Pennsylvania guide
Pennsylvania condo document review
Pennsylvania condo document review operates under the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act (Title 68 Subpart D, 1980). Section 3407 requires a detailed resale certificate within 10 business days of seller's request, and gives the buyer a 5-day rescission after delivery.
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Section 3407 resale certificate
Required content: declaration, bylaws, rules, current budget and financial statements, current reserve fund balance and allocations, monthly assessment, unpaid assessments and special assessments on the unit, planned capital projects and special assessments for next 2 years, pending litigation, insurance coverage summary, known violations, leasehold or time-share information, and pending termination agreements. Delivered within 10 business days. 5-day buyer rescission after delivery.
What the certificate does not cover
Master-policy declarations page itself (only summary), full claim history, voluntary reserve study, complete meeting minutes, engineering or structural inspection reports outside Philly PM-315 / Pittsburgh 5-year. Request these separately through the contract.
Philadelphia PM-315 overlay
For Philadelphia buildings 6 stories or 60+ feet, request the most recent PM-315 facade inspection. Compare PM-315 identified work to certificate planned capital expenditures.
Pittsburgh 5-year exterior inspection overlay
For Pittsburgh non-R-3 buildings, request the most recent exterior inspection report. Outstanding items affect realistic capital trajectory.
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Pennsylvania legal references
- 68 Pa.C.S. § 3407 — Resale of units (resale certificate)
- 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312 — Required insurance and waiver of subrogation
- Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code Section 315 (PM-315)
Informational only. Not legal advice. Always confirm against current statute and counsel.
Need help applying these Pennsylvania statutes to your specific situation? We can connect you with state-licensed counsel and specialists familiar with this exact regulatory environment.
Find a Pennsylvania specialist →Reviewer's checklist
- Request the Section 3407 resale certificate (within 10 business days)
- Use the 5-day rescission window after certificate delivery
- Request master policy declarations page and exclusions endorsement
- Verify waiver of subrogation appears in actual policy (68 Pa.C.S. § 3312(c)(2))
- For Philadelphia: request the most recent PM-315 facade inspection
- For Pittsburgh: request the most recent 5-year exterior inspection
- Request 18+ months of board minutes
- Confirm flood coverage status (typically separate or absent)
- Request any voluntary reserve study and current reserve balance
- Address allocation between certificate and closing
Want this same review on your actual documents? We do it free, with page citations you can verify.
Get my free risk report →Want every document to request before you buy in Pennsylvania — with the local red flags and the statute behind each? See the complete Pennsylvania condo due-diligence checklist →
Source documents
- Declaration & bylawsthe rules
- Budget & financialsthe money
- Reserve studythe big repairs
- Meeting minuteswhat the board fears
Cross-reference
The risk lives in the contradiction between documents.
An assessment in the minutes but not the estoppel; a reserve the budget never funds.
Risk report
Severity-graded across 8 categories.
Every finding cites the document, page number, and quoted text.
How CondoSignal reviews this
We read the reserve study, operating budget, and 24 months of meeting minutes together — pennsylvania condo document review risk usually lives in the contradiction between documents, not in any single one of them. Every finding cites the source document, the page number, and the quoted text behind it.
See our 8-category framework →Risk Intelligence
Review the documents before your contingency ends
Most buyers get 7–14 days to review condo documents. Upload the packet — we read the reserve study, budget, minutes, and insurance summary and flag the risks, every finding linked to the exact page. Free.
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Related risk areas
Read these next to round out your due diligence
HOA document review
An HOA document review reads the full association document set — declaration or deed restrictions, CC&Rs, bylaws, resale or disclosure certificate, current budget, audited financials, meeting minutes, and any enforcement history — and surfaces the items that actually affect your ownership cost, your usage rights, and your exposure to surprise assessments.
Reserve studies
A reserve study tells you what the association expects to spend on long-term capital repairs and replacements, and whether it is funding those obligations adequately.
Insurance risk
The association's master insurance policy determines what your personal HO-6 policy needs to cover — and what it does not.
Related reading
Guides for Pennsylvania buyers and owners
Philadelphia PM-315 Facade Inspections: What Condo Buyers Should Verify
Philadelphia's PM-315 ordinance requires facade inspections every 5 years for buildings 6+ stories. Here is what to read in the report and how it affects your purchase.
Pennsylvania Flood Risk for Condo Buyers: Schuylkill, Susquehanna, and What Master Policies Don't Cover
Hurricane Ida and increasingly common river flooding have made flood coverage a critical Pennsylvania diligence item. Here is what to verify before closing.
How to Read a Reserve Study Before Buying: Is the Funding a Red Flag?
Reserve studies are dense engineering-financial documents. Learn what percent funded and baseline funding mean, how to spot unfunded repairs, and when the numbers are a special-assessment red flag — before you buy.
Condo Master Insurance Red Flags: What to Check Before Closing
Master-policy gaps, large deductibles, exclusions, and loss assessments can become the buyer's problem after closing. Learn what each section of the master insurance certificate discloses — and the red flags to check before you close.
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Reviewed by Kirk Hasley, Founder. Every claim here is checked against current Pennsylvania statute and primary sources, using the same documented review framework we run on every file. Last reviewed June 13, 2026.
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Every finding cites the exact page in your documents
“The board approved a $15,000-per-unit special assessment for façade repairs, payable over 12 months.”
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Risk Intelligence
Review the documents before your contingency ends
Most buyers get 7–14 days to review condo documents. Upload the packet — we read the reserve study, budget, minutes, and insurance summary and flag the risks, every finding linked to the exact page. Free.
Expert Matching
Need a real estate lawyer or mortgage specialist?
We can connect you with vetted real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and insurance brokers familiar with the specifics of condo and HOA transactions.
- HOA lawyer
- Mortgage broker
- Insurance broker