Sec. 82.068. TERMINATION OF CONDOMINIUM. (a) Unless the declaration provides otherwise and except for a taking of all the units by condemnation, a condominium may be terminated only by the agreement of 100 percent of the votes in the association and each holder of a deed of trust or vendor's lien on a unit. The declaration may not allow a termination by less than 80 percent of the votes in the association if any unit is restricted exclusively to residential uses.

(b) An agreement of unit owners to terminate a condominium must be evidenced by the execution or ratification of a termination agreement by the requisite number of unit owners. If, pursuant to a termination agreement, the real property constituting the condominium is to be sold following termination, the termination agreement must set forth the terms of the sale. To be effective, a termination agreement and all ratifications of the agreement must be recorded in each county in which a portion of the condominium is located.

(c) The association, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract for the sale of real property in the condominium, but the contract is not binding on the unit owners until it is approved under Subsections (a) and (b). If the real property constituting the condominium is to be sold following termination, on termination title to that real property vests in the association as trustee for the holders of all interests in the units, and the association has all powers necessary and appropriate to effect the sale, including the power to convey the interests of nonconsenting owners. Until the sale has been concluded and the proceeds distributed, the association shall continue to exist and retains the powers it had before termination. Proceeds of the sale must be distributed to unit owners and lienholders as their interests may appear, in proportion to the respective interests of unit owners as provided by Subsection (f). Unless the termination agreement specifies differently, as long as the association holds title to the real property, each unit owner and the owner's successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupy the portion of the real property that formerly constituted the owner's unit. During that period of occupancy a unit owner and the owner's successors in interest remain liable for all assessments and other obligations imposed on unit owners by this chapter or the declaration.

(d) If the real property constituting the condominium is not to be sold following termination, on termination title to the real property vests in the unit owners as tenants in common in proportion to their respective interests, and liens on the units shift accordingly. While the tenancy in common exists, a unit owner and the owner's successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupy the portion of the real property that formerly constituted the owner's unit.

(e) Following termination of the condominium, and after payment of or provision for the claims of the association's creditors, the assets of the association shall be distributed to unit owners in proportion to their respective interests. The proceeds of sale described by Subsection (c) and held by the association as trustee are not assets of the association.

(f) The interest of a unit owner referred to in Subsections (c), (d), and (e) is, except as provided by Subsection (g), the fair market value of the owner's unit, limited common elements, and common element interest immediately before the termination, as determined by one or more independent appraisers selected by the association. The decision of the independent appraisers shall be distributed to the unit owners and becomes final unless disapproved by unit owners of units to which 25 percent of the votes in the association are allocated not later than the 30th day after the date of distribution. The proportion of a unit owner's interest to that of all unit owners is determined by dividing the fair market value of the unit owner's unit and common element interest by the total fair market values of all the units and common elements.

(g) If a unit or a limited common element is destroyed to the extent that an appraisal of the fair market value before the destruction cannot be made, the interest of a unit owner is the owner's common element interest immediately before the termination.

(h) Foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against the entire condominium does not of itself terminate the condominium, and foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against a portion of the condominium does not withdraw that portion from the condominium, unless the portion is withdrawable real property or unless the mortgage being foreclosed was recorded before the date the declaration was recorded and the mortgagee did not consent in writing to the declaration.

(i) By agreement of the same percentage of unit owners that is required to terminate the condominium, the unit owners may rescind a termination agreement and reinstate the declaration in effect immediately before the election to terminate. To be effective, the rescission agreement must be in writing, executed by the unit owners who desire to rescind, and recorded in each county in which any portion of the condominium is located.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 244, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994.