SECTION 55-79.97.1. Fees for resale certificate  

A. The unit owners' association may charge fees as authorized by this section for the inspection of the property, the preparation and issuance of the resale certificate required by § 55-79.97 , and for such other services as are set out in this section. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize the unit owners' association or common interest community manager to charge an inspection fee for a unit except as provided in this section.

B. A reasonable fee may be charged by the preparer of the resale certificate as follows for:

1. The inspection of the unit, as authorized in the declaration and as required to prepare the resale certificate, a fee not to exceed $100;

2. The preparation and delivery of the resale certificate in (i) paper format, a fee not to exceed $150 for no more than two hard copies, or (ii) electronic format, a fee not to exceed a total of $125, for an electronic copy to each of the following named in the request: the seller, the seller's authorized agent, the purchaser, the purchaser's authorized agent, and not more than one other person designated by the requester. Only one fee shall be charged for the preparation and delivery of the resale certificate;

3. At the option of the seller or the seller's authorized agent, with the consent of the unit owners' association or the common interest community manager, expediting the inspection, preparation, and delivery of the resale certificate, an additional expedite fee not to exceed $50;

4. At the option of the seller or the seller's authorized agent, an additional hard copy of the resale certificate, a fee not to exceed $25 per hard copy;

5. At the option of the seller or the seller's authorized agent, a fee not to exceed an amount equal to the actual cost paid to a third-party commercial delivery service for hand delivery or overnight delivery of the resale certificate; and

6. A post-closing fee to the purchaser of the unit, collected at settlement, for the purpose of establishing the purchaser as the owner of the unit in the records of the unit owners' association, a fee not to exceed $50.

Neither the unit owners' association nor its common interest community manager shall require cash, check, certified funds, or credit card payments at the time the request for the resale certificate is made. The resale certificate shall state that all fees and costs for the resale certificate shall be the personal obligation of the unit owner and shall be an assessment against the unit and collectible as any other assessment in accordance with the provisions of the condominium instruments and § 55-79.97 , if not paid at settlement or within 60 days of the delivery of the resale certificate, whichever occurs first.

For purposes of this section, an expedite fee shall only be charged if the inspection and preparation of delivery of the resale certificate are completed within five business days of the request for a resale certificate.

C. No fees other than those specified in this section, and as limited by this section, shall be charged by the unit owners' association or its common interest community manager for compliance with the duties and responsibilities of the unit owners' association under this section. No additional fee shall be charged for access to the unit owners' association's or common interest community manager's website. The unit owners' association or its common interest community manager shall publish and make available in paper or electronic format, or both, a schedule of the applicable fees so that the seller or the seller's authorized agent will know such fees at the time of requesting the resale certificate.

D. Any fees charged pursuant to this section shall be collected at the time settlement occurs on the sale of the unit and shall be due and payable out of the settlement proceeds in accordance with this section. The seller shall be responsible for all costs associated with the preparation and delivery of the resale certificate, except for the costs of any resale certificate update or financial update, which costs shall be the responsibility of the requester, payable at settlement. The settlement agent shall escrow a sum sufficient to pay such costs at settlement. Neither the unit owners' association nor its common interest community manager shall require cash, check, certified funds, or credit card payments at the time the request is made for the resale certificate.

E. If settlement does not occur within 60 days of the delivery of the resale certificate, or funds are not collected at settlement and disbursed to the unit owners' association or the common interest community manager, all fees, including those costs that would have otherwise been the responsibility of the purchaser or settlement agent, shall be (i) assessed within one year after delivery of the resale certificate against the unit owner, (ii) the personal obligation of the unit owner, and (iii) an assessment against the unit and collectible as any other assessment in accordance with the provisions of the condominium instruments and § 55-79.97 . The seller may pay the unit owners' association by cash, check, certified funds, or credit card, if credit card payment is an option offered by the unit owners' association. The unit owners' association shall pay the common interest community manager the amount due from the unit owner within 30 days after invoice.

F. The maximum allowable fees charged in accordance with this section shall adjust every five years, as of January 1 of that year, in an amount equal to the annual increases for that five-year period in the United States Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

G. If a resale certificate has been issued within the preceding 12-month period, a person specified in the written instructions of the seller or the seller's authorized agent, including the seller or the seller's authorized agent or the purchaser or the purchaser's authorized agent, may request a resale certificate update. The requester shall specify whether the resale certificate update shall be delivered electronically or in hard copy and shall specify the complete contact information of the parties to whom the update shall be delivered. The resale certificate update shall be delivered within 10 days of the written request.

H. The settlement agent may request a financial update. The requester shall specify whether the financial update shall be delivered electronically or in hard copy and shall specify the complete contact information of the parties to whom the update shall be delivered. The financial update shall be delivered within three business days of the written request.

I. A reasonable fee for the resale certificate update or financial update may be charged by the preparer, not to exceed $50. At the option of the purchaser or the purchaser's authorized agent, the requester may request that the unit owners' association or the common interest community manager perform an additional inspection of the unit, as authorized in the declaration, for a fee not to exceed $100. Any fees charged for the specified update shall be collected at the time settlement occurs on the sale of the property. The settlement agent shall escrow a sum sufficient to pay such costs at settlement. Neither the unit owners' association nor its common interest community manager, if any, shall require cash, check, certified funds, or credit card payments at the time the request is made for the resale certificate update. The requester may request that the specified update be provided in hard copy or in electronic form.

J. No unit owners' association or common interest community manager may require the requester to request the specified update electronically. The seller or the seller's authorized agent shall continue to have the right to request a hard copy of the specified update in person at the principal place of business of the unit owners' association. If the requester asks that the specified update be provided in electronic format, neither the unit owners' association nor its common interest community manager may require the requester to pay any fees to use the provider's electronic network or system. A copy of the specified update shall be provided to the seller or the seller's authorized agent.

K. When a resale certificate has been delivered as required by § 55-79.97 , the unit owners' association shall, as to the purchaser, be bound by the statements set forth therein as to the status of the assessment account and the status of the unit with respect to any violation of the condominium instruments as of the date of the statement unless the purchaser had actual knowledge that the contents of the resale certificate were in error.

L. If the unit owners' association or its common interest community manager has been requested in writing to furnish the resale certificate required by § 55-79.97 , failure to provide the resale certificate substantially in the form provided in this section shall be deemed a waiver of any claim for delinquent assessments or of any violation of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations, or architectural guidelines existing as of the date of the request with respect to the subject unit. The preparer of the resale certificate shall be liable to the seller in an amount equal to the actual damages sustained by the seller in an amount not to exceed $1,000. The purchaser shall nevertheless be obligated to abide by the condominium instruments, rules and regulations, and architectural guidelines of the unit owners' association as to all matters arising after the date of the settlement of the sale.

M. The Common Interest Community Board may assess a monetary penalty for failure to deliver the resale certificate within 14 days against any (i) unit owners' association pursuant to § 55-79.97 or (ii) common interest community manager pursuant to § 55-79.97 and regulations promulgated thereto, and may issue a cease and desist order pursuant to § 55-79.97 or 55-79.97 , as applicable.

2008, cc. 55-79.97 , 55-79.97 ; 2011, cc. 55-79.97 , 55-79.97 , 55-79.97 ; 2014, c. 55-79.97 ; 2015, c. 55-79.97 ; 2016, c. 55-79.97 ; 2017, cc. 55-79.97 , 55-79.97 .