Texas Property Code 221.071 – Deceptive Trade Practices
(a) A developer or other person commits a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of Subsections (a) and (b) of Section 17.46 of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (Article 17.46 et seq., Business & Commerce Code), by engaging in any of the following acts:
(1) failing to disclose information concerning a timeshare interest required by Subchapter D;
(2) making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the characteristics of accommodations or amenities available to a consumer;
(3) predicting specific or immediate increases in the value of a timeshare interest without a reasonable basis for such predictions;
(4) making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the duration that accommodations or amenities will be available to a consumer;
(5) making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the conditions under which a purchaser of a timeshare interest may exchange the right to occupy a unit for the right to occupy a unit in the same or another timeshare property;
(6) representing that a prize, gift, or other benefit will be awarded in connection with a promotion with the intent not to award that prize, gift, or benefit in the manner represented;
(7) failing to provide a copy of the purchase contract to the purchaser at the time the contract is signed by the purchaser;
(8) failing to provide the annual statement as required by § 221.074(a); or
(9) exceeding a one-to-one purchaser-to-accommodation ratio for a timeshare plan during a consecutive 12-month period, as determined under Subsection (c).
(b) The provisions of this section are not exclusive and are in addition to provisions provided for in any other law.
Terms Used In Texas Property Code 221.071
- Accommodation: means any apartment, condominium or cooperative unit, hotel or motel room, cabin, lodge, or other private or commercial structure that:
(A) is affixed to real property;
(B) is designed for occupancy or use by one or more individuals; and
(C) is part of a timeshare plan. See Texas Property Code 221.002 - Amenities: means all common areas and includes recreational and maintenance facilities of the timeshare plan. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Association: means a council or association composed of all persons who have purchased a timeshare interest. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Developer: means :
(A) any person, excluding a sales agent, who creates a timeshare plan or is in the business of selling timeshare interests or employs a sales agent to sell timeshare interests; or
(B) any person who succeeds in the developer's interest by sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, or other transfer if the person:
(i) offers at least 12 timeshare interests in a particular timeshare plan; and
(ii) is in the business of selling timeshare interests or employs a sales agent to sell timeshare interests. See Texas Property Code 221.002 - Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Managing entity: means the person responsible for operating and maintaining a timeshare property. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Promotion: means any program, activity, contest, or gift, prize, or other item of value used to induce any person to attend a timeshare sales presentation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Purchaser: means any person, other than a developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a timeshare interest other than as a security for an obligation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Timeshare interest: means a timeshare estate or timeshare use. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Timeshare plan: means any arrangement, plan, scheme, or similar method, excluding an exchange program but including a membership agreement, sale, lease, deed, license, or right-to-use agreement, by which a purchaser, in exchange for consideration, receives an ownership right in or the right to use accommodations for a period of time less than a year during a given year, but not necessarily consecutive years. See Texas Property Code 221.002
- Timeshare property: means :
(A) one or more accommodations and any related amenities subject to the same timeshare instrument; and
(B) any other property or property rights appurtenant to the accommodations and amenities. See Texas Property Code 221.002 - Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) A developer complies with the one-to-one purchaser-to-accommodation ratio referred to in Subsection (a)(9) if the total number of purchasers eligible to use the accommodations of the timeshare plan during a consecutive 12-month period never exceeds the total number of accommodations available for use in the timeshare plan during that same period. A purchaser-to-accommodation ratio is computed by dividing the number of purchasers eligible to use an accommodation in a timeshare plan on any given day by the number of accommodations within the plan available for use on that day. For purposes of computing the purchaser-to-accommodation ratio:
(1) each purchaser is counted at least once each consecutive 12-month period;
(2) each accommodation is counted not more than 365 times each consecutive 12-month period, excluding a leap year, in which each accommodation may be counted 366 times; and
(3) a purchaser who is delinquent in paying timeshare assessments is considered eligible to use timeshare plan accommodations.
(d) If a developer has substantially complied with this chapter in good faith, a nonmaterial error or omission is not actionable. Any nonmaterial error or omission is not sufficient to permit a purchaser to cancel a purchase contract after the period provided for cancellation expires under this chapter.
(e) A person, other than an owner of a timeshare interest who purchased the interest from a developer for the person’s own personal use and occupancy, commits a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of Sections 17.46(a) and (b), Business & Commerce Code, and an unconscionable action or course of action as defined by § 17.45, Business & Commerce Code, by knowingly participating, for consideration or with the expectation of consideration, in any plan or scheme a purpose of which is to transfer a timeshare interest to a transferee who does not have the ability, means, or intent to pay all assessments and taxes for the timeshare interest. An association or other managing entity does not commit an act or action as described by this subsection by performing administrative acts and collecting fees or expenses as customary or required by law or under the project instruments in connection with a transfer by an owner of a timeshare interest in the timeshare property.