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LRB-4752/1
FFK:skw
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
November 8, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Olsen, Cowles and Petrowski,
cosponsored by Representatives Ballweg, Milroy, Murphy, Novak, Spiros,
VanderMeer, Vruwink and Edming. Referred to Committee on Utilities and
Housing.
SB550,2,2 1An Act to repeal 703.275 (5) and 703.28 (1m) (a); to renumber 703.13 (7) (a)
2and 703.275 (1) (title); to renumber and amend 703.095, 703.11 (2) (b), 703.13
3(6) (c), 703.26 (2) (b), 703.275 (1) and 703.28 (1m) (b); to consolidate,
4renumber and amend
703.08 (2) (intro.), (a) and (b); to amend 703.02 (1b),
5703.02 (1h), 703.02 (3), 703.02 (6m), 703.02 (14g), 703.07 (2), 703.09 (2), 703.09
6(4), 703.093 (1), 703.093 (7), 703.10 (5), 703.11 (2) (d), 703.11 (5), 703.115 (1) (a),
7703.115 (1) (b), 703.12, 703.13 (4), 703.13 (6) (d), 703.13 (6) (e), 703.13 (6) (f),
8703.13 (7) (b), 703.13 (7) (c), 703.13 (7) (d), 703.13 (8) (b), 703.13 (8) (c), 703.163
9(11), 703.165 (3), 703.19 (5), 703.26 (2) (intro.), 703.26 (2) (a), 703.26 (2) (c),
10703.26 (2) (d), 703.26 (3), 703.265 (3), 703.30 (2), 703.365 (3m) and 706.01 (7r)
11(b); and to create 703.02 (3m), 703.02 (8m), 703.065, 703.09 (1) (title), 703.09
12(1b), 703.09 (1c) (title), 703.09 (2m) (title), 703.09 (3) (title), 703.095 (2) (d),
13703.095 (3), 703.11 (2) (b) 3., 703.13 (7) (ac), 703.26 (3) (d), 703.275 (1c) and

1703.275 (1m) (b) of the statutes; relating to: requirements related to
2condominium documents and technical changes to condominium law.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes various changes to condominium law and clarifies
requirements related to various types of condominium documents.
General recording requirements; condominium instruments
This bill specifies that every instrument related to a condominium other than
a plat or an addendum (a modification to a plat) that is offered to a register of deeds
for recording must meet the following criteria:
1. The instrument must include the name of the condominium as it appears in
the declaration.
2. The instrument must meet the standard formatting requirements for
recorded documents.
3. The instrument must include any signatures required by law and must be
notarized or authenticated.
4. If the county in which the instrument is to be recorded has an ordinance that
requires local review of condominium instruments before recording, the instrument
must be accompanied by the certified written approval of the person who performed
the local review.
In addition, the bill specifies that a register of deeds may record an amendment,
addendum, or correction instrument only if the document satisfies the above criteria,
if applicable, and satisfies the following:
1. It refers to the instrument being modified or corrected.
2. It is numbered consecutively or states that it is an amendment and
restatement of the instrument being modified or corrected.
3. It identifies all units in the condominium.
4. It clearly states the changes being made to the document being modified or
corrected.
Expanding condominiums
Under current law, a declarant may reserve the right to expand a condominium
by subjecting additional property to the condominium declaration. Current law
provides various conditions that must be met in order for a reservation of a right to
expand a condominium to be valid. For example, the condominium declaration must
describe each parcel of property that may be added to the condominium under the
reservation of the right to expand and the condominium plat must include, in general
terms, the outline of the land, buildings, and common elements of the property that
may be added as part of the expansion.
The bill clarifies that the condominium plat must include the outline of the
expansion property and, in general terms, the buildings and common elements on
the expansion property. The bill also clarifies that property included in a reservation
of the right to expand is not subject to the condominium declaration (i.e., is not part

of the condominium) until an amendment and addendum that add the property to
the condominium are recorded.
Merger or consolidation of condominiums
Under current law, any two or more condominiums may be merged or
consolidated into a single condominium by agreement of the unit owners of the
existing condominiums. Current law requires that the condominium that results
from the merger or consolidation must have the same name as one of the preexisting
condominiums. The merger or consolidation agreement must reallocate the
allocated interests among the units of the resultant condominium.
The bill specifies that a condominium may be created by merger or
consolidation only by recording a restatement of the declaration for the resultant
condominium that includes the merger or consolidation agreement and a resultant
condominium plat. Under the bill, the register of deeds must reference the document
number of the resultant condominium plat on the plat of each preexisting
condominium plat that is merged or consolidated. The bill also specifies that it is not
necessary to remove the preexisting condominiums prior to a merger or
consolidation.
Local review of condominium instruments
Current law allows a county to adopt an ordinance that requires condominium
instruments to be reviewed by employees of the county of recording or of a city, village
or town located in the county of recording before the condominium instruments are
recorded if the ordinance meets certain criteria. One of the criteria is that the
ordinance must require that the local review be completed within ten working days
after the condominium instrument is submitted and provide that, if the review is not
completed within those ten working days, the condominium instrument is
considered to be approved. The bill extends the deadline for local review in this
requirement to 15 working days.
Declaration; declarant rights
Under the bill, after the period of declarant control, a condominium declaration
may not provide a declarant with a right that is not provided to other unit owners.
Condominium plat
Under current law, a condominium plat must include a survey of the property
that shows the location of any unit or building on the property and comply with the
minimum standards adopted by the examining board of architects, landscape
architects, professional engineers, designers, and professional land surveyors.
Under the bill, the survey of the property must also include a clear and concise
description of the surveyed property that meets the requirements for a professional
land surveyor certificate included on a recorded certified survey map.
Bylaws
Under the bill, whenever condominium bylaws are amended by a condominium
association, the condominium association must promptly deliver a copy of the
approved amendment to each unit owner.

Correction instruments
Under current law, a correction instrument is an instrument drafted by a
professional land surveyor that, upon recording, corrects an error in a condominium
plat. The bill specifies that a correction instrument may be used only to correct
scrivener errors on a condominium plat, such as incorrect distances, angles,
directions, building or unit numbers, or street names.
Small condominiums
Current law provides alternative procedures for small condominiums. A small
condominium is a condominium with no more than 12 units. Under current law, an
agreement may be substituted for bylaws if approved by all of the unit votes in a
small condominium. Current law further provides that the affirmative vote or
written consent of all the unit votes of the small condominium is required to amend
such an agreement. Under the bill, 75 percent of the unit votes of the small
condominium are required to amend such an agreement.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB550,1 1Section 1. 703.02 (1b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,4,32 703.02 (1b) “Addendum" means a condominium an instrument that modifies
3a recorded condominium plat.
SB550,2 4Section 2. 703.02 (1h) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,4,95 703.02 (1h) “Amendment" means a condominium an instrument that modifies
6a recorded condominium declaration. “Amendment” includes a modification to a
7declaration to relocate unit boundaries under s. 703.13 (6), to separate or merge units
8under s. 703.13 (7) or (8), and to merge or consolidate a condominium under s.
9703.275.
SB550,3 10Section 3. 703.02 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,4,1211 703.02 (3) “Common expenses and common surpluses" mean the expenses and
12surpluses of an association.
SB550,4 13Section 4. 703.02 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB550,4,1414 703.02 (3m) “Common surpluses” mean the surpluses of an association.
SB550,5
1Section 5. 703.02 (6m) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB550,5,52 703.02 (6m) “Correction instrument" means an instrument drafted by a
3professional land surveyor that complies with the requirements of s. 59.43 (2m) and
4that, upon recording, corrects an error in a condominium plat. “Correction
5instrument" does not include an instrument of conveyance.
SB550,6 6Section 6 . 703.02 (8m) of the statutes is created to read:
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