Question 1

What is the legal significance of the Texas resale certificate for a buyer?

Accepted Answer

Under Texas Property Code Chapters 82 and 209, the resale certificate establishes the financial baseline the buyer may rely on at closing. Amounts not disclosed as past due or levied in the certificate generally cannot be collected from a buyer who closed in reliance on the document — the obligation remains with the seller. This is similar in purpose to Florida's estoppel certificate, though the Texas framework is less prescriptive about issuance timelines and penalties for non-compliance. The certificate is legally significant but not self-executing: if the association makes an error or omits a pending special assessment that had not yet been formally voted on, the buyer has limited recourse against the association for that omission. Verification before closing is the buyer's responsibility.

Question 2

Does the $375 fee cap apply to all Texas condo and HOA transactions?

Accepted Answer

The $375 cap enacted through SB 711 (2025) applies to condominium owners associations subject to Chapter 82 and property owners associations subject to Chapter 209. It represents the maximum a Texas association may charge for preparation of a standard resale certificate. The $75 update-certificate cap applies when a buyer requests a refresh of a certificate that has already been issued but whose information has changed. Fees above these caps are not lawfully collectible under current statute. If an association or management company charges more, document the overcharge in writing — it can be relevant to a broader assessment of the association's administrative practices.

Question 3

Why does the absence of a Texas reserve study requirement matter to a buyer?

Accepted Answer

A reserve study is the professional analysis that tells an association how much it should be setting aside annually to fund the eventual replacement of major common elements — roofing, HVAC, elevators, pool equipment, parking structures, and similar long-lived assets. Without a statutory mandate, many Texas associations have never commissioned one. The resale certificate will disclose the current reserve balance, but a balance of any given amount means different things depending on the building's age, condition, and capital replacement timeline. A 20-year-old building with a $30,000 reserve fund and no reserve study is in a materially different risk position than a 5-year-old building with the same balance. Florida requires reserve studies and, after the 2022 Surfside legislation, mandates structural integrity reserve studies for older buildings. Texas has no equivalent. The buyer must supply this analytical context independently.

Question 4

What does SB 711 require from large Texas condo associations?

Accepted Answer

SB 711 (2025), effective September 2025, requires condominium owners associations with 60 or more units to maintain an association website and publish on it the declaration, bylaws, current budget, most recent audit or financial review, and board meeting minutes within a defined period after adoption. It also capped resale certificate fees at $375 and tightened the management certificate timeliness rule — an association whose management certificate is not filed or updated on time loses the right to recover attorney fees in collection or enforcement proceedings. For buyers, the practical consequences are that large associations now have a published, accessible baseline of financial and governance information that can be compared against what the management company provides in the resale package. Discrepancies between the two are worth flagging before closing.

Question 5

What should I check in the meeting minutes that the resale certificate won't tell me?

Accepted Answer

Board meeting minutes are the primary source for information that has not yet hardened into a formal levy or legal action. Over a 24-month lookback, minutes will typically reflect: discussions about upcoming or contemplated special assessments before they are voted on; repair bids or engineering reports the board has received about deteriorating common elements; insurance renewal discussions, coverage reductions, or carrier changes; disputes with vendors or contractors; and governance conflicts that may indicate organizational dysfunction. A resale certificate accurately reports what has been decided; the minutes reveal what is being considered. In a state without statutory reserve study mandates, the minutes are especially important as a signal of whether the board is actively managing long-term capital risk or deferring those conversations.

Question 6

Can a Texas association refuse to issue a resale certificate?

Accepted Answer

Texas Property Code Chapters 82 and 209 obligate associations to provide resale certificates in connection with unit sales. An association that fails or refuses to provide the certificate within a reasonable time, or that provides a materially incomplete one, exposes itself to claims from both the seller (whose transaction may be delayed) and potentially the buyer. Unlike Florida's 10-business-day deadline with an explicit fee-forfeiture penalty for non-compliance, Texas statute does not prescribe an identically specific timeline or penalty mechanism for failure to issue. As a practical matter, persistent non-compliance should be documented in writing and escalated to the seller's agent and the buyer's attorney. A non-responsive association is itself a due-diligence signal about the quality of its administrative operations.

Item to check	Why it matters
Resale certificate fee	Should not exceed the $375 cap under Texas Property Code §82.157 for a standard condominium resale certificate.
Rush or update fees	Extra charges may apply if the certificate is needed quickly or must be updated before closing — confirm them in writing.
Which documents are included	The certificate may not include every document needed to assess the association's financial or governance risk.
Unpaid assessments or violations	Disclosed past-due amounts and open violations can create unexpected costs or closing delays.
Reserve, insurance & litigation disclosures	These reveal the larger financial risks that usually dwarf the certificate fee itself.

Condo Resale Certificate Review

See which condo risks deserve your attention

Texas Resale Certificate Fee Cap

What Texas law requires the certificate to contain

The $375 fee cap and SB 711 timing rules

What the Texas resale certificate does not address: the reserve gap

HB 614, HB 886, and HB 1193 — the 2023 disclosure reforms and what carried forward

What is frequently incomplete in Texas resale certificates

How to read the Texas resale certificate as part of a complete document review

Reviewer's checklist

Review the documents before your contingency ends

Need a real estate lawyer or mortgage specialist?

Buyer and owner guides on condo resale certificate review

Texas HOA Resale Certificate: What to Verify Before Closing

Master-Planned Community Due Diligence: Mapping Every Layer

Texas Condo Law Changes for Buyers: What SB 711 and HB 614 Mean Before Closing

Legal Pitfalls for Condo Boards: Procedural Failures to Identify and Fix

Should I Buy a Condo With Incomplete Resale Documents?

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