SECTION 55.1-2219. Exchange programs  

A. Any exchange company that offers an exchange program in the Commonwealth shall prepare and register with the Board a disclosure document including the following:

1. The name and address of the exchange company;

2. The names and addresses of the top three officers and all directors of the exchange company and, if the exchange company is privately held, all shareholders owning five percent or more interest in the exchange company;

3. Whether the exchange company or any of its officers or directors has any legal or beneficial interest in any developer or managing agent for any time-share program participating in the exchange program and, if so, the name and location of the time-share project and the nature of the interest;

4. Unless the exchange company is also the developer or an affiliate, a statement that the purchaser's contract with the exchange company is a contract separate and distinct from the sales contract;

5. Whether the purchaser's participation in the exchange program is dependent upon the continued affiliation of the time-share program with the exchange program;

6. Whether the purchaser's membership or participation, or both, in the exchange program is voluntary or mandatory;

7. A complete and accurate description of the terms and conditions of the purchaser's contractual relationship with the exchange company and the procedure by which changes in the terms and conditions of the exchange contract may be made;

8. A complete and accurate description of the procedure to qualify for and effectuate exchanges;

9. A complete and accurate description of all limitations, restrictions, or priorities employed in the operation of the exchange program, including limitations on exchanges based on seasonality, time-share unit size, or levels of occupancy, expressed in boldface type, and, in the event that such limitations, restrictions, or priorities are not uniformly applied by the exchange program, a clear description of the manner in which they are applied;

10. Whether exchanges are arranged on a space available basis and whether any guarantees of fulfillment of specific requests for exchanges are made by the exchange program;

11. Whether and under what circumstances an owner, in dealing with the exchange company, may lose the use of occupancy of his time-share in any properly-applied-for exchange, without being provided with substitute accommodations by the exchange company;

12. The fees or range of fees for participation by time-share owners in the exchange program, a statement of whether any such fees may be altered by the exchange company, and the circumstances under which alterations may be made;

13. The name and address of the site of each time-share project, accommodation, or facility participating in the exchange program;

14. The number of time-share units in each property participating in the exchange program that are available for occupancy and that qualify for participation in the exchange program, expressed within the following numerical groupings: 1-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-50, and 51 and over;

15. The number of owners with respect to each time-share program or other property who are eligible to participate in the exchange program, expressed within the numerical groupings 1-100, 101-249, 250-499, 500-999, and 1,000 and over, and a statement of the criteria used to determine those owners currently eligible to participate in the exchange program;

16. The disposition made by the exchange company of time-shares deposited with the exchange program by owners eligible to participate in the exchange program and not used by the exchange company in effecting exchanges;

17. The following information, which, except as provided in subsection B, shall be independently audited by a certified public accountant or accounting firm in accordance with the standards of the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and reported for each year no later than July 1 of the succeeding year:

a. The number of owners enrolled in the exchange program. Such numbers shall disclose the relationship between the exchange company and owners as being either fee paying or gratuitous in nature;

b. The number of time-share projects, accommodations, or facilities eligible to participate in the exchange program;

c. The percentage of confirmed exchanges, which shall be the number of exchanges confirmed by the exchange company divided by the number of exchanges properly applied for, together with a complete and accurate statement of the criteria used to determine whether an exchange request was properly applied for;

d. The number of time-shares for which the exchange company has an outstanding obligation to provide an exchange to an owner who relinquished a time-share during the year in exchange for a time-share in any future year; and

e. The number of exchanges confirmed by the exchange company during the year.

18. A statement in boldface type to the effect that the percentage described in subdivision 17 c is a summary of the exchange requests entered with the exchange company in the period reported and that the percentage does not indicate a purchaser's or owner's probabilities of being confirmed to any specific choice or range of choices, since availability at individual locations may vary.

B. The information required by subsection A shall be accurate as of a date that is no more than 30 days prior to the date on which the information is delivered to the purchaser, except that the information required by subdivisions A 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 shall be accurate as of December 31 of the preceding year if the information is delivered between July 1 and December 31 of any year; information delivered between January 1 and June 30 of any year shall be accurate as of December 31 of the year prior to the preceding year. At no time shall such information be accurate as of a date that is more than 18 months prior to the date of delivery. As used in this section, "year" means calendar year.

C. In the event that an exchange company offers an exchange program directly to the purchaser, the exchange company shall deliver to such purchaser, simultaneously with such offering and prior to the execution of any contract between the purchaser and the exchange company, the information set forth in subsection A. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to any renewal of a contract between a purchaser and an exchange company.

D. Each exchange company shall include the statement set forth in subdivision A 18 on all promotional brochures, pamphlets, advertisements, or other materials disseminated by the exchange company that also contain the percentage of confirmed exchanges described in subdivision A 17 c.

E. An exchange company shall, on or before July 1 of each year, file with the Board and the association for the time-share program in which the time-shares are offered or disposed the information required by this section with respect to the preceding year. If the Board determines that any of the information supplied fails to meet the requirements of this section, the Board may undertake enforcement action against the exchange company in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 (§ 55.1-2247 et seq.). No developer shall have any liability arising out of the use, delivery, or publication by the developer of written information provided to it by the exchange company pursuant to this section. Except for written information provided to the developer by the exchange company, no exchange company shall have any liability with respect to (i) any representation made by the developer relating to the exchange program or exchange company or (ii) the use, delivery, or publication by the developer of any information relating to the exchange program or exchange company. The failure of the exchange company to observe the requirements of this section, or the use by it of any unfair or deceptive act or practice in connection with the operation of the exchange program, shall be a violation of this section.

F. The Board may establish by regulation reasonable fees for registration of the exchange program. All fees shall be remitted by the Board to the State Treasurer and shall be placed to the credit of the Common Interest Community Management Information Fund established pursuant to § 55.1-2247 .

1985, c. 517, § 55-374.2; 1998, c. 55.1-2247 ; 2008, cc. 55.1-2247 , 55.1-2247 ; 2019, c. 55.1-2247 ; 2020, c. 55.1-2247 .