2.10 Responsibility of the Developer for Condition of Common Areas on Transfer

• Library: South Carolina Community Association Law: Condominiums and Homeowners Associations (SCBar) (2019 Ed.)

2.10 Responsibility of the Developer for Condition of Common Areas on Transfer

What is the development company's responsibility for the condition of common areas on transfer of control of the association to the unit purchasers? In Concerned Dunes West Residents, Inc. v. Georgia-Pacific Corporation,²¹⁴ residents of a PUD brought a derivative action on behalf of their Property Owners Association (POA). They sought to recover the cost to repair roads and other common areas. The developer had provided some maintenance of the common areas at its own expense until it organized the Association. However, the common areas were substandard at the time they were turned over to the Association. A developer, held the court, owes a POA a fiduciary duty to turn over common areas that are in good repair and not substandard.²¹⁵ Failure to meet that duty subjects the...