Marketable Record Title Act ("MRTA")

The Marketable Record Title Act ("MRTA"), known as "MARTA", is getting a lot of attention these days as older homeowner associations (HOAs) are reaching their thirty-year anniversary. Under MRTA, deed restrictions expire after thirty years unless the HOA takes proactive steps to preserve them or revitalizes them after they have expired.

There is a lot of controversy with associations that did file a Notice of Preservation, but failed to comply with the statute, making their notices defective.   It is important to review the statute for the year in which the preservation was recorded because it has changed substantially.  Previously, the statute required the members, by majority vote, approve a new set of Declarations and those Declarations could not be more restrictive than the originals.  The current statute allows for the Board of Directors to vote to preserve the deed restrictions, but there are still notice requirements and filing requirements that are sometimes overlooked.