To Our Realtor® Friends:
Since its founding in 1965, CATIC® has produced a Survey of Real Property Legislation for its member attorneys following each session of the Connecticut General Assembly. In 1990, we began producing a separate, Realtor® Edition of the Survey, tailored to meet the specific concerns of Realtors. The Realtor® Edition of the Survey has been used since that time as a component of the continuing education programs administered by the Connecticut Association of Realtors®, at its annual convention and at other educational activities.
We are pleased to continue this tradition with the following on-line summary of recent legislative enactments from the 2006 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Working with Eugene A. Marconi, General Counsel for the Connecticut Association of Realtors®, we have selected 27 acts which we feel are of special interest to Realtors®.
We hope that you find this material helpful and informative in your continuing efforts to keep current on new laws which affect your business.
Very truly yours,
Colleen Danehy Lindroos
Legal Publications Manager
This act imposes certain record retention requirements on licensed real estate brokers, relative to the following documents: all purchase contracts, leases, options, written offers or counteroffers drafted by the broker or on behalf of the broker; the listing agreement or buyer or tenant representation agreement, any extensions or amendments, and any disclosures or agreements required under Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-325a through 20-325l; and all canceled checks, unused checks, checkbooks and bank statements for any escrow or trust account maintained relative to § 20-324k. The records shall be maintained for at least seven years after the latest of the following: the closing of the real estate transaction; the disbursement of all funds held in escrow; or the expiration of the listing agreement or buyer or tenant representation agreement. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 17 An Act Concerning Municipal Plans of Conservation and Development
This act makes a number of revisions to the statutes governing municipal plans of conservation and development. A number of deadlines are changed relative to certain actions which are taken as to public hearings, the submission of draft plans to the regional planning agency, the provision of notice to the public, and the consideration of proposals received from local citizens. Effective October 1, 2006 and applicable to plans of conservation and development adopted after that date.
P.A. 20 An Act Concerning Site Plans
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-3(g) concerns site plans and provides, inter alia, that a zoning commission operating under the zoning statutes (Chapter 124) may require that site plans be submitted, when appropriate. Public Act 20 amends the statute to provide that the provisions of the statute shall apply to all zoning commissions or other final zoning authority of each municipality “whether or not such municipality has adopted the provisions of this chapter or the charter of such municipality or special act establishing zoning in the municipality contains similar provisions.” With this new language, those towns whose zoning operates under the terms of a special act or charter provision will be able to require site plans, without the need to amend that special act or charter to so provide. Effective May 2, 2006.
P.A. 23 An Act Concerning Training for Members of Associations of Common Interest Communities
This act provides that the executive board of each association of a common interest community shall encourage each member of such association, including the officers and members of the board and anyone providing management services to the association, to attend, when available, a basic education program concerning the purpose and operation of common interest communities and associations and the respective rights and responsibilities of the various parties. All or part of any fees for such program may be designated as a common expense of the association and paid from association funds as may be determined by the executive board and approved by the association. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 45 An Act Concerning Mortgage Practices and Licensing ProceduresPortions of this act concern the penalties which may be assessed when there is a material misrepresentation in an application filed with the Banking Commissioner by first or second mortgage lenders, mortgage correspondent lenders, and mortgage brokers. Other portions of the act provide that first and second mortgage lenders and brokers are prohibited from requiring, by agreement or otherwise, that a borrower compensate them for any fees, commissions, or other valuable consideration lost because the borrower did not close on a loan, unless it is collected as an “advance fee” in accordance with the law. No broker shall enter into an agreement with or otherwise require that a person pay the broker any fee, commission or other valuable consideration for the prepayment of the principal of the subject loan. The act also provides that the restrictions imposed relative to prepaid finance charges shall apply to those exempt from licensure under the provisions of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-489 (persons making five or fewer first mortgage loans within any period of twelve consecutive months.) Effective, generally, on May 8, 2006, with some provisions relative to the originator fee schedule effective on October 1, 2006.
P.A. 48 An Act Concerning Housing Preservation
This new law amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-68c, concerning multifamily rental housing which has been subsidized by certain federal programs, and the requirement that the owner of such property shall give prior notice to the tenants and to certain governmental officials if the owner intends to prepay a mortgage on the site. The act subjects more types of projects to this one-year notice requirement, and adds to the types of events that trigger the requirement, to include, e.g., the owner’s intent to sell or lease the property. A lesser requirement of ninety days notice is imposed in certain situations where there is less than one year remaining before an event will end or reduce the federal subsidy. Effective July 1, 2006.
P.A. 53 An Act Concerning Protection of Public Water Supply Sources
This act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-3i and § 22a-42f, concerning, respectively, applications submitted to a zoning authority or to an inland wetlands board relative to a project which will be within an aquifer protection area or the watershed of a water company. Previously the statutes required the applicant to provide written notice of the application to the water company, in accordance with the standards set forth in the appropriate statute. P.A. 53 provides that notice shall also be sent to the Commissioner of Public Health, in a format to be prescribed by the Commissioner. The act also provides that the Commissioner (or designee) shall have the right to appear and be heard at any hearing on the subject application. Effective, generally, on October 1, 2006, with some technical revisions and a study on the use of ethanol in gasoline effective May 8, 2006.
P.A. 56 An Act Concerning the Establishment of an Accessibility Advisory Board
This act establishes an Accessibility Advisory Board which shall advise the Director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities on matters of accessibility relative to housing, transportation, government programs and services, and any other matters deemed advisable by the Director or the Board. The Director shall appoint the members of the Board, in accordance with the qualifications set forth in the act. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 62 An Act Extending Federal Protections to State Service Members
This act concerns members of the Connecticut National Guard who are called into active state service by the Governor, and affords them the same protections (except those pertaining to life insurance) which the federal government provides to service members in federal active service. These protections are the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which provides reemployment rights for returning service members, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which provides certain protections relative to matters such as interest rates, rental and lease agreements, evictions, and judicial proceedings. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 73 An Act Concerning Homeowners, Home Improvement Contractors and New Home Construction Contractors
This act revises the disclosures that a new home contractor shall provide to prospective customers, relative to previous projects completed by the contractor, and makes a number of technical changes to the statutes governing new home construction. The act also requires home improvement contractors to include their registration numbers in their contracts with homeowners. Effective May 30, 2006.
P.A. 80 An Act Concerning Notice Requirements for Land Use Applications
This act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-7d, regarding notice requirements for land use applications, to provide that local regulations may allow a sign posted on the subject land to serve as notice to adjacent landowners, in addition to or in lieu of notice by mail. The act provides that proof of mailing shall be evidenced by a certificate of mailing, and that the person who owns the adjacent land shall be the person indicated on the property tax map or on the last completed grand list as of the date the notice is mailed. The commission need no longer notify those who occupy, but do not own, the adjacent property. The act also provides that a zoning commission, planning commission or planning and zoning commission shall establish a public notice registry whereby parties can request notice about regulatory changes proposed by the local commission. Detail is provided relative to the process for registering for notice and the method of providing notification. No commission shall be civilly liable for the failure to provide notice to those on the list, so long as the commission maintains reasonable procedures to prevent such errors. Effective October 1, 2006, except for a section repealing a study relative to lakes, which is effective May 30, 2006.
P.A. 81 An Act Concerning the Presence of Volatile Organic Compounds and Notice of Polluting Events
Section 1 of this act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-327b, concerning the residential property disclosure report form, to provide that the form shall be amended by the Department of Consumer Protection to reflect the results of any water test performed for volatile organic compounds, if the residence is or will be served by well water. The act also amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22a-6u, to add new language concerning the testing of a private drinking well in compliance with the order of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. If the test indicates that the water exceeds a maximum contaminant level, as described in the act, then the Commissioner shall require that notice be provided within twenty-four hours to the property owner, the local board of health, any person who has requested notification of such events, and any other person the Commissioner identifies. The owner of the property then must provide written notice to at least one tenant of each leased unit on the site, within twenty-four hours. The local director of health shall take all reasonable steps to confirm that notice is provided to the tenants. The act also provides that the Commissioner shall provide notice to certain state, federal and employee representatives relative to contaminated sites. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 89 An Act Concerning Encroachment on Open Space Lands
This act concerns encroachment on open space land owned by the state, a political subdivision, or nonprofit land conservation organization, and provides that the Attorney General or the owner of land illegally encroached upon may bring an action in superior court against an encroaching party, seeking orders of restoration, or the costs of restoration, attorney’s fees and costs, and such other injunctive or equitable relief as the court deems appropriate. If deemed appropriate, the court may also order damages of up to five times the cost of restoration, or statutory damages of up to five thousand dollars. The act also amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 23-65(b), to provide for similar remedies when a party has, without authority, removed, pruned, injured or defaced any shrub or ornamental or shade tree within the limits of a public way or grounds. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 97 An Act Concerning Subdivisions for Affordable Housing Developments
This act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-19, concerning subdivisions, by adding a new subsection (b), which provides that any municipality, by ordinance, may exempt from the local subdivision regulations the first subdivision of land by a landowner, provided that the lot created is for affordable housing to be developed by the municipality or a nonprofit organization. Any such ordinance shall also provide that any further subdivision of such lot shall not be exempt from the subdivision regulations and that any exemption under the amended statute shall be in addition to any other exemption authorized by § 8-26 and shall not be construed as exercising any right under any other exemption. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 128 An Act Authorizing Municipalities to Abate Taxes on Open Space Land and Authorizing Floating and Overlay Zones and Flexible Zoning Districts
Section 1 of this act provides that any municipality, by ordinance, may establish a program under which property taxes may be abated in exchange for the transfer to the municipality of development rights, conservation easements, rights-of-way, or any combination thereof, relative to open space land. Any such ordinance shall include provisions for requirements for application for the abatement, which shall include a certified appraisal of the property proposed for abatement, showing the value of the property both with and without development rights. For purposes of the act, open space land includes forest land. The abatement may be transferable to any other taxable property in the municipality owned by the applicant. Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after that date.
Section 2 of the act allows the city of New Haven to adopt certain specified zoning regulatory techniques, including floating and overlay zones and flexible zoning districts. This section was originally effective October 1, 2006, but the effective date was changed to June 2, 2006 by way of Section 290 of this year’s Revisor’s Act, P.A. 196.
P.A. 136 An Act Concerning the Roadmap for Connecticut’s Economic Future
This lengthy act address the state’s future needs relative to transportation, and establishes a number of strategic projects and initiatives which shall be pursued. The act establishes a number of study groups, authorizes bonding and other financing, and requires certain actions by different state agencies relative to present and future transportation needs. Section 15 of the act, relative to the petroleum products gross receipts tax, is amended by Sections 20 and 21 of P.A. 187. Effective July 1, 2006.
P.A. 148 An Act Concerning Property Revaluations
This act makes a number of revisions to the statutes which govern the way towns revalue property. Matters covered by the act include revaluation cycles and methods, post-revaluation requirements regarding notice to taxpayers, rules concerning deferring or postponing revaluations, revaluation phase-ins, and the establishment of a Revaluation Working Group to study the revaluation process and make recommendations for improvements. Effective, generally, on June 6, 2006, with most of the act applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006.
P.A. 153 An Act Concerning Disabled Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption, the Definition of Veteran and the Reporting of Veteran’s Benefits
This act excludes disability payments received by a veteran when determining income for purposes of income-based property tax exemptions afforded to veterans. The act also explicitly includes the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard performing duty under Title 32 of the United States Code, in the definition of "armed forces." This change is in response to an opinion issued by the Connecticut Attorney General, stating that periods spent as a full-time member of the National Guard, under orders issued pursuant to either Title 10 (“Armed Forces”) or Title 32 (“National Guard”) of the U.S. Code, qualify as "vesting service" and as "credited service" under Connecticut Statutes, for purposes of receiving certain state benefits for such service. These benefits include college tuition waivers, local property tax benefits, burial in a state veteran’s cemetery, and admission to the state’s Veterans' Home. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 156 An Act Concerning Mortgages, Real Estate Financing and Fees for the Examination of Land Records in Civil Actions Affecting Title to Real Property
This act makes a number of revisions to various real property statutes. Section 1 of the act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 49-2(c), concerning commercial revolving loans, to expand the scope of such loans by requiring that the proceeds may not be intended primarily for personal, family or household purposes, instead of requiring that the proceeds be to an entity organized for profit and engaged primarily in commercial, manufacturing or industrial pursuits. This change will allow non-profit corporations to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the statute. The statute is also amended to encompass loans to limited liability companies.
Section 2 of the act amends § 49-9, to provide that a release of mortgage executed in accordance with the statute shall operate to release the interest of the releasor in the mortgage, even if that interest is in fact acquired by the releasor after executing the release or does not appear of record until after the execution of the release. This provision shall not be construed to limit the effect of any release of mortgage recorded before, on or after the effective date of the section. Section 3 of the act makes a similar change to § 49-10, regarding assignments, where the assignor’s interest is acquired by the assignor after executing the assignment, or does not appear of record until after the execution of the assignment.
Section 4 of the act amends § 49-13a, concerning old unreleased mortgages. The act provides that after twenty years, rather than forty years, of undisturbed possession after the time limited in the mortgage for full performance, the mortgage shall be invalid as a further lien against the property, so long as an appropriate affidavit is recorded on the land records, speaking to the fact of such possession. If the mortgage does not disclose the time when the indebtedness is payable or the time for full performance, then a period of forty years of undisturbed possession must pass before the mortgage is deemed invalid.
New language added to the statute provides that the record holder of an undischarged mortgage may, prior to the expiration of the applicable forty or twenty-year time period, record a notice on the land records, which shall toll the applicable time period for ten years from the time of recording. The notice must contain the information set forth in the statute, as amended, and is to be indexed in the grantor’s index under the name or names of the mortgagors and in the grantee’s index under the name of the record holder of the mortgage.
Section 5 of the act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-257, concerning fees awarded by the court, to increase from $150 to $225 the maximum fee which may be awarded for a title search in a civil action affecting the title to real property, or affecting any mortgage or lien thereon. Effective October 1, 2006, except for Section 5, which is effective June 6, 2006.
P.A. 162 An Act Concerning Floor Proximity Path Marking Devices
This act requires the State Building Inspector and the State Fire Marshal to amend the State Building Code and State Fire Safety Code to include provisions for the mandatory installation of “path marking systems” in certain types of buildings. These markings would be of luminescent material, and would indicate the path of emergency egress which should be taken to reach a designated exit. The amendments to the Codes shall be adopted no later than January 1, 2008. Effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 166 An Act Establishing a Pilot Microloan Program for Microenterprises
This act establishes a pilot microloan program for “microenterprises,” designed to support the growth and development of such businesses. The term “microenterprise” is defined as any new or existing business, with ten or fewer employees and annual gross revenues of less than five hundred thousand dollars, including home-based and owner-operated businesses. The pilot program would provide financial and technical assistance to such enterprises. The Community Economic Development Fund shall submit a report to the General Assembly relative to the program, no later than June 30, 2007. Effective July 1, 2006.
P.A. 176 An Act Concerning Property Tax Relief for Certain Elderly Homeowners and the Phase In of Certain Revaluations
This act allows any municipality, upon approval of its legislative body, to freeze the real estate taxes of qualified elderly homeowners. The qualifications for eligibility include limitations as to income, and age and residency requirements. The municipality may impose asset limits on eligibility, and may put a lien on the subject property in the amount of the total tax relief granted, plus interest, with such lien to have priority in the settlement of such person’s estate. The act sets forth detail relative to the application process and the various documentation which is required. This portion of the act is effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after that date.
The act also repeals statutory provisions which allow towns to phase in the effects of property revaluations over as many as three years, and instead allows towns to adopt a phase-in for up to five years. Detail is provided relative to implementing any such phase-in. This year’s Revisor’s Act, P.A. 196, makes a number of revisions to the revaluation phase-in portion of P.A. 176, concerning the authority of a town’s legislative body to discontinue a phase-in. Pursuant to Section 296 of the Revisor’s Act, this portion of P.A. 176 is effective October 1, 2006 and applicable to assessment years beginning on or after October 1, 2005.
P.A. 183 An Act Concerning Uniform Treatment of Telecommunications Companies With Respect to Property Tax Delinquencies and Concerning Assessment of Apartment and Residential Property After Revaluation
Section 1 of this act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-80a(b), concerning taxes assessed against telecommunications property, to provide that town tax collectors may impose the same interest penalty on delinquent taxpayers of such property, as is imposed relative to all other delinquent property taxes. This section of the act is effective June 7, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006.
Although it does not specifically refer to the city of Hartford, the remainder of the act is drafted in such a way that it applies only to that city. The act allows the city to implement a special property tax relief program which places limits on the annual tax increase for residential and apartment property resulting from a revaluation. Residential property is defined as any building containing four or fewer dwelling units, the land on which such building is situated, and any accessory buildings and improvements. Apartment property means a building containing five or more dwelling units, the land on which the building is situated, and any accessory buildings or other improvements located on such land. The act provides detail as to the city’s adoption and implementation of this tax relief program. Applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006.
P.A. 184 An Act Concerning Brownfields
This act establishes an Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development, which shall help towns identify, clean up and redevelop environmentally contaminated sites (“brownfields”), by implementing the pilot program that the act creates. A municipality or economic development agency that receives a grant through the pilot program shall be considered an innocent party for purposes of protection from liability to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for clean-up costs.
Section 3 of the act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22a-134(1) to provide that the following transfers do not constitute a "transfer of an establishment" and therefore are not subject to the Transfer Act (§§ 22a-134, et seq.): a conveyance through a tax warrant sale pursuant to § 12-157; or, if a conveyance is of an establishment within the pilot program established under the act, a subsequent transfer by the municipality that has foreclosed municipal tax liens or that has acquired title to the property through § 12-157.
Section 6 of the act protects parties from liability when they acquire property that a town or town development agency has cleaned up according to DEP standards. The protection from liability does not apply if the purchaser had contaminated the site or is related to or affiliated with the party who contaminated the site.
The act, in Section 9, sets conditions under which the owners of existing manufacturing facilities may qualify for funds to clean up contaminated properties, and revises the eligibility standards for the urban and industrial sites reinvestment tax credit program. The act also creates a task force charged with developing long-term solutions for cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields. Effective, generally, on July 1, 2006, with Section 3 (transfer of an establishment) and Section 10 (the revisions to the urban and industrial sites reinvestment tax credit program) effective on June 9, 2006. Section 9, concerning manufacturing facilities and eligibility for funding, is effective October 1, 2006.
P.A. 185 An Act Authorizing Municipalities to Establish a Special Assessment on Blighted Housing, Increasing the Fines for Violations of Municipal Ordinances and Concerning Municipal Liens for Accrued Fines and Code Violations
Section 1 of this act allows certain municipalities to establish a special assessment on blighted housing. The municipality must first have in place regulations preventing housing blight, pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148(c)(7)(H)(xv). The executive authority of the municipality then must appoint a committee which shall study various topics, as set forth in the act, relative to the possible imposition of a special assessment. The municipality then may enact an ordinance providing for the special assessment, in accordance with the parameters set forth in the act. Any such ordinance shall include procedures for notice to the property owner of imposition of the special assessment, which shall include a time period to remedy the code noncompliance before the assessment is due and a process for appeal of an assessment. Any unpaid special assessment imposed by the municipality shall constitute a lien upon the real estate against which the fine was imposed from the date of such fine. The lien may be continued, recorded and released in the manner provided by the General Statutes for continuing, recording and releasing property tax liens. Each such lien may be enforced in the same manner as property tax liens.
The act also amends Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-53 and 47a-58, concerning health, safety and housing violations. The act provides that the expense of executing an order, including any service charge and penalty, when unpaid for a period of sixty days after its due date, shall constitute a lien upon the subject real estate, provided a notice of violation is recorded in the land records. Each such notice of violation shall be effective from the time of recording, and the lien shall take precedence over transfers and encumbrances recorded after such time. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as a mortgage, and may be discharged or dissolved in the same manner as a mechanic’s lien. The local board of health, or other enforcing agency, shall maintain a current record of all properties with respect to which expenses or penalties remain unpaid, with the record made available for inspection by the public.
Section 4 of the act provides that each municipality, in addition to any other notice required by the General Statutes or local health, housing and safety codes or regulations, shall simultaneously send to each lienholder of real estate a copy of any notice or order by such municipality which has been issued to the owner of the real estate to demolish, remove or otherwise dispose of the real estate or to make it safe and sanitary, as well as a copy of any notice sent to the owner or recorded on the land records, with respect to municipal costs incurred to demolish, remove, or otherwise dispose of the real estate or to make it safe and sanitary.
Section 6 of the act allows a municipality which has incurred expenses in securing real estate or making it safe and sanitary, to assess the amount of the costs against the real estate, and to add the amount of such assessment, to the extent unpaid, to the taxes due on such real estate. A current record shall be maintained of all real estate with respect to which such costs remain unpaid, which record shall be available for inspection by the public.
Section 7 of the act amends Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148(c)(10), to increase from $100 to $250 the penalty which a municipality may assess under the statute for violations of certain local laws. Effective October 1, 2006, except for Section 1, which is effective July 1, 2006.
P.A. 186 An Act Making Adjustments to State Expenditures and Revenues for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2007
This lengthy act makes a number of adjustments to previous appropriations to various state agencies and programs, and revises some earlier revenue estimates. The maximum property tax credit against the income tax is increased from $400 to $500 starting January 1, 2006. A new income tax deduction is created relative to contributions to the state’s college savings program. Other sections of the act repeal the corporation tax surcharge for 2007, expand the housing tax credit program for businesses, extend property tax exemptions for manufacturing machinery and equipment to cover recycling equipment, and establish several new business tax credits. Effective at varying times, with most of the provisions effective July 1, 2006.
P.A. 187 An Act Concerning General Budget and Revenue Implementation Provisions
Sections 3 through 9 of this lengthy act create an Office of Ombudsman for Property Rights, charged with developing an expertise in the provisions of the federal and state constitutions governing the taking of real property, and in the case law which interprets such constitutional provisions. The Office shall provide assistance to private citizens and to public agencies relative to actions that have potential eminent domain implications, and mediate disputes between private property owners and public agencies concerning the use of eminent domain and related relocation assistance. The Ombudsman shall be appointed by the Governor, and shall be an attorney admitted to practice law in the state, with expertise or experience in the field of real estate law or land use regulation. The Ombudsman shall adopt regulations establishing a mediation procedure and criteria to be used in determining whether to accept or reject a request for mediation. Section 10 of the act provides that a public agency seeking to acquire property by eminent domain shall provide certain information to the property owner, relative to the services provided by the Ombudsman and the mediation process available under the act. These sections of the act are effective July 1, 2006.
Section 12 of the act makes a number of changes to the Urban and Industrial Sites Reinvestment Tax Credit Program, by expanding the conditions under which projects can qualify for the tax credits available under the program. This section of the act is effective May 26, 2006.
Section 18 of the act extends the sales tax exemption for certain residential weatherization products and energy efficient heating equipment. This section is effective June 1, 2006, with the exemption extended through June 30, 2007.
Section 19 of the act concerns corporation tax credits available to businesses who meet the standards set forth relative to the creation of new jobs. (This portion of the act was revised by Sections 20, 21 and 22 of P.A. 189.) This section is effective May 26, 2006, and applicable to projects with commencement dates on or after September 1, 2005.