Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Chapter 52 - Creation, Alteration and Termination of Planned Communities
Section 5219 - Amendment of declaration

(a) Number of votes required.--
(1) The declaration, including the plats and plans, may be amended only by vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least:
(i) 67% of votes in the association are allocated; or
(ii) a larger percentage of the votes in the association as specified in the declaration; or
(iii) a smaller percentage of the votes in the association as specified in the declaration if all units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use.
(2) Paragraph (1) is limited by subsection (d) and section 5221 (relating to rights of secured lenders).
(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any of the following:
(i) Amendments executed by a declarant under:
(A) section 5210(e) or (f) (relating to plats and plans);
(B) section 5211(a) (relating to conversion and expansion of flexible planned communities); or
(C) section 5212(a) (relating to withdrawal of withdrawable real estate).
(ii) Amendments executed by the association under:
(A) subsection (f);
(B) section 5107 (relating to eminent domain);
(C) section 5207(d) (relating to leasehold planned communities);
(D) section 5209 (relating to limited common elements); or
(E) section 5215 (relating to subdivision or conversion of units).
(iii) Amendments executed by certain unit owners under:
(A) section 5209(b);
(B) section 5214(a) (relating to relocation of boundaries between units);
(C) section 5215; or
(D) section 5220(b) (relating to termination of planned community).
(iv) Amendments executed by a declarant which conform the maximum time limit for exercising declarant options to the time limit authorized by sections 5205(13) and (14) (relating to contents of declaration; all planned communities) and 5206(2) (relating to contents of declaration for flexible planned communities).
(b) Limitation of action to challenge amendment.--No action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association under this section may be brought more than one year after the amendment is recorded.
(c) Recording amendment.--The following shall apply:
(1) Every amendment to the declaration must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the planned community is located in the same records as are maintained for the recording of deeds of real property and shall be indexed in the name of the planned community in both the grantor and grantee index. An amendment is effective only upon recording.
(2) Except for counties which do not maintain a uniform parcel identifier number system of indexing, all counties shall assign a master parcel number to each planned community, and every amendment to the declaration shall be indexed against the master parcel. If required by the county, an amendment may be indexed against a parcel assigned to each unit within the planned community, but no fees shall be charged to each unit unless the indexing against each parcel is requested by the declarant or association.
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall control over any conflicting provisions in any other statute, regulation or ordinance.
(d) When unanimous consent or declarant joinder required.--
(1) Except to the extent expressly permitted or required by other provisions of this subpart, without unanimous consent of all unit owners affected, no amendment may create or increase special declarant rights, alter the terms or provisions governing the completion or conveyance or lease of common facilities or increase the number of units or change the boundaries of any unit, the common expense liability or voting strength in the association allocated to a unit or the uses to which any unit is restricted. In addition, no declaration provisions pursuant to which any special declarant rights have been reserved to a declarant shall be amended without the express written joinder of the declarant in such amendment.
(2) As used in this subsection, the term "uses to which any unit is restricted" shall not include leasing of units.
(e) Officer authorized to execute amendment.--Amendments to the declaration required by this subpart to be recorded by the association shall be prepared, executed, recorded and certified by an officer of the association designated for that purpose or, in the absence of designation, by the president of the association.
(f) Technical corrections.--Except as otherwise provided in the declaration, if any amendment to the declaration is necessary in the judgment of the executive board to do any of the following:
(1) cure an ambiguity;
(2) correct or supplement any provision of the declaration, including the plats and plans, that is defective, missing or inconsistent with any other provision of the declaration or with this subpart;
(3) conform to the requirements of any agency or entity that has established national or regional standards with respect to loans secured by mortgages or deeds of trust or units in planned community or so-called "PUD" projects, such as Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; or
(4) comply with any statute, regulation, code or ordinance which may now or hereafter be made applicable to the planned community or association, or to make a reasonable accommodation or permit a reasonable modification in favor of handicapped, as may be defined by prevailing Federal or State laws or regulations applicable to the association, unit owners, residents, tenants or employees;
then, at any time, the executive board may, at its discretion, effect an appropriate corrective amendment without the approval of the unit owners or the holders of liens on all or any part of the planned community, upon receipt of an opinion from legal counsel who is independent from the declarant to the effect that the proposed amendment is permitted by the terms of this subsection.
(Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1486, No.189, eff. 60 days; July 2, 2013, P.L.204, No.37, eff. imd.; Apr. 20, 2016, P.L.156, No.21, eff. 60 days; Nov. 4, 2016, P.L.1214, No.162, eff. 60 days; Mar. 27, 2020, P.L.35, No.11, eff. 60 days)

2020 Amendment. Act 11 amended subsec. (f).
2016 Amendments. Act 21 amended subsec. (d) and Act 162 amended subsec. (c).
2013 Amendment. Act 37 amended subsec. (a)(3). See section 2 of Act 37 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability.
2004 Amendment. Act 189 amended subsecs. (a) and (f).
Cross References. Section 5219 is referred to in sections 5102, 5211, 5303 of this title.