Alabama · Chapter UCA
Alabama Uniform Condominium Act of 1991 (Ala. Code §§ 35-8A-101 to 35-8A-417) — Plain-English Summary
Every section of this body of law translated into plain English for Alabama board members and homeowners.
General provisions
-
§35-8A-101
Names this chapter the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act of 1991. Condos created after January 1, 1991 live here — not under Chapter 8 (older condos) or Chapte…
-
§35-8A-102
This chapter applies to every Alabama condominium created after January 1, 1991. A listed set of sections — including variation (§104), titles and tax (§105)…
-
§35-8A-103
Defines declaration, unit, common elements, limited common elements, association, declarant, board, allocated interests, and the other words this chapter use…
-
§35-8A-104
Except where a specific section says otherwise, this chapter may not be varied by the declaration, the bylaws, or agreement. A declarant may not use a power …
-
§35-8A-105
Each unit is a separate parcel for title and property-tax purposes. Common elements are not taxed separately from the units. Also applies to pre-1991 condos.
-
§35-8A-106
A local ordinance or building code may not prohibit the condominium form of ownership or impose a requirement on a condominium that it would not impose on a …
-
§35-8A-107
If a unit or common element is taken by eminent domain, allocated interests and common-expense liabilities are reallocated and the award is distributed as th…
-
§35-8A-108
The principles of law and equity, including the law of nonprofit corporations in Title 10A, supplement this chapter unless they conflict with it. The Uniform…
-
§35-8A-109
This chapter is a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject. No part of it may be impliedly repealed by later legislation if that constructio…
-
§35-8A-110
This chapter must be liberally construed and its remedies liberally administered so the aggrieved party is put in as good a position as if the other party ha…
Creation, alteration, and termination
-
§35-8A-201
A condominium is created by recording a declaration executed in the same manner as a deed in every county where any portion of it sits. Plats and plans requi…
-
§35-8A-202
Unless the declaration says otherwise: finished surfaces of designated walls, floors, and ceilings are part of the unit; structural portions are common eleme…
-
§35-8A-203
The declaration and bylaws are construed together. If they conflict, the declaration controls. Provisions are severable. Title to a unit and common elements …
-
§35-8A-204
A deed, lease, or mortgage may describe a unit by its identifying number. That description automatically includes the owner's allocated interests even if the…
-
§35-8A-205
Every declaration must include the name of the condominium, the county, a legally sufficient description, unit identifying numbers and boundaries, allocated …
-
§35-8A-206
Extra rules when units sit on leased land: the lease must be recorded, the declaration must disclose the lease particulars this section lists, and specified …
-
§35-8A-207
The declaration allocates to each unit an undivided interest in the common elements, a share of common-expense liability, and votes in the association. The f…
-
§35-8A-208
The declaration specifies which common elements are limited (assigned to fewer than all units). Reallocation between units follows the amendment path this se…
-
§35-8A-209
Plats and plans must meet this section's contents (boundaries, unit designations, limited common elements) and be certified by a registered land surveyor, ar…
-
§35-8A-210
To exercise a reserved development right (add land, add units, withdraw land), the declarant records an amendment to the declaration and new plats and plans …
-
§35-8A-211
Subject to the declaration and other law, a unit owner may alter the unit so long as the work does not impair structural integrity or mechanical systems or l…
-
§35-8A-212
Adjoining unit owners may relocate the boundaries between their units if the declaration allows it, by applying to the association and recording an amendment…
-
§35-8A-213
If the declaration permits, a unit may be subdivided into two or more units. The owner applies to the association; an amendment reallocates interests and rec…
-
§35-8A-214
The physical boundaries of a unit constructed or reconstructed in substantial accordance with the plats and plans are its boundaries, even if they differ sli…
-
§35-8A-215
A declarant may maintain sales offices, management offices, and models in the condominium only if the declaration so provides, and only in the units or commo…
-
§35-8A-216
The declarant has an easement through the common elements as reasonably necessary to discharge the declarant's obligations or exercise special declarant rights.
-
§35-8A-217
Except for the listed declarant, association, or owner-executed amendments, the declaration may be amended only by owners of units to which at least 67 perce…
-
§35-8A-218
A condominium may be terminated only by agreement of owners of units to which at least 80 percent of the votes are allocated (or any larger percentage the de…
-
§35-8A-219
The declaration may require that specified actions of the association or unit owners be subject to the approval of specified percentages of holders of mortga…
-
§35-8A-220
If the declaration provides, a master association may exercise the powers this chapter gives a unit owners' association. Owners of a condominium whose powers…
-
§35-8A-221
Two or more condominiums may merge or consolidate by agreement of owners as this section provides. The resulting association steps into the merged regimes.
Management of condominiums
-
§35-8A-301
A unit owners' association must be organized no later than the date the first unit is conveyed to a person other than a declarant. Membership consists exclus…
-
§35-8A-302
Unless the declaration says otherwise, the association may adopt and amend bylaws and rules, adopt budgets and impose assessments, hire and discharge manager…
-
§35-8A-303
The board generally acts for the association. Within 30 days after adopting a proposed budget the board sends it to owners and sets a ratification meeting; t…
-
§35-8A-304
Special declarant rights transfer only by an instrument recorded as this section requires. A successor declarant's liabilities and remaining development righ…
-
§35-8A-305
If entered into before the board elected by the unit owners takes office, any management contract, employment contract, or lease of recreational or parking a…
-
§35-8A-306
The bylaws must provide for the number, qualifications, powers, and terms of the board, election of a president, treasurer, and secretary, and the other matt…
-
§35-8A-307
The association maintains, repairs, and replaces the common elements except as this section or the declaration provides. Each owner maintains the unit and mu…
-
§35-8A-308
The association must meet at least once a year. Special meetings may be called by the president, a majority of the board, or unit owners having 20 percent of…
-
§35-8A-309
Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, an owners' meeting has a quorum if persons entitled to cast 20 percent of the votes that may be cast for election of the…
-
§35-8A-310
Multiple owners of a unit vote by majority-in-interest unless the instruments say otherwise; one owner may cast the votes if no co-owner protests. A proxy mu…
-
§35-8A-311
An action in tort or contract arising out of an act or omission of the association must be brought against the association, not against individual unit owner…
-
§35-8A-312
Portions of the common elements may be conveyed or subjected to a security interest by the association if persons entitled to cast at least 80 percent of the…
-
§35-8A-313
Beginning no later than the first conveyance to someone other than the declarant, the association must maintain, to the extent reasonably available, property…
-
§35-8A-314
Unless the declaration provides otherwise, surplus funds remaining after common expenses and any prepayment of reserves must be paid to the unit owners in pr…
-
§35-8A-315
Until the association levies an assessment, the declarant pays all common expenses. After that, assessments must be made at least annually, in the declaratio…
-
§35-8A-316
The association has a lien on a unit for assessments, special assessments, service charges, and fines from the time they become due. It may be foreclosed lik…
-
§35-8A-317
A judgment for money against the association, if recorded, is not a lien on the common elements but is a lien against all units for their share. Mechanics' l…
-
§35-8A-318
All financial and other records of the association must be reasonably available for examination by any unit owner and the owner's authorized agents. A reason…
-
§35-8A-319
If the association is designated as trustee of insurance proceeds, condemnation awards, or other receipts, it holds them for the unit owners and lienholders …
Protection of purchasers
-
§35-8A-401
Article 4 (purchaser protection) applies to all units subject to this chapter except the dispositions this section exempts. A purchaser may not waive the pro…
-
§35-8A-402
The declarant must prepare a public offering statement and provide it as this article requires. A person who gives a purchaser an offering statement is not l…
-
§35-8A-403
The public offering statement must disclose the declarant, a general description of the condominium, copies or a narrative of the declaration and bylaws, the…
-
§35-8A-404
If the declarant reserved development rights, the public offering statement must also disclose the maximum number of units, the timetable, and the other deve…
-
§35-8A-405
A condominium that is also a time share must add the time-share disclosures this section requires to the public offering statement.
-
§35-8A-406
For a conversion of an occupied building, the public offering statement must disclose the building's condition, the extent of any renovation, and the other c…
-
§35-8A-407
If a condominium interest is a security, the public offering statement must include the additional disclosures this section requires, or an applicable securi…
-
§35-8A-408
A buyer who is not given the required documents more than seven days before signing may cancel without penalty. A buyer who is never given them may recover 5…
-
§35-8A-409
Except where a public offering statement is required, a selling unit owner must furnish a resale certificate — assessment amounts, any unpaid assessments, an…
-
§35-8A-410
Any deposit made in connection with the purchase or reservation of a unit from a person required to deliver a public offering statement must be placed in esc…
-
§35-8A-411
Before conveying a unit, the seller must have the unit released from all liens the purchaser does not expressly agree to take subject to, or furnish a bond o…
-
§35-8A-412
A declarant converting a building to condominium must give tenants the notices and purchase opportunities this section requires before they can be required t…
-
§35-8A-413
Express warranties of quality made by a seller of a unit are created as this section provides (affirmations of fact, descriptions, models, and promises that …
-
§35-8A-414
If a declarant, the association, or any other person subject to this chapter fails to comply with it, the declaration, or the bylaws, a person adversely affe…
-
§35-8A-415
If any improvement in the condominium is not yet built, promotional material that shows it must clearly state that it is proposed and is not yet constructed,…
-
§35-8A-416
The declarant must complete all improvements depicted on any site plan or other graphic representation if that representation was made in promotional materia…
-
§35-8A-417
A declarant may not convey a unit until it is substantially completed as evidenced by a recorded certificate of substantial completion of a registered archit…
Frequently asked about Chapter UCA
- What is Alabama Chapter UCA?
- Alabama Chapter UCA — the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act of 1991 (Ala. Code §§ 35-8A-101 to 35-8A-417) — is the body of law that governs how every Alabama condo is structured, operated, and held accountable. It covers governance, voting, records, assessments, fining, and most of the day-to-day legal questions a board will face.
- How many sections are in Chapter UCA?
- Chapter UCA contains 67 sections in this reference. Each is summarized in plain English on its own page, with links to the official text at alison.legislature.state.al.us.
- Is the summary on this site legal advice?
- No. These pages are plain-English summaries prepared by SoShiny for board members and managers. For binding legal advice or interpretation of how a section applies to your specific situation, consult a Alabama-licensed attorney.
- How often does Alabama Chapter UCA change?
- The Alabama Legislature can amend any chapter in any session. We update these summaries when we re-import the official text — see the 'Last updated' date on each section page.
- Does SoShiny enforce Chapter UCA for me?
- No software 'enforces' a statute — but SoShiny is built around it. Voting, meeting minutes, records access, fining workflow, and audit trails are designed to meet this body of law's requirements out of the box, so the board can demonstrate good-faith compliance if challenged.
Running a condo in Alabama?
SoShiny is built around Chapter UCA from day one — every feature on every plan.
Start your community free →