Building Area Measurement LLC

Condominium Unit Boundary Synopsis

Those who calculate the area of condominiums for marketing, appraisal or other purposes should be aware that the declaration may contain language defining "unit boundaries". In most states, this language comes from either the Uniform Condominium Act or the Unified Common Interest Ownership Act. Relevant portions of those acts are shown below. Be sure to check the relevant laws of your own state as they are what really matter.

Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (1994)

SECTION 2-102. UNIT BOUNDARIES (Can be over-ridden by the declaration)

(1) If walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces thereof are a part of the unit, and all other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are a part of the common elements.

(2) If any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column, or any other fixture lies partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element allocated solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements is a part of the common elements.

(3) Subject to paragraph (2), all spaces, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a unit are a part of the unit.

(4) Any shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, and all exterior doors and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single unit, but located outside the unit's boundaries, are limited common elements allocated exclusively to that unit.

From the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act Annual Meeting Draft, July, 2008

Uniform Condominium Act (1980)

SECTION 2-102. UNIT BOUNDARIES (Can be over-ridden by declaration)

(1) If walls, floors or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces thereof are a part of the unit, and all other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are a part of the common elements.

(3) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), all spaces, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a unit are a part of the unit.

(4) Any shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, and all exterior doors and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single unit, but located outside the unit’s boundaries, are limited common elements allocated exclusively to that unit.

Comments

1. It is important for title purposes and other reasons to have a clear guide as to precisely which parts of a condominium constitute the units and which parts constitute the common elements. This section fills the gap left when the declaration merely defines unit boundaries in terms of floor, ceilings, and perimetric walls.

The provisions of this section may be varied, of course, to the extent that the declarant wishes to modify the details for a particular condominium. For example, in a townhouse project structured as a condominium, it may be desirable that the boundaries of the unit constitute the exterior surfaces of the roof and exterior walls, with the center line of the party walls constituting the perimetric boundaries of the units in that plane, and the undersurface of the bottom slab dividing the unit itself from the underlying land. Alternatively, the boundaries of the units at the party walls might be extended to include actual division of underlying land itself. In those cases it would not be appropriate for walls, floors and ceilings to be designated as boundaries, and the declaration would describe the boundaries in the above manner. The differentiations made clear here, in conjunction with the provisions of Section 3-107, will assist in minimizing disputes which have historically arisen in association administration with respect to liability for repair of such things as pipes, porches and other components of a building which unit owners may expect the association to pay for and which the association may wish to have repaired by unit owners. Problems which may arise as a result of negligence in the use of components – such as stoops and pipes – are resolved by Section 3-107, which imposes liability on the unit owner who causes damage to common elements, or under the broader provisions of Section 3-115(e), which permits the association to assess common expenses “caused by the misconduct of any unit owner” exclusively against that owner. This would include, of course, not only damages to common elements, but fines or unusual service fees, such as cleanup costs, incurred as a result of the unit owner’s misuse of common elements.

2. The differentiation between components constituting common elements and components which are part of the units is particularly important in light of Section 3-107(a), which (subject to the exceptions therein mentioned) makes the association responsible for upkeep of common elements and each unit owner individually responsible for upkeep of his unit.

3. The differentiation between unit components and common element components may or may not be important for insurance purposes under this Act. While the common elements in a project must always be insured, the units themselves need not be insured by the association unless the project contains units divided by horizontal boundaries; see Section 3-113(b). In a “high rise” configuration, however, Section 3-113(a) contemplates that both will normally be insured by the association (exclusive of improvements and betterments in individual units) and that the cost of such insurance will be a common expense. That common expense may be allocated, however, on the basis of risk if the declaration so requires. See Section 3-115(c)(3).