Tennessee guide
Tennessee HOA document review
Tennessee planned-community HOAs have no governing statute. Unlike condominiums — which have the Condominium Act of 2008 and the older Horizontal Property Act — HOAs run entirely on their recorded Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions plus the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act (T.C.A.
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Title 48). There is no statutory reserve, disclosure, insurance, or open-meeting protection specific to HOAs, and no statutory resale-disclosure package. That makes HOA document review in Tennessee an exercise in contract reading: the CC&Rs, charter, bylaws, and financials carry the entire load, and items a condo buyer would receive by statute must be requested by contract instead.
No HOA statute — read the CC&Rs as the rulebook
Because Tennessee has no planned-community statute, the CC&Rs are effectively the governing law for an HOA. They set assessment authority, special-assessment thresholds, the association's maintenance responsibilities, lien and foreclosure remedies, architectural and use restrictions, and any reserve or disclosure practices. Read them closely; the Nonprofit Corporation Act supplies only gap-filling rules for meetings, voting, and records, and offers far less protection than the condo statute.
No statutory resale package — request it by contract
HOAs have no §66-27-503 equivalent, so there is no statutory information package and no statutory delivery deadline. Request, as a contract contingency, a status or estoppel letter, the budget and financials, reserve information, recent minutes, the insurance summary, and a litigation summary. None of these are owed by statute, so make their delivery and your review an express condition of the contract.
Reserves are entirely voluntary for HOAs
The 2024 reserve-study mandate (§66-27-403(g)) applies only to condominiums. A planned-community HOA with no reserve study and no reserve funding is entirely legal in Tennessee. That shifts the burden to you: read whatever reserve information exists, look at the funded balance against the common elements the association maintains (roads, drainage, amenities, perimeter walls), and infer capital risk from the financials and the age of those components.
Lien, foreclosure, and STR terms are contractual
HOA lien and foreclosure rights derive from the CC&Rs, not from the condo statute's §66-27-415 framework, and many declarations grant a power-of-sale remedy. Short-term-rental rights are also covenant-driven: after Pandharipande v. FSD Corp. (Tenn. 2023), a "residential use" covenant does not by itself bar short-term rentals — only an express minimum-lease amendment does. Read the lien, foreclosure, and rental provisions carefully, because there is no statutory floor behind them.
Tennessee legal references
- T.C.A. Title 48 — Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act (gap-filling HOA governance)
- No Tennessee planned-community / HOA statute — CC&Rs govern
- Pandharipande v. FSD Corp. (Tenn. 2023) — STR / residential-use covenants
Informational only. Not legal advice. Always confirm against current statute and counsel.
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Find a Tennessee specialist →Reviewer's checklist
- Read the CC&Rs in full — they are the HOA's governing law in Tennessee
- Confirm assessment and special-assessment authority and any owner-vote thresholds
- Request a status/estoppel letter as a contract contingency (no statutory package exists)
- Request the budget, financials, and any reserve information
- Read whatever reserve data exists against the common elements maintained
- Review the insurance summary — HOAs have no statutory coverage mandate
- Read recent board and member minutes for assessment and repair discussion
- Confirm the lien and foreclosure remedies in the CC&Rs, including any power of sale
- Check rental, architectural, and use restrictions — and any minimum-lease term (post-Pandharipande)
- Make document delivery and your review an express condition of the purchase contract
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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.
Special assessments
Special assessments are the single largest source of financial surprise in condo and HOA ownership.
Governance risk
An association's governance health is a leading indicator of every other risk.
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Upload condo or HOA documents for a free risk review. We read reserve studies, budgets, meeting minutes, insurance summaries, and assessment exposure — every finding linked to the exact page.
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We can connect you with vetted real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and insurance brokers familiar with the specifics of condo and HOA transactions.
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