703.17(1)(1) An association shall obtain insurance for the property against loss or damage by fire and such other hazards for not less than full replacement value of the property insured and a liability policy covering all claims commonly insured against. Insurance coverage shall be written on the property in the name of the association as trustee for each of the unit owners in the percentages established in the declaration. Premiums shall be common expenses. Provisions for such insurance shall be without prejudice to the right of each unit owner to insure his or her own unit for personal benefit.
703.17(2)
(2) Insurance proceeds shall first be disbursed by the trustees for the repair or restoration of the damaged common elements, and the unit owners and mortgagees shall not be entitled to receive payment of any portion of the insurance proceeds unless the association has determined not to rebuild, or the court has ordered partition of the condominium property, or there is a surplus of insurance proceeds after the common elements have been completely repaired or restored.
703.17 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1985 a. 332.
703.18
703.18
Repair or reconstruction. 703.18(1)
(1) A declaration shall provide for the repair or reconstruction of the common elements in the event of damage to all or part of the common elements of the condominium.
703.18(2)(a)(a) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration, in the event of damage to or destruction of common elements of a condominium, the association shall promptly undertake to repair or reconstruct it to a condition compatible with the remainder of the condominium. All cost of the repair or reconstruction in excess of available insurance proceeds shall be a common expense.
703.18(2)(b)
(b) However, if a condominium is damaged to an extent more than the available insurance proceeds, the condominium shall be subject to an action for partition upon obtaining the written consent of the unit owners having 75% or more of the votes. In the case of partition, the net proceeds of sale together with any net proceeds of insurance shall be considered as one fund and shall be divided among all unit owners in proportion to their percentage interests in the common elements, and shall be distributed in accordance with the priority of interests in each unit.
703.18 History
History: 1977 c. 407.
703.19(1)(1)
Definition. In this section, "taking under the power of eminent domain" includes any sale in settlement of any pending or threatened condemnation proceeding.
703.19(2)
(2) Allocation of award; provisions in declaration or bylaws. A declaration or bylaws may provide for an allocation of any award for a taking under the power of eminent domain of all or part of the condominium. A declaration or bylaws also may provide for:
703.19(2)(a)
(a) Reapportionment or other change of the percentage interests appurtenant to each unit remaining after any taking; and
703.19(2)(b)
(b) Rebuilding, relocation or restoration of any improvements so taken in whole or in part.
703.19(3)
(3) Allocation of award; in absence of provisions in declaration or bylaws. Unless otherwise provided for in a declaration or bylaws, any damages for a taking of all or part of a condominium shall be awarded as follows:
703.19(3)(a)
(a) Every unit owner is entitled to the entire award for the taking of all or part of their respective unit and for consequential damages to their unit.
703.19(3)(b)
(b) Any award for the taking of limited common elements shall be allocated to the unit owners of the units to which the use of those limited common elements is restricted in proportion to their respective percentage interests in the common elements.
703.19(3)(c)
(c) In the event no reconstruction is undertaken, any award for the taking of common elements shall be allocated to all unit owners in proportion to their respective percentage interests in the common elements.
703.19(4)
(4) Reconstruction following taking. Following the taking of all or a part of the common elements, an association shall promptly undertake to restore the improvements of the common elements to an architectural whole compatible with the existing structure. Any costs of such restoration in excess of the condemnation award shall be a common expense. However, if the taking under the power of eminent domain is to the extent where the remaining condominium portion has been diminished to the extent that reconstruction or restoration is not practical, a condominium shall be subject to an action for partition upon obtaining the written consent of the unit owners having 75% or more of the vote. In the case of partition, the net proceeds of sale, together with any net proceeds of the award for taking, shall be considered as one fund and shall be divided among all unit owners in proportion to their percentage interest in the common elements and shall be distributed in accordance with the priority of interests in each unit.
703.19(5)
(5) Adjustment of percentage interests following taking; effect of taking on votes appurtenant to unit. Following the taking of all or a part of any unit, the percentage interests appurtenant to the unit shall be adjusted in proportion as provided in the condominium instruments or bylaws. The association promptly shall prepare and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the new percentage interests appurtenant to the unit. Subject to
sub. (7), following the taking of part of a unit, the votes appurtenant to that unit shall be appurtenant to the remainder of that unit, and following the taking of all of a unit, the right to vote appurtenant to the unit shall terminate.
703.19(6)
(6) Priority in distribution of damages for each unit. All damages for each unit shall be distributed in accordance with the priority of interests at law or in equity in each respective unit.
703.19(7)
(7) Taking not to include percentage interests or votes. A taking of all or part of a unit may not include any of the percentage interests or votes appurtenant to the unit.
703.19(8)
(8) Preservation of the right of appeal. The owner of each unit taken shall have the individual right of appeal of the necessity of taking and of the condemnation award made for the taking. An association shall have the right of appeal of the necessity of taking of the common elements and the right of appeal of the condemnation award made for the taking of the common elements. An appeal by an association shall be binding upon the individual unit owners for the necessity of taking or the condemnation award made for the taking of the common elements. The unit owners having an interest in the ownership of limited common elements may individually or as a group appeal the necessity of taking or the condemnation award made for the taking of the limited common elements.
703.19 History
History: 1977 c. 407.
703.20
703.20
Books of receipts and expenditures. 703.20(1)
(1)
Record keeping; availability for examination. An association shall keep detailed, accurate records using standard bookkeeping procedures of the receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements, specifying and itemizing the maintenance and repair expenses of the common elements and any other expenses incurred. The records and the vouchers authorizing the payments shall be available for examination by the unit owners at convenient hours.
703.20(2)
(2) Disclosure information. Within 10 days after a request by a seller other than the declarant, an association shall furnish the information necessary for the seller to comply with
s. 703.33. The seller shall pay the association the actual costs of furnishing the information.
703.20 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1985 a. 188.
703.21
703.21
Separate taxation. 703.21(1)(1) Every unit and its percentage of undivided interest in the common elements shall be deemed to be a parcel and shall be subject to separate assessments and taxation by each assessing unit and special district for all types of taxes authorized by law including, but not limited to, special levies based on the value of property and special assessments. Neither the building, the property nor any of the common elements shall be deemed to be a parcel separate from the unit.
703.21(2)
(2) The rights, duties and obligations of unit owners under this chapter shall inure to and be binding upon grantees under tax deeds and persons acquiring title by foreclosure of tax liens and their successors in interest.
703.21 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1979 c. 110.
703.22
703.22
Mechanics' and materialmen's liens. 703.22(1)
(1) Subsequent to recording a declaration under this chapter and while the property remains subject to this chapter, any and all liens will exist only against individual units and the percentage of undivided interest in the common elements appurtenant to such unit, in the same manner and under the same conditions in every respect as liens or encumbrances may arise or be created upon or against any other separate parcel of real property subject to individual ownership.
703.22(2)
(2) Any mechanics' lien or materialmen's lien arising as a result of repairs to or improvements of a unit by a unit owner shall be a lien only against the unit.
703.22(3)
(3) Any mechanics' or materialmen's lien arising as a result of repairs to or improvements of the common elements, if authorized in writing by the association, shall be paid by the association as a common expense and until paid shall be a lien against each unit in proportion to its percentage interest in the common elements. On payment of the proportionate amount by any unit owner to the lienor or on the filing of a written undertaking in the manner specified by
s. 779.08, the unit owner shall be entitled to a release of his or her unit from the lien and the association shall not be entitled to assess his or her unit for payment of the remaining amount due for the repairs or improvements.
703.22 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1979 c. 32 s.
92 (9).
703.22 Annotation
Because the statute is silent as to the amount each unit should pay when a blanket lien is filed, application of the equitable principal that the lien should be applied proportionately against each unit was appropriate. Torke/Wirth/Pujara v. Lakeshore Towers,
192 Wis. 2d 481,
531 N.W.2d 419 (Ct. App. 1995).
703.23
703.23
Resident agent; exemption of unit owners from liability. 703.23(1)(1)
Appointment of resident agent; change in name or address. When any property is submitted to a condominium declaration, the declarant shall appoint a resident agent for the condominium who shall be a citizen and actual resident of the state or corporation duly registered or qualified to do business in the state. The declarant shall file the name and address of the resident agent with the department of financial institutions. The name or address of the resident agent may be changed by the association or other proper authority of the condominium in the same manner and to the same extent that names and addresses of registered agents may be changed by corporations. If the association is incorporated, the registered agent for the association shall be the registered agent for the condominium.
703.23(2)
(2) Index of names and address of resident agents. The department of financial institutions shall keep an index of the names and addresses of resident agents and shall make the information available to the public on request.
703.23(3)
(3) Suits brought by service on resident agent. Suit may be brought by service on the resident agent in actions against an association, or which arise through any cause relating to the common elements.
703.23(4)
(4) Exemption of unit owners from liability for certain claims. Except in proportion to his or her percentage interest in the common elements, no unit owner personally is liable for damages as a result of injuries arising in connection with the common elements solely by virtue of his or her ownership of a percentage interest in the common elements, or for liabilities incurred by the association.
703.23 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1995 a. 27.
703.24
703.24
Remedies for violation by unit owner. If any unit owner fails to comply with this chapter, the declaration or bylaws, the unit owner may be sued for damages caused by the failure or for injunctive relief, or both, by the association or by any other unit owner.
703.24 History
History: 1977 c. 407.
703.25
703.25
Tort and contract liability. 703.25(1)
(1) An action for tort alleging a wrong done by any agent or employee of a declarant or of an association, or in connection with the condition of any portion of a condominium which a declarant or an association has the responsibility to maintain, shall be brought against the declarant or the association, as the case may be. No unit owner shall be precluded from bringing such an action by virtue of its ownership of an undivided interest in the common elements or by reason of its membership in the association or its status as an officer.
703.25(2)
(2) An action arising from a contract made by or on behalf of an association shall be brought against the association, or against the declarant if the cause of action arose during the exercise by the declarant of control reserved under the declaration. No unit owner shall be precluded from bringing such an action by reason of its membership in the association or its status as an officer.
703.25(3)
(3) A judgment for money against an association shall be a lien against any property owned by the association, and against each of the condominium units in proportion to the liability of each unit owner for common expenses as established under the declaration in an amount not exceeding the market value of the unit, but not against any other property of any unit owner.
703.25 History
History: 1977 c. 407.
703.25 Annotation
Sections 703.25 (3) and 840.10 (1) permit the filing of a lis pendens in an action for a money judgment against a condominium association as a judgment will be a lien against each condominium unit although their owners are not defendants in the action. Interlaken Service Corporation v. Interlaken Condominium Association,
222 Wis. 2d 299,
588 N.W.2d 262 (Ct. App. 1998).
703.255
703.255
Noncompletion of units. 703.255(1)
(1) A declarant who does not complete any unit described in the declaration within 5 years after recording the declaration under
s. 703.07 shall do one of the following:
703.255(1)(a)
(a) Amend the declaration to remove the description of the uncompleted units and, notwithstanding the unit owner consent requirements of
ss. 703.09 (2) and
703.13 (4), revise the percentage interests appurtenant to each unit and the number of votes appurtenant to each unit to adjust for the units removed.
703.255(1)(b)
(b) Secure a written agreement from at least 75% of the unit owners, not including the declarant, which permits the declarant to complete the uncompleted units within 5 years after the date of the written agreement and shall either complete the units within that time period or amend the declaration as provided in
par. (a).
703.255 History
History: 1985 a. 188.
703.26
703.26
Expanding condominiums. 703.26(1)
(1)
Declarant may reserve right to expand. A declarant may reserve the right to expand a condominium by subjecting additional property to the condominium declaration in such a manner that as each additional property is subjected to the condominium declaration, the percentage of undivided interests in the common elements of the preceding and new property shall be reallocated between the unit owners on the basis of the aggregate undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to the property.
703.26(2)
(2) Conditions to which reservation subject. A reservation of the right to expand a condominium is subject to the conditions provided in this subsection.
703.26(2)(a)
(a) A declaration establishing a condominium shall describe each parcel of property which may be added to the condominium.
703.26(2)(b)
(b) A declaration establishing a condominium shall show the maximum number of units which may be added, and the percentage interests in the common elements, the liabilities for common expenses and the rights to common surpluses, and the number of votes appurtenant to each unit following the addition of property to the condominium, if added. The percentage interests in the common elements, the liabilities for common expenses and the rights to common surpluses, and the number of votes that each unit owner will have may be shown by reference to a formula or other appropriate method of determining them following each expansion of the condominium.
703.26(2)(c)
(c) A condominium plat for an original condominium shall include, in general terms, the outlines of the land, buildings, and common elements of new property that may be added to the condominium.
703.26(2)(d)
(d) In a declaration establishing a condominium, a right to expand the condominium may be reserved in the declaration for a period not exceeding 10 years from the date of recording of the declaration.
703.26(3)
(3) Recordation of amendments to declaration and plat. 703.26(3)(a)(a) If the conditions of
sub. (2) are complied with, property may be added to a condominium if the declarant records an amendment to the declaration, showing the new percentage interests of the unit owners, and the votes which each unit owner may cast in the condominium as expanded, and records an addendum to the condominium plat that includes the detail and information concerning the new property as required in the original condominium plat.
703.26(3)(b)
(b) On recording of an amendment of a declaration and an addendum to a plat, each unit owner, by operation of law, has the percentage interests in the common elements, liabilities in the common expenses, rights to common surpluses, and shall have the number of votes, set forth in the amendment to the declaration. Following any expansion, the interest of any mortgagee shall attach, by operation of law, to the new percentage interests in the common elements appurtenant to the unit on which it is a lien.
703.26 History
History: 1977 c. 407;
1997 a. 333.
703.26 Annotation
Substantial compliance with formal requirements as permitted by s. 703.30 (2) is limited to the condominium status of the property and title of the unit owners. It does not apply to a project's status as an expanding condominium under this section. Rock Lake Estates Unit Owners Association v. Lake Mills,
195 Wis. 2d 348,
536 N.W.2d 415 (Ct. App. 1995).
703.27
703.27
Zoning and building regulations. 703.27(1)
(1) A zoning or other land use ordinance or regulations may not prohibit the condominium form of ownership or impose any requirements upon a condominium which it would not impose upon a physically identical development under a different form of ownership. No provision of a state or local building code may be applied differently to a building in a condominium than it would be applied to a building of similar structure or occupancy under a different form of ownership unless the different application is expressly permitted in that provision. No subdivision ordinance may apply to any condominium unless the ordinance is, by its express terms, applicable to condominiums.
703.27(2)
(2) No county, city or other jurisdiction may enact any law, ordinance or regulation which would impose a burden or restriction on a condominium that is not imposed on all other property of similar character not subjected to a condominium declaration.
703.27 History
History: 1977 c. 407.
703.275
703.275
Merger or consolidation of condominiums. 703.275(1)(1)
Agreement; legal effect. Any 2 or more condominiums, by agreement of the unit owners as provided in this section, may be merged or consolidated into a single condominium. Unless the agreement otherwise provides, the condominium resulting from a merger or consolidation is, for all purposes, the legal successor of all of the preexisting condominiums and the operations and activities of all associations of the preexisting condominiums shall be merged or consolidated into a single association which shall hold all powers, rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of the preexisting associations. The resultant condominium must bear the name of one of the preexisting condominiums.
703.275(2)
(2) Reallocation of interests. The merger or consolidation agreement shall provide for the reallocation of the allocated interests among the units of the resultant condominium. The agreement may not change the ratio that exists before the merger or consolidation between the allocated interests of any unit and the allocated interests of any other unit in the same preexisting condominium. The agreement shall state one of the following:
703.275(2)(a)
(a) The reallocations or the formulas upon which they are based.
703.275(2)(b)
(b) The percentage of the total of allocated interests of the new condominium which are allocated to all of the units comprising each of the preexisting condominiums.
703.275(3)
(3) Agreement; other provisions. The merger or consolidation agreement may contain any provisions consistent with this chapter in addition to those specified in
sub. (2).
703.275(4)
(4) Votes. The merger or consolidation agreement is effective if the agreement is approved by the unit owners of units to which at least 75% of the votes in each preexisting association are allocated. If the declaration of a preexisting association specifies that a percentage greater than 75% of the votes in that association is required to approve a merger or consolidation agreement, the greater percentage applies to the vote of that association. A declaration of a preexisting association may specify a smaller percentage and the smaller percentage applies to the vote of that association only if all of the units in the preexisting condominium are restricted exclusively to nonresidential uses.
703.275(5)
(5) Recording. Both a restatement of the declaration of the resultant condominium that includes the merger agreement and an addendum to the condominium plat of the resultant condominium shall be recorded as provided in
s. 703.07. The register of deeds shall reference the document number, volume and page of the plat of the resultant condominium on the plat of the preexisting condominium and shall note that the preexisting condominium has been merged.
703.275 History
History: 1985 a. 188;
1997 a. 333.
703.28
703.28
Removal from provisions of this chapter. 703.28(1)(1) All of the unit owners may remove all or any part of the property from the provisions of this chapter by a removal instrument, duly recorded, provided that the holders of all liens affecting any of the units consent thereto or agree, in either case by instruments duly recorded, that their liens be transferred to the percentage of the undivided interest of the unit owner in the property.
703.28(1m)(a)(a) If the merger of 2 or more condominiums under
s. 703.275 would result in the creation of a new plat for the resultant condominium, the property of the preexisting condominiums shall first be removed from the provisions of this chapter by recording a removal instrument.
