HOA and Condo Law Changes: A Board Compliance Checklist

State Legislatures Keep Reshaping How Associations Operate

Every year, state lawmakers pass bills that change how HOAs and condominiums must run. Since 2022 the focus has been on reserve funding, structural inspections, financial transparency and homeowner rights. If your board misses one of these changes, you risk fines, lawsuits, or a special assessment that could have been avoided.

This checklist walks you through the areas of law to review, with examples from states that have acted, and the concrete steps to bring your association into compliance. The examples describe each law as we understood it when this article was last updated. Laws change, so use them as prompts for your own review, not as a statement of current law. Use the checklist as a working document at your next board meeting.

Step 1: Confirm Your Reserve Study Requirements

Reserve funding law has seen the most activity. Several states now require reserve studies on a set schedule.

• Florida: Condominium and cooperative buildings of three habitable stories or more must have a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) at least every 10 years, and owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve funding for the components it covers.
• California: Associations must have a reserve study, with a visual inspection of the major components, at least once every three years.
• Virginia: Condominium associations must have a reserve study at least once every five years and review it every year.
• New Jersey: A 2023 law requires associations to obtain and fund a capital reserve study.

Action items:

• Pull your most recent reserve study and check its date against your state's required update interval.
• Confirm whether your building type falls under a mandatory study category.
• If you have historically waived reserve funding, verify that waivers are still legal in your state.

Step 2: Review Structural and Milestone Inspection Rules

The Surfside collapse in 2021 continues to drive legislation. Several states have added or clarified inspection requirements for aging structures.

• Florida: Milestone inspections are required for condominium and cooperative buildings of three habitable stories or more, by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age and every 10 years after. A local enforcement agency can require the first inspection at 25 years.
• California: Condominium associations must have their wood-supported balconies and other exterior elevated elements inspected at least every nine years.
• New Jersey: The same 2023 law requires structural inspections of covered residential buildings.

Action items:

• Determine the age and height of every building your association owns.
• Schedule required inspections before the statutory deadline, not after.
• Feed inspection findings into your reserve study so funding matches actual repair needs.

Step 3: Check Financial Transparency Rules

Many states give owners the right to inspect association financial records, and some set deadlines for producing them or require certain documents to be posted or sent each year. The details differ widely from state to state.

Action items:

• Find the records-access section of your state's condominium or HOA act and note any response deadline.
• Confirm your record retention policy meets any minimum retention period your state sets.
• Set a documented response time for member records requests.
• Publish your reserve funding status in a place members can access without a special request.

Step 4: Reassess Insurance and Assessment Rules

Special assessment procedures and insurance obligations are often set partly by statute and partly by your governing documents. Some states require owner notice or a vote before a board can levy a special assessment above a set amount, and some set minimum insurance coverage.

• Florida: Reserves for the structural components in a SIRS can no longer be waived, which limits how far a board can lean on special assessments in place of regular funding.

Action items:

• Review your governing documents and your state's act for assessment notice and voting requirements.
• Confirm your insurance coverage meets any statutory minimums.
• Update your assessment approval process so it matches current law.

Step 5: Verify Board Governance and Election Rules

Rules on board elections, meeting notice, and voting by proxy or electronic means are set state by state and are amended often. Whether virtual meetings and electronic voting are allowed, and on what conditions, depends on your state and your governing documents.

Action items:

• Update your election and meeting notice templates to reflect current rules.
• Confirm whether electronic voting is permitted and what disclosures it requires.
• Document your board's compliance in the meeting minutes.

Step 6: Update Your Compliance Calendar

New deadlines mean new dates to track. A missed filing or inspection can trigger penalties even when the board acted in good faith.

Action items:

• Build a single calendar listing every statutory deadline: reserve study updates, inspections, filings, and disclosures.
• Assign each item to a specific person, whether a board member or your property manager.
• Review the calendar at every regular board meeting.

Step 7: Consult Legal Counsel Before You Finalize

Statutes change quickly, and interpretation varies by jurisdiction. A short conversation with an association attorney costs far less than a lawsuit or a rejected resale disclosure.

Action items:

• Send your attorney a summary of the changes you identified.
• Ask specifically whether your governing documents need to be amended to match current law.
• Keep written confirmation of the guidance you received.

Put the Checklist to Work

The associations that stay ahead of legislation treat compliance as an ongoing process, not a once-a-year scramble. Work through these seven steps now, document your progress, and revisit the list when your legislature's next session ends.

ReservePath helps associations manage reserve studies, track components, and plan funding so your financial records stay current as state requirements change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which HOA and condo laws should a board check first?

Start with reserve study and structural inspection rules, since those have seen the most change and carry firm deadlines. Then review financial transparency, assessment and insurance, and election and meeting rules.

Can a Florida condo board still waive reserve funding?

Not for the components covered by a Structural Integrity Reserve Study. Buildings of three habitable stories or more must have that study, and owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve funding for those components.

How often does California require a reserve study?

California associations must have a reserve study, including a visual inspection of the major components, at least once every three years.

How do we keep track of HOA compliance deadlines?

Build one calendar that lists every statutory deadline for reserve study updates, inspections, filings and disclosures. Assign each item to a specific person and review the calendar at every regular board meeting.

Do we need an attorney to review HOA law changes?

Yes, before you finalize changes. Statutes change quickly and interpretation varies by jurisdiction, so ask your association attorney whether your governing documents need to be amended and keep the guidance in writing.

Sources

• Florida Statutes 553.899 (mandatory milestone inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings), Online Sunshine, The Florida Legislature
• Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(f) and (2)(g) (reserves and structural integrity reserve study), Online Sunshine, The Florida Legislature
• Inspections: Milestone Inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
• California Senate Judiciary Committee analysis of AB 2114 (2024), summarizing Civil Code 5550 and 5551 (SB 326 exterior elevated element inspections) and SB 721
• Code of Virginia 55.1-1965 (condominium annual budget, reserve study at least once every five years), Virginia Legislative Information System
• New Jersey P.L.2023, c.214 (structural inspections and capital reserve studies for planned real estate developments), New Jersey Legislature