Pennsylvania guide
Pennsylvania condo resale certificate review
Pennsylvania has one of the stronger resale-disclosure regimes in the country, and it works through a defined resale certificate. For condominiums the certificate is required under 68 Pa.C.S.
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§3407; for planned communities (HOAs) the parallel requirement is §5407. The seller, usually through the association, must furnish a single packet — governing documents, the current budget and financials, reserves, assessments and any special assessment, pending litigation, and the insurance summary — and the buyer then has an automatic right to cancel until 5 days after receiving it (or closing, whichever comes first). That 5-day rescission is granted by statute even if the purchase contract does not mention it. But the certificate is a disclosure floor, not a complete picture: Pennsylvania does not require automatic delivery of the master policy, board minutes, or a reserve study, so the strongest review reads the certificate against everything you request on your own.
What §3407 / §5407 requires the certificate to contain
Under §3407 (condos) and §5407 (planned communities), the resale certificate must generally include the declaration, bylaws, and rules; the current operating budget and most recent financial statements (balance sheet and income statement); the monthly assessment amount, any unpaid or special assessments on the unit, and other payable fees; any capital expenditures or special assessments planned for roughly the next two years; the current reserve amount and any portions designated for projects; a statement of pending lawsuits or judgments involving the association; a summary of the association's insurance coverage; and any known rule violations, hazardous conditions, or unlawful unit improvements. The condo statute enumerates these items in §3407(c). Confirm the packet is complete and current before relying on it — an incomplete certificate is itself a red flag worth probing.
The automatic 5-day cancellation right
Pennsylvania grants the buyer a statutory cancellation right: the contract may be canceled until 5 days after the buyer receives the resale certificate, or until closing, whichever comes first. This rescission period applies automatically under the Uniform Condominium Act and Uniform Planned Community Act, even if the sales contract is silent about it. Practically, the certificate should arrive with enough time to read it before that window closes, so request it early. The certificate is typically delivered as a single packet, often within about 10 business days after request. Because the clock runs from receipt, a late or piecemeal delivery can compress your review — calendar the 5-day window the moment the complete certificate arrives.
Condo versus planned community — parallel acts
Pennsylvania places condominiums and planned communities under separate but parallel statutes within Title 68. The condominium resale certificate sits in Chapter 34 (§3407); the planned-community certificate sits in Chapter 54 (§5407), with substantially equivalent disclosure content. Determining which act governs is the first step, because the citation, and occasionally the detail, differs even though the substance largely mirrors. A development can also layer a condominium inside a master-planned community, producing two sets of documents and two assessment streams. Confirm whether the property is a condominium or a planned community before applying any rule, and request the certificate under the correct chapter.
Read the certificate against what it omits
Pennsylvania risk often lives in the documents the certificate does not automatically include. The statute does not require delivery of the full master insurance policy and declarations page, recent board meeting minutes, a reserve study, or facade and structural inspection reports — yet each can change the picture. Request the master policy and its deductible schedule (the certificate gives only a coverage summary), two to three years of minutes for special-assessment and repair discussion, any reserve study if one exists (none is mandated in Pennsylvania), and, in Philadelphia, the PM-315 facade inspection records on buildings six stories or taller. A clean-looking certificate on an aging Philadelphia or Pittsburgh building can still carry significant special-assessment risk that surfaces only when these documents are read together.
Pennsylvania legal references
- 68 Pa.C.S. §3407 — Condominium resale certificate; contents; 5-day cancellation
- 68 Pa.C.S. §5407 — Planned community resale certificate (parallel HOA requirement)
- 68 Pa.C.S. §3316 — Association records and owner inspection rights
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
- Confirm the seller or association delivered the full §3407 (condo) / §5407 (HOA) resale certificate
- Verify the certificate contains the budget, financials, reserves, assessments, litigation, and insurance summary
- Calendar the automatic 5-day cancellation window from the date you receive the complete certificate
- Determine whether the property is a condominium or a planned community — the chapter differs
- Request the full master insurance policy and deductible schedule (only a summary is in the certificate)
- Request two to three years of board and annual meeting minutes (not automatically provided)
- Request any reserve study — none is required by Pennsylvania law, so it may not exist
- In Philadelphia, request PM-315 facade inspection records for buildings six stories or taller
- Read the planned capital projects / two-year special-assessment disclosure as a near-term cost preview
- Treat any incomplete or outdated certificate item as a red flag and request written confirmation
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Get My Free Risk Report →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 resale certificate 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
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Related risk areas
Read these next to round out your due diligence
Estoppel Certificate Review
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HOA Litigation History
An association's litigation history is one of the most consequential facts about it — and one of the least visible.
Condo Buying Checklist
Buying a condo is not like buying a single-family home.
Related reading
Guides for Pennsylvania buyers and owners
Should I Buy a Condo With Incomplete Resale Documents?
Incomplete resale documents are a red flag of their own near your deadline. Learn what's usually missing and get a free document review.
What to Look for in Condo Documents: A Buyer's Complete Guide
A resale package contains roughly a dozen documents. Learn what each one discloses, what most buyers overlook, and which sections to read closely before you close.
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.
Reading HOA Meeting Minutes Before You Buy: Red Flags to Look For
Meeting minutes often reveal problems before they appear in the resale package summary — deferred repairs, insurance struggles, assessments in formation. Learn the red flags to look for before you buy.
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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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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