Louisiana Condo Due Diligence Checklist

Where Louisiana due diligence deserves the most attention

Legal Framework

Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction (Civil Code derived from French/Spanish law), not common law. This is not cosmetic: building restrictions and association governing documents are interpreted strictly and literally, ambiguities are generally resolved in favor of the property owner, courts do not imply powers or import out-of-state common-law HOA precedent, and the personal-action prescription (limitations) period is a long 10 years (La. Civ. Code art. 3499).

Reserve Studies and Reserve Funding

No reserve study / no funded reserve: Very common; signals that major repairs (roof, elevator, envelope, post-storm) will arrive as special assessments.; Coastal building stock + storm exposure: Underfunded reserves are far more dangerous here than in low-hazard states — one major hurricane can force a six-figure-per-unit special.; Insurance-deductible gap: Reserves frequently fail to cover the rising master-policy wind/named-storm deductible (often a percentage of insured value), creating a built-in special-assessment trigger after every storm.; No resa…

Structural Inspections and Building Safety

Louisiana has no statewide periodic structural-inspection mandate for condominiums — there is no equivalent of Florida's milestone-inspection / SIRS law, NYC's facade law, or California's balcony statute. Building safety is governed by the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code (adopting national model codes via the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council) plus local enforcement, and inspections are generally triggered only by permitted construction/repair, not building age.

Insurance Requirements and Insurance-Market Risk

Property insurance on the common elements and the units (excluding "betterments and improvements"), with proceeds held in trust and applied first to repair/restoration of damaged common elements and units.; Liability coverage under which each unit owner is an insured for liability arising from ownership of a common-element interest or association membership.; Carrier collapse: Since 2020/2022, 11+ Louisiana home insurers became insolvent (e.g., Access Home, Americas, FedNat, Gulfstream, Lighthouse/Excalibur, Southern Fidelity, State National Fire, Weston…

Resale Disclosures and Buyer Cancellation Rights

Louisiana's disclosure regime is thin at resale and strong only at initial developer sale of condos. There is no comprehensive statutory "resale certificate / estoppel" mandate comparable to Florida or Colorado.

Assessments, Special Assessments, and Borrowing

`special_assessment_pending` – Board approved/proposed a special assessment not in current dues.; `storm_deductible_assessment` – Special assessment to fund insurance deductible/uninsured storm loss.; `assessment_increase_above_threshold` – Year-over-year jump beyond a set threshold.; `acceleration_filed` – Association accelerated 12 months of dues against a delinquent unit.