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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2859 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to land court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to simplify and streamline the operation of the land court by authorizing the use of a master certificate of title for common interest communities.
SECTION 2. Chapter 501, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding four new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§501- New common interest communities. (a)
Upon the recording of a declaration creating a common interest
community, the assistant registrar shall:
(1) Prepare a master certificate of
title for the common interest community, assign a certificate number to it, and
index it in the same manner as for other certificates of title. The name of the owner shall be
"homeowners";
(2) Issue separate certificates of title for
each unit in the common interest community, including any common area
established as a unit of a planned community; provided that the assistant
registrar shall not be required to issue separate certificates of title for the
units of a planned community if the subdivision of the registered land of the
planned community has not taken place; and
(3) Endorse the certificate of title for each
unit in the common interest community with the following statement: "subject to encumbrances, liens, and interests
noted on master certificate of title no.
.".
(b) In addition to the requirements under
subsection (a), upon the recording of a declaration creating a common interest
community in a condominium, the assistant registrar shall include
the following statement in the description of the land on the certificate of
title for each unit: "an undivided
percentage interest in the registered land of the condominium equal to the
common interest appurtenant to unit , as set forth in the declaration establishing the condominium or other
percentage interest as hereafter established for said condominium unit by any
amendment of the declaration establishing the condominium or pursuant to any
declaration of merger effecting a legal merger of two or more condominium
projects into a single condominium project.".
If two or more
units in a condominium bear identical unit numbers, the assistant registrar may
establish a property identification number or other alternate means of
identifying the units.
§501- Existing common interest communities. (a) Upon the recording of an amendment or supplement to the governing documents of a common interest community, the assistant registrar may:
(1) Prepare a master certificate of
title for the common interest community, assign a certificate number to it, and
index it in the same manner as for other certificates of title. The name of the owner shall be
"homeowners"; and
(2) Endorse the certificate of title for each
unit in the common interest community with the following statement: "subject to encumbrances, liens, and
interests noted on master certificate of title no. .".
(b) In addition to the requirements under
subsection (a), upon the recording of an amendment or supplement to the
governing documents of a common interest community in a condominium, the assistant registrar may change the description of the land on the
certificate of title for each unit to include the following statement: "an undivided percentage interest
in the registered land of the condominium equal to the common interest
appurtenant to unit
, as set forth in the declaration establishing the condominium,
as amended, or other percentage interest as hereafter established for said
condominium unit by any further amendment of the declaration establishing the
condominium or pursuant to any declaration of merger effecting a legal merger
of two or more condominium projects into a single condominium project.".
If two or more units in a condominium bear identical unit numbers, the
assistant registrar may establish a property identification number or other
alternate means of identifying the units.
(c) The association of a common interest
community, or any owner of a unit in a common interest community, may petition
the court for issuance of a master certificate of title for that common
interest community. Upon approval of the
petition, the assistant registrar shall proceed according to subsection (a) or
(b).
§501- Effect of master certificate of title. (a)
The entry of a notation on the master certificate of title shall have
the same effect as if the notation was entered on the certificates of title for
the individual units of the common interest community as of the date and time
shown on the master certificate of title.
(b) Any documents or instruments listed on the
master certificate of title for a planned community shall be deemed deleted
from the certificate of title for the individual units of that planned
community; provided that it shall not be necessary for the assistant registrar
to delete the notation of the documents and instruments from the certificate of
title for the individual units.
In
the event of a conflict between the documents and instruments listed on the
master certificate of title for a planned community and the certificate of
title for an individual unit, the master certificate of title shall govern
unless the court determines that there has been an error in the preparation of
the master certificate of title. If the
court determines that there has been an error, the assistant registrar shall
correct the master certificate of title in accordance with the determination of
the court.
(c) Nothing in this section shall in any way be
construed to alter or otherwise affect the validity or order of priority of
documents and instruments registered prior to, in conjunction with, or after
the issuance of a master certificate of title.
§501- Content of master certificate of title. (a) A master certificate of title shall not state or note a lien or encumbrance that pertains solely or principally to the interest of an individual owner in the common interest community, including but not limited to:
(1) The interest of the individual unit
owners of a condominium project or planned community;
(2) An apartment lease, unit lease, or
condominium conveyance document;
(3) A deed or agreement of sale of an
individual unit;
(4) A mortgage, deed of trust, or other
lien or encumbrance made by an individual owner on the individual owner's
interest in a common interest community;
(5) A lien or notice of lien in favor of
an association against an individual owner's interest in a common interest community;
(6) A judgment, decree, order of court,
attachment, writ, or other process against an individual owner's interest in a
common interest community;
(7) A mechanic's or materialman's lien
upon an individual owner's interest in a common interest community;
(8) A lis pendens, notice of pendency of
action, notice, affidavit, demand, certificate, execution, copy of execution,
officer's return, or other instrument relating to an individual owner's
interest in a common interest community and required to be registered in
connection with the enforcement or foreclosure of any lien, whether by way of
power of sale pursuant to chapter 667, or otherwise;
(9) A power of attorney not reserved in
the governing documents and given by an individual owner of an interest in a
common interest community or by the vendor or vendee under an agreement of sale
for the sale of the owner's unit, a mortgagee or other lienor having a mortgage
or lien upon the owner's interest in the common interest community, or another
party holding a claim or encumbrance against or an interest in an individual
owner's unit; or
(10) An instrument assigning, extending,
continuing, dissolving, discharging, releasing in whole or in part, reducing,
canceling, extinguishing, or otherwise modifying or amending any of the
foregoing instruments.
(b) After issuance of the master certificate of
title, the following documents and instruments shall be noted on the master
certificate of title, and not on the owner's certificate of title for the
individual unit:
(1) Any additional governing documents,
including but not limited to any amendment or supplement to the existing
governing documents and any declaration of annexation or deannexation;
(2) Any instrument evidencing the
transfer of any special developer or declarant rights under the governing
documents of the common interest community;
(3) Any easement, license, common
element lease, or common area lease encumbering or in favor of the registered
land of a condominium project;
(4) Any lien against the common elements
of a condominium project, but only to the extent permitted by chapter 514B or
permitted by any predecessor condominium statute during the period in which the
predecessor statute was in effect; and
(5) Any instrument assigning, extending,
continuing, dissolving, discharging, releasing in whole or in part, reducing,
canceling, extinguishing, or otherwise modifying or amending any of the
documents or instruments noted on the master certificate of title."
SECTION 3. Section 501-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding five new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:
""Association"
means the association of owners of a condominium, a planned community
association as defined in section 607-14, or the association of a planned
community governed by chapter 421J.
"Common
interest community" means a condominium created in this State, whether
established pursuant to chapter 514B or any predecessor statute, or a planned
community governed by chapter 421J.
"Governing
documents" means any documents or instruments registered pursuant to this
chapter that create or govern a common interest community or its association as
determined by the assistant registrar.
Examples of the term include: a
declaration of a planned community, as defined under chapter 421J; the
declaration establishing a condominium, by whatever name denominated; the
bylaws of an association of owners of a condominium; a condominium map; a
declaration of merger of condominium phases; any instrument effecting a merger
of condominium phases; an assignment of developer's or declarant's rights; and
any amendment or supplement to or restatement of any of the foregoing
instruments.
"Master
certificate of title" means a certificate of title that:
(1) Lists the governing documents of a
common interest community;
(2) In the case of a condominium,
describes the registered land of the condominium and all easements, rights, and
interests appurtenant to the registered land of the project as established or
evidenced by instruments registered in the office of the assistant registrar; and
(3) Lists the documents and instruments
of general application to the registered land of the common interest community
as determined by the assistant registrar; provided that a master certificate of
title need not list documents and instruments noted in another master
certificate of title, such as a master declaration of covenants, conditions,
and restrictions governing multiple planned communities.
"Unit"
means:
(1) In the case of a condominium, a
condominium unit in the condominium; and
(2) In the case of a planned community, a unit as that term is defined in chapter 421J."
SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Land Court; Master Certificate of Title; Common Interest Communities
Description:
Authorizes the use of a master certificate of title for common interest communities to simplify and streamline the operation of the land court.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.