CONDOMINIUM AND COOPERATIVE CONVERSION EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1980 [Public Law 96–399; 94 Stat. 1672; 15 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.] TITLE VI-CONDOMINIUM AND COOPERATIVE SHORT TITLE SEC. 601. This title may be cited as the "Condominium and Cooperative Abuse Relief Act of 1980". [15 U.S.C. 3601 note] FINDINGS AND PURPOSE SEC. 602. (a) The Congress finds and declares that (1) there is a shortage of adequate and affordable housing throughout the Nation, especially for low- and moderate-income and elderly and handicapped persons; (2) the number of conversions of rental housing to condominiums and cooperatives is accelerating, which in some communities may restrict the shelter options of low- and moderate-income and elderly and handicapped persons; (3) certain long-term leasing arrangements for recreation and other condominium- or cooperative-related facilities which have been used in the formation of cooperative and condominium projects may be unconscionable; in certain situations State governments are unable to provide appropriate relief; as a result of these leases, economic and social hardships may have been imposed upon cooperative and condominium owners, which may threaten the continued use and acceptability of these forms of ownership and interfere with the interstate sale of cooperatives and condominiums; appropriate relief from these abuses requires Federal action; and (4) there is a Federal involvement with the cooperative and condominium housing markets through the operation of Federal tax, housing, and community development laws, through the operation of federally chartered and insured financial institutions, and through other Federal activities; that the creation of many condominiums and cooperatives is undertaken by entities operating on an interstate basis. (b) The purposes of this title are to seek to minimize the adverse impacts of condominium and cooperative conversions particularly on the housing opportunities of low- and moderate-income and elderly and handicapped persons, to assure fair and equitable principles are followed in the establishment of condominium and cooperative opportunities, and to provide appropriate relief where long term leases of recreation and other cooperative- and condominiumrelated facilities are determined to be unconscionable. [15 U.S.C. 3601] CONVERSION LENDING SEC. 603. It is the sense of the Congress that lending by federally insured lending institutions for the conversion of rental housing to condominiums and cooperative housing should be discouraged where there are adverse impacts on housing opportunities of the low- and moderate-income and elderly and handicapped tenants involved. [15 U.S.C. 3602] DEFINITIONS SEC. 604. For the purpose of this title (1) "affiliate of a developer" means any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a developer. A person "controls" a developer if the person (A) is a general partner, officer, director, or employer of the developer, (B) directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than 20 per centum of the voting interests of the developer, (C) controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the developer, or (D) has contributed more than 20 per centum of the capital of the developer. A person "is controlled by" a developer if the developer (i) is a general partner, officer, director or employer of the person, (ii) directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than 20 per centum of the voting interests of the person, (iii) controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors, or (iv) has contributed more than 20 per centum of the capital of the person; (2) "automatic rent increase clause" means a provision in a lease permitting periodic increases in the fee under the lease which is effective automatically or at the sole option of the lessor, and which provides that the fee shall increase at the rate of an economic, commodity, or consumer price index or at a percentage rate such that the actual increases in the rental payment over the lease term cannot be established with specificity at the time the lease is entered into; (3) "common elements" means all portions of the cooperative or condominium project, other than the units designated for separate ownership or for exclusive possession or use; (4) "condominium association" means the organization, whose membership consists exclusively of all the unit owners in the condominium project, which is, or will be, responsible for the operation, administration, and management of the condominium project; (5) "condominium project" means real estate (A) which has five or more residential condominium units, in each residential structure, and the remaining portions of the real estate are designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those units, each owner having an undivided interest in the common elements, and (B) where such units are or have been offered for sale or sold, directly or indirectly, through the use of any means or instruments of transportation or communication of interstate commerce, or the mails; (6) "condominium unit" means a portion of a condominium project designated for separate ownership; (7) "conversion project" means a project, which has five or more residential units, which was used primarily for residential rental purposes immediately prior to being converted to a condominium or cooperative project; (8) "convey or conveyance" means (A) a transfer to a purchaser of legal title in a unit at settlement, other than as security for an obligation, or (B) the acquisition by a purchaser of a leasehold interest for more than five years; (9) "cooperative association" means an organization that owns the record interest in the residential cooperative property or a leasehold of the residential property of a cooperative project and that is responsible for the operation of the cooperative project; (10) "cooperative project" means real estate (A) which has five or more residential cooperative units, in each residential structure, subject to separate use and possession by one or more individual cooperative unit owners whose interest in such units and in the undivided assets of the cooperative association which are appurtenant to the unit are evidenced by a membership or share interest in a cooperative association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession granted by the cooperative association as the owner of all the cooperative property, and (B) an interest in which is or has been offered for sale or lease or sold, or leased directly or indirectly, through use of any means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or of the mails; (11) "cooperative property" means the real estate and personal property subject to cooperative ownership and all other property owned by the cooperative association; (12) "cooperative unit" means a part of the cooperative property which is subject to exclusive use and possession by a cooperative unit owner. A unit may be improvements, land, or land and improvements together, as specified in the cooperative documents; (13) "cooperative unit owner" means the person having a membership or share interest in the cooperative association and holding a lease, or other muniment of title or possession, of a cooperative unit that is granted by the cooperative association as the owner of the cooperative property; (14) "developer" means (A) any person who offers to sell or sells his interest in a cooperative or condominium unit not previously conveyed, or (B) any successor of such person who offers to sell or sells his interest in units in a cooperative or condominium project and who has the authority to exercise special developer control in the project including the right to: add, convert, or withdraw real estate from the cooperative or condomin ium project, and maintain sales offices, management offices and rental units; exercise easements through common elements for the purpose of making improvements within the cooperative or condominium; or exercise control of the owners' association; (15) "interstate commerce" means trade, traffic, transportation, communication, or exchange among the States, or between any foreign country and a State, or any transaction which affects such trade, traffic, transportation, communication, or exchange; (16) "lease" includes any agreement or arrangement containing a condominium or cooperative unit owner's obligation, individually, collectively, or through an association to make payments for a leasehold interest or for other rights to use or possess real estate, or personal property (which rights may include the right to receive services with respect to such real estate or personal property), except a lease does not include mortgages or other such agreements for the purchase of real estate; (17) "person" means a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof; (18) "purchaser” means any person, other than a developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a unit, other than (A) a leasehold interest (including renewal options) of less than five years, or (B) as security for an obligation; (19) "real estate" means any leasehold or other estate or interest in, over or under land, including structures, fixtures, and other improvements and interests which by custom, usage, or law pass with a conveyance of land though not described in the contract of sale or instrument of conveyance. "Real estate" includes parcels with or without upper or lower boundaries, and spaces that may be filled with air or water; (20) "residential" means used as a dwelling; (21) "sale", "sale of a cooperative unit" or "sale of a condominium unit" means any obligation or arrangement for consideration for conveyance to a purchaser of a cooperative or condominium unit, excluding options or reservations not binding on the purchaser; (22) "special developer control" means any right arising under State law, cooperative or condominium instruments, the association's bylaws, charter of articles of association or incorporation, or power of attorney or similar agreement, through which the developer may control or direct the unit owners' association or its executive board. A developer's right to exercise the voting share allocated to any condominium or cooperative unit which he owns is not deemed a right of special developer control if the voting share allocated to that condominium or cooperative unit is the same voting share as would be allocated to the same condominium or cooperative unit were that unit owned by any other unit owner at that time; (23) "State" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States; and (24) "tenants' organization" means a bona fide organization of tenants who represent a majority of the occupied rental units in a rental housing project. [15 U.S.C. 3603] EXEMPTIONS SEC. 605. The provisions of this title shall not apply to— (1) a cooperative or condominium unit sold or offered for sale by the Federal Government, by any State or local government, by any corporate instrumentality of the United States, or by any agency thereof; (2) a cooperative or condominium project in which all units are restricted to nonresidential purposes or uses; or (3) any lease or portion thereof (A) which establishes any leasehold or other estate or interest in, over or under land on or in which one or more residential condominium or cooperative units are located, the termination of which will terminate the condominium or cooperative project, or reduce the number of units in such project, or (B) which establishes a leasehold interest in, or other rights to use, possess, or gain access to, a condominium or cooperative unit. [15 U.S.C. 3604] CONDOMINIUM AND COOPERATIVE CONVERSIONS SEC. 606. It is the sense of the Congress that, when multifamily rental housing projects are converted to condominium or cooperative use, tenants in those projects are entitled to adequate notice of the pending conversion and to receive the first opportunity to purchase units in the converted projects and that State and local governments which have not already provided for such notice and opportunity for purchase should move toward that end. The Congress believes it is the responsibility of State and local governments to provide for such notice and opportunity to purchase in a prompt manner. The Congress has decided not to intervene and therefore leaves this responsibility to State and local governments to be carried out. [15 U.S.C. 3605] FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION INSURANCE SEC. 607. Where an application for mortgage or loan insurance in connection with a conversion or purchase of a rental housing project being undertaken by a tenants' organization is submitted, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall expedite the processing of the application in every way and shall make a final decision on such application at the earliest practicable time. [15 U.S.C. 3606] OPTIONAL TERMINATION OF SELF-DEALING CONTRACTS SEC. 608. (a) Any contract or portion thereof which is entered into after the effective date of this title, and which |