Which New Jersey Laws Govern Your HOA or Condo?

New Jersey runs community associations on a layered framework: PREDFDA at the top, the Condominium Act for condo-specific issues, and DCA regulations filling in the detail. Knowing which layer answers which question is the starting point for almost every dispute. For your specific situation, a licensed New Jersey attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Does New Jersey have an HOA law?

Yes. The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act, N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq., is the main statute, reaching planned communities, condominiums and "any form of homeowners' association." Its 1993 association provisions are not limited by a development's date of establishment, and it covers the document hierarchy, open board meetings, dispute resolution, elections, and the assessment lien.

PREDFDA's definition of a planned real estate development names property subject to the Condominium Act and also "any form of homeowners' association, any housing cooperative or to any community trust or other trust device" (§ 45:22A-23(h)).

Older communities. The association provisions added in 1993 (§ 45:22A-43 et seq.) reach existing developments: their application "shall not be limited by" whether the developer registered the development or by "the development's date of establishment" (§ 45:22A-43(a)). The exemption for developments that already had building permits or final approvals when the Act took effect covers only the provisions "concerning the formation and registration of planned real estate developments" (§ 45:22A-42).

Who belongs, and in what form. An association "may be formed as a for-profit or nonprofit corporation, unincorporated association, or any other form permitted by law," and its membership "shall be comprised of each owner within the planned real estate development" (§ 45:22A-43(a), (c)).

PREDFDA then covers:

• The document hierarchy — "Subject to the master deed, declaration of covenants and restrictions or other instruments of creation, the association may do all that it is legally entitled to do under the laws applicable to its form of organization" (§ 45:22A-44(a)).
• Open board meetings — the bylaws must require that "all meetings of the executive board, except conference or working sessions at which no binding votes are to be taken, shall be open to attendance by all association members," with listed topics (privacy, litigation and contract negotiations, attorney-client matters, personnel) that may be closed (§ 45:22A-46(a)).
• Alternative dispute resolution — "The association shall provide a fair and efficient procedure for the resolution of disputes between individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners, which shall be readily available as an alternative to litigation" (§ 45:22A-44(c)).
• Elections — the 2017 amendments (P.L.2017, c.106) set election and membership rights meant to "apply regardless of the date of a community's establishment" (§ 45:22A-45.1(g)(1)). Elections follow the governing documents, but "If such documents do not set a specific time or interval, the elections shall be held at two-year intervals" (§ 45:22A-45.2(a)). The New Jersey hub covers these amendments in more detail.
• The assessment lien — the lien takes effect when a claim of lien is recorded, and "an association shall not record a lien in which the unpaid assessment consists solely of late fees" (§ 45:22A-44.1(a)). Its limited priority over earlier mortgages is capped at an amount that "shall not exceed the aggregate customary assessment against the unit owner for the six-month period prior to the recording of the lien," and "This limited priority shall be cumulatively renewed on an annual basis as necessary" (§ 45:22A-44.1(b)(1)).

Condominium-specific: the Condominium Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8B)

The Condominium Act (§ 46:8B-1) is the operating statute for New Jersey condominiums. The association "may be any entity recognized by the laws of New Jersey, including but not limited to a business corporation or a nonprofit corporation" (§ 46:8B-12). The Act has its own dispute-resolution duty, for "housing-related disputes between individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners" (§ 46:8B-14(k)), and its own six-month lien priority, measured by "the aggregate customary condominium assessment against the unit owner for the six-month period prior to the recording of the lien" (§ 46:8B-21(b)(1)).

One coverage note: the Condominium Act did not replace the 1963 horizontal property law, which "shall continue to govern all property constituted into a horizontal property regime thereunder" unless the regime is waived (§ 46:8B-2).

Can I complain to the state about my New Jersey HOA?

Yes, but only on certain topics. Under N.J.A.C. 5:26, 5:26-8.14(a), "Any unit owner may file a complaint with the Department concerning any matter subject to the rules at N.J.A.C. 5:26-8.8 through 8.13." Those Department of Community Affairs rules include membership (5:26-8.8), executive board elections (5:26-8.9), open meetings (5:26-8.12) and bylaw amendments (5:26-8.13).

The Department of Community Affairs implements PREDFDA through regulations at N.J.A.C. 5:26. Subchapter 8, on community associations, covers association formation and powers, membership, executive board elections (5:26-8.9), open meetings (5:26-8.12), and bylaw amendments (5:26-8.13). It states that "Upon acceptance of a deed to the unit, each owner shall be an association member for so long as he or she holds title to the unit" (5:26-8.8(a)), and "Any unit owner may file a complaint with the Department concerning any matter subject to the rules at N.J.A.C. 5:26-8.8 through 8.13" (5:26-8.14(a)).

The New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act (N.J.S.A. 15A)

Because PREDFDA and the Condominium Act both allow different entity forms, the corporate layer depends on how the association was organized. The New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act (§ 15A:1-1(a)) applies to "every corporation which is organized under this act" (§ 15A:1-3(a)(1)). For an association organized that way, the Act supplies corporate rules such as books-and-records inspection (§ 15A:5-24).

How the layers fit

1. The recorded master deed/declaration and bylaws — the community's own documents, which must include the provisions PREDFDA requires.
2. PREDFDA (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq.) for both HOAs and condos on governance, ADR, and elections.
3. The Condominium Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8B) for condo-specific operating rules.
4. N.J.A.C. 5:26 for DCA's implementing regulations.
5. The New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act for an association organized as a nonprofit corporation.
6. Federal law — Fair Housing Act, ADA, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, OTARD, and the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.

From records to fines to the assessment lien, this layered framework is the starting point for most New Jersey homeowner questions.

Sources

• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 — Short title, Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-23 — Definitions
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-42 — Inapplicability of act
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-43 — Organization of association
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44 — Powers, functions of association
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.1 — Association lien and priority
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.1 — Findings on association governance (P.L.2017, c.106)
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2 — Executive board elections
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-46 — Bylaws; open meetings
• N.J.S.A. 46:8B-1 — Condominium Act short title
• N.J.S.A. 46:8B-2 — Saving clause (horizontal property regimes)
• N.J.S.A. 46:8B-12 — The association
• N.J.S.A. 46:8B-14 — Responsibilities of association
• N.J.S.A. 46:8B-21 — Liens in favor of association; priority
• N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1 and 15A:1-3 — Nonprofit Corporation Act short title and application
• N.J.S.A. 15A:5-24 — Books and records; right of inspection
• N.J.A.C. 5:26 — DCA implementing regulations