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DAVIS-STIRLING COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENT ACT
CHAPTER 3. OWNERSHIP RIGHTS AND INTERESTS
§1358. Interests Included in Conveyance, Judicial Sale or Transfer of Separate Interests; Transfers of Exclusive Use Areas; Restrictions Upon Severability of Component Interests
(a) In a community apartment project, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the community apartment project. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.
(b) In a condominium project the common areas are not subject to partition, except as provided in Section 1359. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the common areas. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.
(c) In a planned development, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the common areas, if any exist. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.
(d) In a stock cooperative, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the ownership interest in the corporation, however evidenced. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association. Nothing in this section prohibits the transfer of exclusive use areas, independent of any other interest in a common interest subdivision, if authorization to separately transfer exclusive use areas is expressly stated in the declaration and the transfer occurs in accordance with the terms of the declaration. Any restrictions upon the severability of the component interests in real property which are contained in the declaration shall not be deemed conditions repugnant to the interest created within the meaning of Section 711 of the Civil Code. However, these restrictions shall not extend beyond the period in which the right to partition a project is suspended under Section 1359.
§1359. Restrictions on Partition
(a) Except as provided in this section, the common areas in a condominium project shall remain undivided, and there shall be no judicial partition thereof. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit partition of a cotenancy in a condominium.
(b) The owner of a separate interest in a condominium project may maintain a partition action as to the entire project as if the owners of all of the separate interests in the project were tenants in common in the entire project in the same proportion as their interests in the common areas. The court shall order partition under this subdivision only by sale of the entire condominium project and only upon a showing of one of the following:
(1) More than three years before the filing of the action, the condominium project was damaged or destroyed, so that a material part was rendered unfit for its prior use, and the condominium project has not been rebuilt or repaired substantially to its state prior to the damage or destruction.
(2) Three-fourths or more of the project is destroyed or substantially damaged and owners of separate interests holding in the aggregate more than a 50-percent interest in the common areas oppose repair or restoration of the project.
(3) The project has been in existence more than 50 years, is obsolete and uneconomic, and owners of separate interests holding in the aggregate more than a 50-percent interest in the common area oppose repair or restoration of the project.
(4) The conditions for such a sale, set forth in the declaration, have been met.
§1360. Modification of Unit by Owner; Facilitation of Access for Handicapped; Approval by Project Association
(a) Subject to the provisions of the governing documents and other applicable provisions of law, if the boundaries of the separate interest are contained within a building, the owner of the separate interest may do the following:
(1) Make any improvements or alterations within the boundaries of his or her separate interest that do not impair the structural integrity or mechanical systems or lessen the support of any portions of the common interest development.
(2) Modify a unit in a condominium project, at the owner’s expense, to facilitate access for persons who are blind, visually handicapped, deaf, or physically disabled, or to alter conditions which could be hazardous to these persons. These modifications may also include modifications of the route from the public way to the door of the unit for the purposes of this paragraph if the unit is on the ground floor or already accessible by an existing ramp or elevator. The right granted by this paragraph is subject to the following conditions:
(A) The modifications shall be consistent with applicable building code requirements.
(B) The modifications shall be consistent with the intent of otherwise applicable provisions of the governing documents pertaining to safety or aesthetics.
(C) Modifications external to the dwelling shall not prevent reasonable passage by other residents, and shall be removed by the owner when the unit is no longer occupied by persons requiring those modifications who are blind, visually handicapped, deaf, or physically disabled.
(D) Any owner who intends to modify a unit pursuant to this paragraph shall submit his or her plans and specifications to the association of the condominium project for review to determine whether the modifications will comply with the provisions of this paragraph. The association shall not deny approval of the proposed modifications under this paragraph without good cause.
(b) Any change in the exterior appearance of a separate interest shall be in accordance with the governing documents and applicable provisions of law.
§1360.5. Restrictions on Pets
(a) No governing documents shall prohibit the owner of a separate interest within a common interest development from keeping at least one pet within the common interest development, subject to reasonable rules and regulations of the association. This section may not be construed to affect any other rights provided by law to an owner of a separate interest to keep a pet within the development.
(b) For purposes of this section, “pet” means any domesticated bird, cat, dog, aquatic animal kept within an aquarium, or other animal as agreed to between the association and the homeowner.
(c) If the association implements a rule or regulation restricting the number of pets an owner may keep, the new rule or regulation shall not apply to prohibit an owner from continuing to keep any pet that the owner currently keeps in his or her separate interest if the pet otherwise conforms with the previous rules or regulations relating to pets.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “governing documents” shall include, but are not limited to, the conditions, covenants, and restrictions of the common interest development, and the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association.