499B.2]

2016 Acts, ch 1073, §140

Referred to in §103.22, 103.23