Texas Condominium Association Law: Chapter 82 Rules for Owners

This page is for Texas condo owners. It covers which condos the Texas Uniform Condominium Act (Tex. Prop. Code ch. 82) governs, which of its rules reach older condos, and what it says about fines, liens, records and resales, alongside each condo's own declaration and bylaws. The HOA-versus-condo split is covered in which Texas laws govern your community. For your specific situation, a licensed Texas attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which Texas condos does Chapter 82 cover?

Generally, condos whose declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 1994 (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.002). An older condo can opt in to Chapter 82 entirely, and a listed set of Chapter 82 sections reaches pre-1994 condos anyway. Other pre-1994 regimes remain under the older Chapter 81 (Tex. Prop. Code § 81.0011).

The chapter "may be cited as the Uniform Condominium Act" (§ 82.001). For condos whose declaration was recorded before January 1, 1994, § 82.002(c) provides that "[t]his section and the following sections" apply, and § 82.002(c-1) adds one more. By each section's own heading:

• Separate titles and taxation (§ 82.005)
• Applicability of local ordinances, regulations, and building codes (§ 82.006)
• Condemnation (§ 82.007)
• Construction and validity of declaration and bylaws (§ 82.053)
• Description of units (§ 82.054)
• Powers of unit owners' association, but only § 82.102(a)(1)–(7), (a)(12)–(21), (f) and (g)
• Meetings (§ 82.108)
• Insurance (§ 82.111)
• Association's lien for assessments (§ 82.113)
• Association records (§ 82.114)
• Management certificate (§ 82.116)
• Service of process on unit owners in certain municipalities; change of address required (§ 82.118)
• Resale of unit (§ 82.157)
• Effect of violations on rights of action and attorney's fees (§ 82.161)
• Possession of firearm or firearm ammunition on condominium property (§ 82.121, through § 82.002(c-1))

The sections listed in § 82.002(c) "apply only with respect to events and circumstances occurring on or after January 1, 1994, and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws, or plats or plans" of an older condo; § 82.002(c-1) states without that qualifier that "Section 82.121 applies to a condominium for which the declaration was recorded before January 1, 1994." The chapter's § 82.003 definitions also reach older condos, but only "to the extent the definitions do not conflict with the declaration" (§ 82.002(c)). Under § 81.0011(a), Chapter 81 "applies only to a condominium regime created before January 1, 1994"; under § 81.0011(b), such a regime "is also governed by Chapter 82 as provided by Section 82.002".

Can a Texas condo association fine owners without a hearing?

Generally, not without offering one. Before levying a fine, a condo association must send written notice stating the violation and proposed amount and giving 30 days to request a board hearing (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.102). The notice must allow time to cure, unless the owner had a cure opportunity for a similar violation within the past 12 months.

The fine power is in § 82.102(a)(12): the association, acting through its board, may impose "reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules of the association", but only "if notice and an opportunity to be heard are given in accordance with Subsection (d)". The powers in subsection (a) open with the words "Unless otherwise provided by the declaration," so the declaration's own terms matter as well. Subsection (d) applies "[b]efore an association may charge the unit owner for property damage for which the unit owner is liable or levy a fine for violation of the declaration, bylaws, or rules", and requires that "the association shall give to the unit owner a written notice that:"

• "describes the violation or property damage and states the amount of the proposed fine or damage charge" (§ 82.102(d)(1));
• "states that not later than the 30th day after the date of the notice, the unit owner may request a hearing before the board to contest the fine or damage charge" (§ 82.102(d)(2)); and
• "allows the unit owner a reasonable time, by a specified date, to cure the violation and avoid the fine unless the unit owner was given notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure a similar violation within the preceding 12 months" (§ 82.102(d)(3)).

After a fine is levied, "[t]he association must give notice of a levied fine or damage charge to the unit owner not later than the 30th day after the date of levy", and "[t]he association may give a copy of the notice required by Subsection (d) to an occupant of the unit" (§ 82.102(e)). Separately, "[t]o be enforceable, a bylaw or rule of the association must not be arbitrary or capricious" (§ 82.102(c)).

For condos whose declaration was recorded before January 1, 1994, the text is layered. Section 82.002(c) lists § 82.102(a)(12), and that fine power is conditioned on notice and an opportunity to be heard "in accordance with Subsection (d)". Subsection (d) itself is not named in the § 82.002(c) list, which covers § 82.102(a)(1)–(7), (a)(12)–(21), (f) and (g); subsections (c) and (e) are not named either. Owners of older condos may want a licensed Texas attorney to read their declaration alongside the statute.

Chapter 82 lets a board meet "by any method of communication, including electronic and telephonic means" (§ 82.108(c)) and act by unanimous written consent without a meeting (§ 82.108(c-1)), but neither route is available where the matter involves "voting on a fine, damage assessment, appeal from a denial of architectural control approval, or suspension of a right of a particular association member before the member has an opportunity to attend a board meeting to present the member's position" (§ 82.108(c)(3), (c-1)(1)); more in the Texas meetings guide. Fines also connect to the association's lien, though the association "may not foreclose a lien for assessments consisting solely of fines" (§ 82.113(e)); liens are covered in the next section.

Can a Texas condo association foreclose for unpaid assessments?

Yes, generally. The association's lien is perfected by recording the declaration, and the association may foreclose it judicially or nonjudicially, except a lien "consisting solely of fines" (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.113). After a foreclosure sale, the owner may redeem the unit until the 90th day after the sale.

The rest of § 82.113 fills in how that lien works:

• What the lien covers. The section defines "assessments" broadly as "regular and special assessments, dues, fees, charges, interest, late fees, fines, collection costs, attorney's fees, and any other amount due to the association by the unit owner or levied against the unit by the association," all enforceable as assessments "unless the declaration provides otherwise" (§ 82.113(a)). An assessment is also "a personal obligation of the unit owner", and the lien extends to rents and insurance proceeds the owner receives that relate to the unit. Fines can be part of the amount the lien secures; § 82.113(e) bars foreclosure only where the lien consists solely of fines.
• Priority. The lien "has priority over any other lien except" four categories: property taxes and other governmental assessments (unless Tax Code § 32.05 provides otherwise), liens recorded before the declaration, a first vendor's lien or first deed of trust lien recorded before the assessment became delinquent, and, unless the declaration provides otherwise, certain construction liens or insurance-proceeds assignments perfected before that delinquency date (§ 82.113(b)(1)–(4)).
• Power of sale. "By acquiring a unit, a unit owner grants to the association a power of sale in connection with the association's lien" (§ 82.113(d)). The board may appoint an officer, agent, trustee or attorney by written resolution to exercise it, and "Except as provided by the declaration, an association shall exercise its power of sale pursuant to Section 51.002." Foreclosure costs may be added to what the owner owes, and an owner may not petition a court to set aside a sale "solely because the purchase price at the foreclosure sale was insufficient to fully satisfy the owner's debt" (§ 82.113(e)).
• Paying before a sale. "At any time before a nonjudicial foreclosure sale, a unit owner may avoid foreclosure by paying all amounts due the association" (§ 82.113(j)).
• What redemption costs. The amount depends on who bought at the sale. If the association bought, it includes everything owed at the time of the sale, interest at the declaration's delinquency rate, reasonable attorney's fees and foreclosure costs, later assessments, and the association's reasonable costs as owner. If someone else bought, it includes the bid amount with interest "at the rate of six percent," assessments the purchaser paid, and the purchaser's reasonable costs, plus assessments due to the association as of redemption and its reasonable attorney's fees and foreclosure costs. The purchaser then signs "a deed with no warranty" to the owner, and may not transfer the unit during the redemption period to anyone other than a redeeming owner. Rents the purchaser collects in the meantime "shall be credited against the redemption amount", and once the redemption period expires, a redemption is not effective against a later purchaser or lender for value without notice of it unless the owner records the deed from the foreclosure purchaser or an affidavit of redemption (§ 82.113(g)).
• Other collection routes. The section "does not prohibit the association from taking a deed in lieu of foreclosure or from filing suit to recover a money judgment for sums that may be secured by the lien" (§ 82.113(i)).
• Some long-held homesteads. If a unit was the owner's homestead on January 1, 1994, and the declaration did not contain a valid assessment lien, the § 82.113 lien "does not attach against the unit until the unit ceases to be the homestead of the person owning it on January 1, 1994" (§ 82.113(k)).

A 2025 change ties collection costs to the association's paperwork. S.B. 711, effective September 1, 2025, added § 82.116(d): "A unit owner is not liable for attorney's fees incurred by an association relating to the collection of a delinquent assessment against the unit owner, or interest on the delinquent assessment, if the attorney's fees are incurred by the association or the interest accrues during the period a management certificate is not recorded with a county clerk or electronically filed with the Texas Real Estate Commission, as required by this section."

The Chapter 209 lien and foreclosure protections that apply to Texas subdivision HOAs don't reach condominiums (§ 209.003(d)), as the page on how Texas HOA assessment liens work explains.

How do records requests work at a Texas condo association?

An owner or authorized representative must request records in writing by certified mail, in sufficient detail and choosing inspection or copies, to the address on the latest management certificate (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.1141). The association must respond by the 10th business day or give notice of a date no later than the 15th business day after that notice.

Further details from §§ 82.1141 and 82.114:

• Who can ask. "Notwithstanding a provision in a dedicatory instrument," the books and records, including financial records, must be open to a unit owner or to "a person designated in a writing signed by the unit owner as the unit owner's agent, attorney, or certified public accountant," and an owner "is entitled to obtain from the association copies of information contained in the books and records" (§ 82.1141(b)). Inspections take place "at a mutually agreed on time during normal business hours" (§ 82.1141(f)), and records may be produced "in hard copy, electronic, or other format reasonably available to the association" (§ 82.1141(g)).
• Costs. The board must adopt a records production and copying policy, record it as a dedicatory instrument, and keep its charges within the limits the section sets. "An association may not charge a unit owner for the compilation, production, or reproduction of information requested under this section unless the policy prescribing those costs has been recorded as required by this subsection." The association may require advance payment of estimated costs. If the estimate differs from actual costs, a final invoice is due by the 30th business day after delivery; additional amounts not reimbursed before the 30th business day after the invoice is sent may be added to the owner's account as an assessment, and an overpayment is refunded within the same window (§ 82.1141(h)).
• What can be withheld. Except as provided by § 82.1141(k) "and to the extent the information is provided in the meeting minutes," the association "is not required to release or allow inspection of" records identifying an individual owner's violation history, personal financial information "including records of payment or nonpayment of amounts due the association," contact information or address, or employee and personnel information. Aggregate or summary information that doesn't identify an owner may be released (§ 82.1141(j)). Those records must be released with "the express written approval of the unit owner whose records are the subject of the request" or a court order (§ 82.1141(k)). An attorney's files generally are not association records, though invoices an owner requests for attorney's fees and costs that the association seeks to recover from that owner are excepted (§ 82.1141(c)).
• How long records are kept. An association "composed of eight or more units" must adopt and follow a retention policy that includes, at a minimum (§ 82.1141(l)):
  • certificates of formation, bylaws, dedicatory instruments and their amendments: "retained permanently"
  • financial books and records, owner and board meeting minutes, and tax returns and audit records: seven years
  • account records of current unit owners: five years
  • contracts with a term of one year or more: four years after the contract term ends
• If access is denied. A member denied records may "file a petition with the justice of the peace of a justice precinct in which all or part of the condominium is located", and the justice may order access and award court costs and attorney's fees (§ 82.1141(m)). If the association prevails, it "is entitled to a judgment for court costs and attorney's fees" (§ 82.1141(n)). The statute requires written notice of intent to sue at least 10 business days beforehand, sent certified mail, return receipt requested, or by USPS with signature confirmation, to the management-certificate address and describing the records sought (§ 82.1141(o)).
• What the association must keep. Section 82.114(a) lists detailed financial records under generally accepted accounting principles, construction plans and specifications (except for buildings originally built before January 1, 1994), the condominium information statement, owner names and mailing addresses, voting records, proxies and correspondence relating to declaration amendments, and association and board minutes. The association must also get an independent audit every year as a common expense, and "Copies of the audit must be made available to the unit owners" (§ 82.114(c)). The audit is performed by a certified public accountant if the bylaws, the board, or a majority of members voting at a meeting require it.
• Older condos. Section 82.002(c) lists § 82.114 among the sections that apply to condos whose declarations were recorded before January 1, 1994; § 82.1141 is not on that list. Section 82.114(b) makes records available "for examination and production in accordance with Section 82.1141", and § 82.1141(a) states it "applies to all associations governed by this chapter". How those provisions fit together for a particular older condo is a question for a licensed Texas attorney.

Separately from individual requests, some associations must post governing documents online under § 82.1142, covered in the questions below.

Other Chapter 82 rules owners run into

• Resale certificates. Before signing a contract or conveying a unit, a selling owner other than the declarant "must furnish to the purchaser a current copy of the declaration, bylaws, any association rules, and a resale certificate that must have been prepared not earlier than three months before the date it is delivered to the purchaser" (§ 82.157(a)). The association must furnish the certificate not later than the 10th day after receiving the owner's written request; if it does not, the owner may give the purchaser a sworn affidavit instead (§ 82.157(b)). If a properly executed certificate understates the delinquencies owed, the purchaser "is not liable for payment of additional delinquencies that are unpaid on the date the certificate is prepared and that exceed the total sum stated in the certificate" (§ 82.157(c)). More on how these documents work across states: estoppel and resale certificates.
• Emergency entry. Unless the declaration provides otherwise, the association may "enter a unit for bona fide emergency purposes when conditions present an imminent risk of harm or damage to the common elements, another unit, or the occupants" (§ 82.102(a)(16)).
• Utility shutoffs. Unless the declaration provides otherwise, the association may "adopt and amend rules regulating the termination of utility service to a unit, the owner of which is delinquent in the payment of an assessment that is used, in whole or in part, to pay the cost of that utility" (§ 82.102(a)(14)).
• Meetings. Unless the declaration provides otherwise, special association meetings "may be called by the president, a majority of the board, or unit owners having at least 20 percent of the votes in the association" (§ 82.108(a)); open-meeting and notice rules are covered in the Texas meetings guide.
• Management certificate. The association records a management certificate in each county where the condo sits, listing items such as the association's mailing address, "the name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address of any management company", the website where its dedicatory instruments are available, and the amount and description of fees charged to a seller or buyer on a transfer (§ 82.116(a)). An amended certificate is due within 30 days after the association has notice of a change (§ 82.116(b)), and since S.B. 711 each certificate must also be filed electronically with the Texas Real Estate Commission within seven days after it is filed for recording. The Commission collects certificates only "for the purpose of making the data accessible to the public through an Internet website" (§ 82.116(b-1)). The bill gave associations with an existing certificate until March 1, 2026, to make that filing (S.B. 711, § 8).

Chapter 82 is the main state statute for these condos, but it is not the only authority. Many of the association's § 82.102 powers apply "Unless otherwise provided by the declaration," so the declaration and bylaws shape how they work in a given community. A unit owners' association "must be organized as a profit or nonprofit corporation" (§ 82.101), and Chapter 82 itself points to the Texas Business Organizations Code for meeting methods and notice, including Bus. Orgs. Code § 6.002 on electronic meetings (§ 82.108(b-1)–(e)). Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act also applies.

Frequently asked questions

How much can a Texas condo association charge for a resale certificate?

Up to $375. Section 82.157(f), added by S.B. 711 effective September 1, 2025, allows "a reasonable and necessary fee, not to exceed $375, to furnish a resale certificate" under § 82.157(a). Separately, the certificate must list "all fees payable to the association or an agent of the association that are associated with the transfer of ownership," including each fee's description, recipient and amount (§ 82.157(a)(14)).

Can a Texas condo association suspend an owner's vote or amenity access?

Generally yes, for an owner more than 30 days behind on assessments. Section 82.102(a)(17) lets the association, acting through its board, "suspend the voting privileges of or the use of certain general common elements by an owner delinquent for more than 30 days in the payment of assessments". That power applies "Unless otherwise provided by the declaration" (§ 82.102(a)), so the declaration can change it.

Does a Texas condo association have to post its documents online?

Only some do. Section 82.1142, added by S.B. 711 effective September 1, 2025, covers condos of at least 60 units and associations that have contracted with a management company. Those associations must post "the current version of the association's dedicatory instruments relating to the association and filed in the county deed records" on a website maintained by the association or its management company and "accessible to association members."

Sources

• Tex. Prop. Code Chapter 82 — Uniform Condominium Act
• Tex. Prop. Code § 81.0011 — Applicability
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.001 — Short title
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.002 — Applicability
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.101 — Organization of unit owners' association
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.102 — Powers of unit owners' association
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.108 — Meetings
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.113 — Association's lien for assessments
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.114 — Association records
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.1141 — Access to association records
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.1142 — Online association information required
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.116 — Management certificate
• Tex. Prop. Code § 82.157 — Resale of unit
• S.B. 711, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025) — enrolled bill text
• Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 6.002 — Alternative forms of meetings
• Tex. Prop. Code § 209.003 — Applicability of chapter