The Legislature finds that all buyers and transferees of real property should be aware of the availability of water and power on the land they buy or obtain at the time they purchase or obtain it. Therefore:

(a) No document transferring an interest in real property, except for leases of less than one (1) year, shall be recorded until the transferee has signed and acknowledged a statement, which should be included in the document, indicating that the transferee is aware of the availability or non-availability of power and water on the transferred property. The statement shall be in substantially this form:

(1) AS TO WATER:

WATER IS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY OR WITHIN 100 FEET OF THE PROPERTY.

or

WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY. THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE) UNDERSTANDS THAT HE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR WATER HOOKUP AT HIS SOLE EXPENSE. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE WATER HOOKUP.

or

WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY. THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR) HAS PROMISED TO MAKE WATER AVAILABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR OR LESS. IF THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR) FAILS TO DO SO, THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE)

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UNDERSTANDS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY FOR WATER HOOKUP.

(2) AS TO POWER:

———–

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY OR WITHIN 100 FEET OF THE PROPERTY.

or

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY. THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE) UNDERSTANDS THAT HE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ELECTRICITY HOOKUP AT HIS SOLE EXPENSE. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE HOOKUP.

or

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY. THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR) HAS PROMISED TO MAKE ELECTRICITY AVAILABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR OR LESS. IF THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR) FAILS TO DO SO THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE) UNDERSTANDS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY FOR POWER (ELECTRICITY) HOOKUP.

(b) In a document transferring an interest in real property except for a lease for less than one (1) year, there is an implied warranty made by the transferor as to the accuracy and correctness of any statement to the effect that water or power or sewer are available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet of the property; and the transferor has impliedly warranted to the transferee that the named utilities are immediately available as of the date of signing the document. Breach of such warranty, whether intentional or unintentional, shall be enforceable in law or in equity in the same manner as any other warranty, and the transferee may

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also recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for breach of such implied warranty.

(c) If there is no disclosure made by the transferor as to the availability or lack of availability of water or power in a document transferring an interest in real property, except for a lease of less than one (1) year, a deed of gift or quitclaim deed given for no consideration, court decrees, tax deeds, marshal’s deeds and deeds of administrators or executors of estates, there is an implied warranty made by the transferor to the effect that the utility whose availability is not disclosed is available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet of the property; and the transferor has impliedly warranted to the transferee that the omitted utilities are immediately available as of the date of signing the document. Breach of such warranty, whether intentional or unintentional, shall be enforce able in law or in equity in the same manner as any other warranty, and the transferee may also recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for breach of such implied warranty.

(d) Power and water shall be considered immediately available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet of the property at the time the document is signed if utility hookups can be applied for at the office of the utility and can be made within ninety (90) days of the application with a hookup of not more than one hundred (100) feet from the property line. Power and water shall be considered not available on the property if hookups are not immediately available, if the distance to the hookup from the border of the property is more than one hundred (100) feet, or although applied for at the office of the utility, the hookup cannot be made within ninety (90) days of the application.

(e) If any document transferring an interest in real property, except for a lease of less than one (1) year, fails to contain such statement as to water and power as is indicated in Subsection (a) of this Section, the document shall be voidable and the transaction may be rescinded at the sole option of the transferee or his successor for a period to ten (10) years from the date of the transaction if water or power

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is not available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet of the property. Failure to include such a statement shall not preclude recording if the transferee or successor records an acknowledged statement stating that under no circumstances will the government of Guam be in anyway responsible for paying for any required power or water hookups, power line extensions, or waterline extensions.

(f) If the transferor agrees to make water or power or sewer available to the property, such shall be stated in the document transferring an interest in the property, and such hookup shall be made available to the property by the transferor within one (1) year or such lesser time as may be agreed upon between transferor and transferee.

(1) Failure to make power or water or sewer available to the property within one (1) year or such lesser time as agreed upon will result in the transferee being allowed, at his option, to:

(A) rescind the transaction and recover all money paid, reasonable interest, and reasonable costs and attorney’s fees; or

(B) recover from the transferor all amounts required to make the promised utilities available on the property, plus all related costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(2) Failure to put the promise to make a utility available in the document transferring an interest in the property shall not be a defense raised by the transferor.

(g) This Section shall not apply to applicable transfer documents recorded before the effective date of this Act and no implied warranties contained in this Section shall attach to any document signed before the effective date of this Act. This Section shall not apply, for a period of ninety (90) days, to applicable transfer documents which were signed and not recorded before the effective date of this Act. Thereafter, applicable transfer documents signed before the effective date of this Act may be recorded if the transferee executes

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and records an acknowledged statement as indicated in
Subsection (e) of this Section.

(h) None of the provisions of this Section shall be waived by the parties or by the government of Guam including the Guam Power Authority.

(i) The disclosures contained in this Section should be placed at the end of the applicable document, immediately before the signature lines of the parties, unless the Department of Land Management designates some other place on the document by rule or regulation, however placement of the required disclosures at some other place in the instrument shall not void the effect of the disclosures.

(j) Prior to the transferee signing any contract of sale or other document evidencing an obligation to buy an interest in land, any subdivider, except for a parental subdivision or a subdivision of fifteen (15) or fewer lots, must provide a transferee of land in the subdivision with an accurate written estimated cost of hooking up to power and water if such are not immediately available within one hundred (100) feet of border of the property and are not to be provided within one (1) year or less to the property by the subdivider. Each buyer must acknowledge receipt of the estimate in writing. Failure to provide such estimate shall allow the transferee to rescind the transaction or to recover from the subdivider or from any real estate broker, title insurance company or escrow company involved in the transaction, the cost of hooking up the utility concerned, plus reasonable cost and attorney’s fees. This Subsection (j) does not apply to parental subdivision or subdivision of fifteen (15) or fewer lots.

(k) All provisions of this Section as to breach of implied warranty or express agreements to provide a utility may be enforced by the transferee, his successors in interest or through the Attorney General’s Office by the government of Guam.

SOURCE: GC § 13124 added by P.L. 18-040:14 (Nov 6, 1986);
subsection (j) amended by P.L. 19-014:32 (Feb. 26, 1988).

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2017 NOTE: Subitem designations added/altered pursuant to the authority of 1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.