Unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, as used herein:

(a) "Declaration" means the instrument, duly recorded, by which the property is submitted to the provisions of this act, as hereinafter provided, and such declaration as may be amended from time to time;

(b) "Unit" means an enclosed space consisting of one or more rooms occupying all or part of a floor or floors in a building of one or more floors or stories regardless of whether it be designed for residence, for office, for the operation of any industry or business, or for any other type of independent use, provided it has a direct exit to a thoroughfare or to a given common space leading to a thoroughfare; if so provided in the declaration, a unit may include some portion of the land constituting a part of the condominium property and improvements thereon not a part of the common elements. A unit may include a series of buildings, not connected or part of same structure if such is the intent of the owners of the unit estate. This act, and any deed, declaration or plan for a condominium project shall be liberally construed to facilitate the establishment and operation of the project and provisions of any of the same shall be presumed to be independent and severable;

(c) "Unit designation" means the number, letter or combination thereof designating the unit in the declaration;

(d) "Building" means one or more buildings or structures comprising a part of the property;

(e) "Unit owner" means a person owning a unit within the building;

(f) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other legal entity, or any combination thereof;

(g) "Unit ownership estate" means the ownership of single units in a multi-unit building together with an undivided interest in the common elements;

(h) "Common elements" means and includes the general common elements and limited common elements. The term common elements does not include unconstructed units unless otherwise specified in the declaration or by the consent of the owners pursuant to the Unit Ownership Estate Act;

(i) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration or by consent of all the unit owners, "general common elements" means and includes:

(1) The land, whether leased or in fee simple, on which the building stands and such other land and improvements thereon as may be specifically included in the declaration, except any portion thereof included in a unit;

(2) The foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire escapes, and entrances and exits of the building;

(3) The basements, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces;

(4) The premises for the lodging of janitors or persons in charge of the property as hereinafter defined;

(5) Installations of central services such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating refrigeration, air conditioning and incinerating;

(6) The elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general, all apparatus and installations existing for common use;

(7) Such community and commercial facilities as may be provided for in the declaration; and

(8) All other elements of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use;

(j) "Limited common elements" means and includes those common elements which are agreed upon by all the unit owners to be reserved for the use of a certain number of units to the exclusion of the other units, such as special corridors, stairways and elevators, sanitary services common to the units of a particular floor, and the like;

(k) "Common expenses" means and includes:

(1) Expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common elements;

(2) Expenses agreed upon as common by all the unit owners;

(3) Expenses declared common by provisions of the act, or by the declaration or the bylaws;

(4) Expenses incident to limited common elements which shall be borne as provided by the declaration or the bylaws;

(l) "Common profits" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from the common elements and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses;

(m) "Council of unit owners" means all the unit owners;

(n) "Majority of unit owners," means the owners of more than fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate interest in the general common elements as established by the declaration. Any specified percentage of unit owners means such percentage in the aggregate of such undivided ownership;

(o) "Recordation" means to file of record in the office of the county clerk in the county where the land is situated, in the manner provided by law for recordation of instruments affecting real estate;

(p) "Property" means and includes the land, whether leasehold or in fee simple, the building, all improvements and structures thereon, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto;

(q) "Declarant" means the owner or co-owners referred to in Section 502 of this title who originally submitted the property to the provisions of the Unit Ownership Estate Act by the filing of a declaration as provided in Section 502 of this title, and their successors who have been granted and have assumed the duties, obligations and privileges and rights reserved to the original declarant under the terms of the declaration;

(r) "Unconstructed unit" or "unconstructed building" means a unit or building as the case may be, which is owned by the declarant and shown on the plan attached to the declaration pursuant to Section 516 of this title, the construction of which has not been completed by the declarant at the time of recordation of the declaration. For purposes of this chapter a building is completed upon the completion of any unit in the building and a unit is completed when its construction is finished to the point that it is ready for occupancy.

Amended by Laws 1985, c. 137, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1985.