Rhode Island guide
Rhode Island condo document review
Rhode Island condo document review centers on the resale certificate required by R.I. Gen.
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Laws §34-36.1-4.09. For condominiums created after July 1, 1982, the seller must furnish the declaration, bylaws, and rules along with a resale certificate that discloses assessments, fees, approved capital expenditures, reserve and capital-fund amounts, the operating budget, the most recent financial statement, unsatisfied judgments and pending suits, and the insurance carried for unit owners. The certificate is binding, capped at $125, due within 10 days of request, and tied to a statutory cancellation window. It is one of the stronger resale-disclosure regimes in the country — but a complete certificate can still reveal a thin reserve, a stressed coastal master policy, or active delinquency. The value is in reading the documents together against the building's age, coastal exposure, and which act governs.
What the §34-36.1-4.09 resale certificate must disclose
The certificate must state the current monthly common-expense assessment and any unpaid assessment owed by the seller, other fees, capital expenditures approved for the current and next two fiscal years, the amount in any reserve or capital fund and any portion earmarked for a specified project, the most recent financial statement, the current operating budget, any unsatisfied judgments and the status of pending suits in which the association is a defendant, the insurance provided for unit owners, any right of first refusal, and the remaining term of any leasehold. It is delivered with the declaration, bylaws, and rules. The certificate is binding, so the buyer is not liable for unpaid amounts greater than those stated.
The fee cap, timing, and cancellation window
The association must furnish the certificate within 10 days of a unit-owner request and may charge no more than $125 — a hard statutory cap, unlike many states. Failure to provide within 10 days exposes the association to a $100–$500 civil penalty. Critically, the purchase contract is voidable by the buyer until the certificate is provided and for five days thereafter, or until conveyance, whichever comes first. Because the window depends on delivery, treat it conservatively: confirm in writing exactly when you received the certificate, and do not assume the clock has started until you actually have it.
Reserves: disclosed, but not mandated
Rhode Island requires no reserve study and no minimum funding, so the certificate's reserve and capital-fund figures may be the only reserve data point you get. Read them against the building's age and coastal exposure. A negligible reserve paired with aging roofs, masonry, seawalls, or coastal envelopes is legal but signals that future capital work will likely arrive as special assessments — which, after the 2022 insurance amendment, can also include post-deductible storm-repair shortfalls.
Which act governs, and is it even a condominium?
Confirm whether the condominium was created after July 1, 1982 (governed by §34-36.1) or before (the older Condominium Ownership Act, Ch. 34-36, unless it opted in). Pre-1982 condos may carry weaker statutory protections. And confirm the community is a condominium at all — non-condominium HOAs and planned communities have no §34-36.1 resale certificate, lien, or disclosure protections, so a buyer there relies on the CC&Rs and contract contingencies.
Rhode Island legal references
- R.I. Gen. Laws §34-36.1-4.09 — Resale of units (resale certificate, $125 cap, 5-day cancellation)
- R.I. Gen. Laws §34-36.1-3.15 — Adoption of budgets and assessments
- R.I. Gen. Laws §34-36.1-1.02 — Applicability (post-July-1-1982 condominiums)
Informational only. Not legal advice. Always confirm against current statute and counsel.
Need help applying these Rhode Island statutes to your specific situation? We can connect you with state-licensed counsel and specialists familiar with this exact regulatory environment.
Find a Rhode Island specialist →Reviewer's checklist
- Confirm the seller furnished the §34-36.1-4.09 resale certificate plus declaration, bylaws, and rules
- Verify the certificate was delivered within 10 days and the fee did not exceed $125
- Document in writing the date you received the certificate — the five-day window depends on it
- Read the reserve and capital-fund amounts disclosed in the certificate
- Review approved capital expenditures for the current and next two fiscal years
- Read the operating budget and most recent financial statement
- Check the certificate's disclosure of unsatisfied judgments and pending suits
- Read the insurance provided for unit owners, including any FAIR Plan placement
- Request the delinquency and lien ledger given Rhode Island's super-priority regime
- Confirm which act governs (pre-1982 Ch. 34-36 vs post-1982 §34-36.1) — or whether it is a non-condominium HOA
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Related risk areas
Read these next to round out your due diligence
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.
Governance risk
An association's governance health is a leading indicator of every other risk.
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