Terms Used In Ohio Code > Chapter 5311 - Condominium Property

• Additional property: means land, including surface and air rights, or improvements to land that are described in an original declaration and that may be added in the future to an expandable condominium property. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agent: means any person who represents a developer or who acts for or on behalf of a developer in selling or offering to sell any ownership interest in a condominium development. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Body of water: means a stream, lake, pond, marsh, river, or other body of natural or artificial surface water. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
• Common assessments: means assessments that are charged proportionately against all units for common purposes. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Common elements: means , unless otherwise provided in the declaration, the following parts of the condominium property:

  (1) The land described in the declaration;

  (2) All other areas, facilities, places, and structures that are not part of a unit, including, but not limited to, the following:

  (a) Foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, supporting walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire escapes, entrances, and exits of buildings;

  (b) Basements, yards, gardens, parking areas, garages, and storage spaces;

  (c) Premises for the lodging of janitors or persons in charge of the property;

  (d) Installations of central services, including, but not limited to, power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, and incinerating;

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

  (f) Community and commercial facilities that are not listed in division (F)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of this section but provided for in the declaration;

  (g) All parts of the condominium property that are not listed in division (F)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section that are necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance, and safety, that are normally in common use, or that have been designated as common elements in the declaration or drawings. See Ohio Code 5311.01

• Common expenses: means expenses designated as common expenses in this chapter or in the declaration. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Common profits: means the amount by which the total income received from any of the following exceeds expenses allocable to the particular income, rental, fee, or charge:

  (1) Assessments charged for special benefits to specific units;

  (2) Rents received from the rental of equipment or space in common elements;

  (3) Any other fee, charge, or income other than common assessments. See Ohio Code 5311.01

• Common surplus: means the amount by which common assessments collected during any period exceed common expenses. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Condominium: means a form of real property ownership in which a declaration has been filed submitting the property to the condominium form of ownership pursuant to this chapter and under which each owner has an individual ownership interest in a unit with the right to exclusive possession of that unit and an undivided ownership interest with the other unit owners in the common elements of the condominium property. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Condominium development: means a condominium property in which two or more individual residential or water slip units, together with their undivided interests in the common elements of the property, are offered for sale pursuant to a common promotional plan. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Condominium instruments: means the declaration and accompanying drawings and plans, the bylaws of the unit owners association, the condominium development disclosure statement described in section 5311. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Condominium ownership interest: means a fee simple estate or a ninety-nine-year leasehold estate, renewable forever, in a unit, together with an appurtenant undivided interest in the common elements. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Condominium property: means all real and personal property submitted to the provisions of this chapter, including land, the buildings, improvements, and structures on that land, the land under a water slip, the buildings, improvements, and structures that form or that are utilized in connection with that water slip, and all easements, rights, and appurtenances belonging to the land or to the land under a water slip. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conversion condominium development: means a condominium development that was operated as a rental property and occupied by tenants immediately prior to the submission of the property to the provisions of this chapter. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Convertible unit: means a unit that may be converted into one or more units and common elements, including limited common elements. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Declaration: includes all amendments to that declaration. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Developer: includes the declarant of a condominium development and any successor to that declarant who stands in the same relation to the condominium development as the declarant. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Exclusive use area: means common elements that the declaration reserves for delegation by the board of directors to the use of a certain unit or units, to the exclusion of other units. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Expandable condominium property: means a condominium property in which the original declaration reserves the right to add additional property. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Leasehold condominium development: means a condominium development in which each unit owner owns a ninety-nine-year leasehold estate, renewable forever, in the owner's unit, in the land upon which that unit is situated, or in both, together with an undivided leasehold interest in the common elements, with all leasehold interests due to expire at the same time. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited common elements: means the common elements that the declaration designates as being reserved for use by a certain unit or units, to the exclusion of the other units. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Oath: includes affirmation, and "swear" includes affirm. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Offer: includes any inducement or solicitation to encourage a person to acquire a condominium ownership interest in a condominium development. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Par value: means a number, expressed in dollars, points, or as a percentage or fraction, attached to a unit by the declaration. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Purchaser: means a person who purchases a condominium ownership interest for consideration pursuant to an agreement for the conveyance or transfer of that interest for consideration. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unit: means the part of the condominium property that is designated as a unit in the declaration, is delineated as a unit on the drawings prepared pursuant to section 5311. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Unit owner: means a person who owns a condominium ownership interest in a unit. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• Unit owners association: means the organization that administers the condominium property and that consists of all the owners of units in a condominium property. See Ohio Code 5311.01
• United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
• Water slip: means a channel of water between piers or wharves. See Ohio Code 5311.01