2015 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Title 68 - REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
Chapter 43 - Management of Cooperatives
Section 4304 - Transfer of special declarant rights

§ 4304. Transfer of special declarant rights.

(a) Execution and recording of instrument of transfer.--No special declarant rights (section 4103) created or reserved under this subpart may be transferred except by an instrument evidencing the transfer recorded in every county in which any portion of the cooperative is located in the same records as are maintained for the recording of deeds of real property and shall be indexed in the name of the cooperative, the transferor and the transferee in both the grantor and grantee index. The instrument is not effective unless executed by the transferee.

(b) Liability of declarant following transfer.--Upon transfer of any special declarant right, the liability of a transferor declarant is as follows:

(1) A transferor is not relieved of any obligation or liability arising before the transfer and remains liable for warranty obligations imposed upon him by this subpart. Lack of privity does not deprive any proprietary lessee of standing to bring an action to enforce any obligation of the transferor.

(2) If a successor to any special declarant right is an affiliate of a declarant (section 4103), the transferor is jointly and severally liable with the successor for any liabilities and or obligations or liabilities of the successor relating to the cooperative.

(3) If a transferor retains any special declarant rights but transfers one or more other special declarant rights to a successor who is not an affiliate of the declarant, the transferor is liable for any obligations or liabilities imposed on a declarant by this subpart or by the declaration relating to the retained special declarant rights arising after the transfer.

(4) A transferor who retains no special declarant rights has no liability for any act or omission or any breach of a contractual or warranty obligation arising from the exercise of a special declarant right by a successor declarant who is not an affiliate of the transferor and to whom the special declarant right has not theretofore been assigned.

(c) Rights of purchaser in foreclosure, etc., proceedings.--Unless otherwise provided in the documents creating a security interest, in case of foreclosure of a security interest, tax sale, judicial sale, sale by a trustee under a security agreement or sale under 11 U.S.C. (relating to bankruptcy) or receivership proceedings of any cooperative interests owned by a declarant or real estate in a cooperative subject to development rights, a person acquiring all the cooperative interests or real estate being foreclosed or sold, but only upon his request, succeeds to all special declarant rights related to that property held by that declarant or only to any rights reserved in the declaration pursuant to section 4214 (relating to declarant's office, models and signs) and held by that declarant to maintain models, sales offices and signs. The judgment or instrument conveying title shall provide for transfer of only the special declarant rights requested.

(d) Rights of declarant following foreclosure, etc., proceedings.--Upon foreclosure, tax sale, judicial sale, sale by a trustee under a security agreement or sale under 11 U.S.C. or receivership or similar proceedings of all cooperative interests or real estate in a cooperative owned by a declarant:

(1) the declarant ceases to have any special declarant rights; and

(2) the period of declarant control (section 4303(d)) terminates unless the judgment or instrument conveying title provides for transfer to a successor declarant of all special declarant rights held by the transferor declarant.

(e) Liabilities and obligations of successors.--The liabilities and obligations of a person who succeeds to special declarant rights are as follows:

(1) A successor to any special declarant right who is an affiliate of a declarant is subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed on the transferor by this subpart or by the declaration.

(2) A successor to any special declarant right, other than a successor described in paragraph (3) or (4), who is not an affiliate of a declarant is subject to all obligations and liabilities imposed by this subpart or the declaration:

(i) on a declarant which relate to his exercise or nonexercise of special declarant rights; or

(ii) on his transferor, other than:

(A) misrepresentations by any previous declarant, except to the extent knowingly continued or permitted to continue without correcting such misrepresentations;

(B) warranty obligations on improvements made by any previous declarant made before the cooperative was created;

(C) breach of any fiduciary obligation by any previous declarant or his appointees to the executive board; or

(D) any liability or obligation imposed on the transferor as a result of the transferor's acts or omissions after the transfer.

(3) A successor to only a right reserved in the declaration to maintain models, sales offices and signs (section 4214), if he is not an affiliate of a declarant, may not exercise any other special declarant right and is not subject to any liability or obligation as a declarant except the obligation to provide a public offering statement and any liability arising as a result thereof.

(4) A successor to all special declarant rights held by his transferor who is not an affiliate of that transferor declarant and who succeeded to those rights pursuant to a deed or other instrument conveying title to cooperative interests or real estate subject to special declarant rights under subsection (c) may declare his intention in a recorded instrument to hold those rights solely for transfer to another person. Thereafter, until transferring all special declarant rights to any person acquiring title to any cooperative interest or real estate subject to development rights owned by the successor or until recording an instrument permitting exercise of all those rights, that successor may not exercise any of those rights other than any right held by his transferor to control the executive board in accordance with the provisions of section 4303(d) (relating to executive board members and officers) for the duration of any period of declarant control, and any attempted exercise of those rights is void. So long as a successor declarant may not exercise special declarant right under this subsection, he is not subject to any liability or obligations as a declarant except liability for his acts and omissions under section 4303(d) and except the obligations set forth in paragraph (3).

(f) Limitation on liability of successor.--Nothing in this section subjects any successor to a special declarant right to any claims against or other obligations of a transferor declarant other than claims and obligations arising under this subpart or the declaration.

Cross References. Section 4304 is referred to in section 4402 of this title.