TL;DR
The Texas Uniform Condominium Act (Property Code Chapter 82) governs condominium creation, governance, and resale. Under §82.157, before executing a sales contract or conveying a unit, a selling unit owner (other than the declarant) must furnish the buyer with the current declaration, bylaws, association rules, and a resale certificate that was prepared no earlier than three months before delivery. Upon written request from the unit owner, the association must deliver the resale certificate within 10 days. The resale certificate discloses the association's financial condition, unpaid assessments, capital reserves, pending lawsuits, and insurance coverage — information critical for a buyer to evaluate the unit purchase. TREC promulgates the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) form (TREC 30-17) and the Condominium Resale Certificate form (TREC 32-5, effective November 25, 2024) that implement §82.157 in TREC-form transactions.
Chapter 82 basics — the Uniform Condominium Act
Chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code is Texas's Uniform Condominium Act, enacted in 1993 and applying to condominiums created after January 1, 1994. Condominiums created before that date remain governed by Chapter 81 (the prior Texas Condominium Act) unless the declaration was amended to bring them under Chapter 82. In practice, most modern Texas condominium projects — high-rises in downtown Austin, Dallas, and Houston, mid-rise developments in inner suburbs, and townhome-style condominium subdivisions — are Chapter 82 condominiums.
A condominium under Chapter 82 is a form of real property where owners hold fee simple title to their individual units and a fractional interest in the common elements (hallways, elevators, parking areas, exterior walls, mechanical systems). The declaration is the founding document that creates the condominium, defines the units and common elements, allocates common expense liability, and establishes the association. The association — governed by a board elected by unit owners — manages the common elements, enforces the declaration and rules, and collects assessments to fund operations and reserves.
What §82.157 requires — the resale disclosure package
Section 82.157(a) requires that, before executing a contract or conveying a unit, a selling unit owner (other than the declarant selling from initial inventory) must furnish the purchaser with a current copy of the declaration, bylaws, any association rules, and a resale certificate. The resale certificate must have been prepared no earlier than three months before the date it is delivered to the purchaser — an old certificate does not satisfy the statute.
The resale certificate is prepared and delivered by the association upon written request from the selling unit owner. Under §82.157(b), the association must furnish the resale certificate within 10 days of receiving the request. The unit owner or their agent typically initiates the request as early in the listing process as practicable, since the 10-day association response time plus buyer review time can easily consume two weeks of a transaction timeline.
What the resale certificate must contain
Section 82.157(a) enumerates 14 specific items the resale certificate must disclose. These items cover the association's financial position, current obligations of the seller to the association, and pending legal or physical matters affecting the unit and the project. The table below groups the 14 statutory items by category for readability; several rows collapse multiple related sub-items into a single category.
| Category | Required Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Transfer restrictions | Any right of first refusal or other restraint on transfer contained in the declaration |
| Regular assessments | Frequency and amount of periodic common expense assessments |
| Unpaid seller obligations | Unpaid assessments and other amounts owed by the selling unit owner to the association |
| Special assessments | Amount and purpose of any approved special assessments due after certificate delivery |
| Capital reserves and expenditures | Reserve amounts and any approved capital expenditures for the next 12 months |
| Legal exposure | Unsatisfied judgments against the association and pending suits against the association |
| Insurance | Insurance coverage provided for the benefit of unit owners |
| Alteration compliance | Whether the board has knowledge that any alterations or improvements to the unit violate the declaration |
| Association governance | Association's operating budget, balance sheet, leasehold estate terms (if any), and managing agent contact information |
| Governmental violation notices | Whether the board has received notice from a governmental authority concerning health or building-code violations affecting the unit, limited common elements assigned to the unit, or another portion of the condominium |
| Transfer fees | All fees payable to the association associated with the ownership transfer, itemized by fee, recipient, and amount |
An incomplete certificate — missing any of the enumerated items — may not fully discharge the association's statutory obligation, and a purchaser who relies on an incomplete certificate can typically hold the association to the certificate as written under §82.157(e). This creates strong incentives for associations to prepare complete, accurate certificates and to update them promptly when material changes occur.
The 10-day rule and the affidavit alternative
Section 82.157(b) requires the association to furnish the resale certificate within 10 days of receiving a written request from the unit owner. If the association fails to furnish the certificate or the required information within the 10-day period, the unit owner may provide the purchaser with a sworn affidavit signed by the unit owner in lieu of the certificate. The affidavit must state that the unit owner requested the information from the association and that the association did not timely provide it.
Where the unit owner delivers an affidavit under this provision, the unit owner and purchaser may agree in writing to waive the requirement to furnish a resale certificate — allowing the transaction to proceed on the affidavit alone. The association remains free of liability to the selling unit owner for delay or failure to furnish the certificate unless the association's officer or agent willfully refuses to furnish it or is grossly negligent in providing it. This makes the affidavit route a legitimate fallback when an association is non-responsive, though a well-organized closing typically proceeds on the actual certificate.
TREC forms in condominium resales
TREC promulgates two forms that implement §82.157 in TREC-form residential condominium resales. The Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) — TREC Form 30-17 — is the standard contract used for TREC condominium transactions. Paragraph 6 of the contract addresses the delivery and buyer review of the resale certificate and condominium documents, providing a defined review period during which the buyer may terminate the contract if the documents disclose materially unacceptable conditions.
The Condominium Resale Certificate — currently TREC Form 32-5, effective November 25, 2024 — is the standardized certificate form the association uses to disclose the §82.157 items. While an association is not strictly required to use the TREC form (the statute prescribes the required content, not a specific form), TREC 32-5 has become the de facto standard because it maps cleanly to the statutory requirements and integrates with the TREC 30-17 contract flow. Associations that use a custom form must ensure it covers all 14 statutory items or risk a challenge to the certificate's completeness.
Buyer termination and reliance protections
Section 82.157(e) provides substantial buyer protection through reliance: a purchaser, lender, or title insurer who relies on a properly executed resale certificate is not liable for any debt or claim that is not disclosed in the certificate. An association may not deny the validity of any statement in the certificate. This creates a strong incentive for buyers to demand a complete, accurate certificate before closing — the certificate essentially fixes the association's disclosure at that moment in time.
The TREC 30-17 condominium contract includes a buyer review period after delivery of the certificate during which the buyer can terminate the contract if the disclosed information is unacceptable. This review-period termination right is the primary practical mechanism for buyers to walk away when a resale certificate reveals problems — a large unfunded reserve, a major pending lawsuit, an unresolved special assessment, or unusually restrictive transfer rules. For related buyer-termination frameworks in TREC transactions generally, see our Texas option period and earnest money guide. For the parallel subdivision-POA framework under Chapter 207, our Texas POA resale certificate guide. For another state-specific disclosure regime affecting Texas residential contracts, our Texas mineral rights and TREC 44-3 guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does §82.157 apply to condominiums created before January 1, 1994?
- Not automatically. Chapter 82 applies to condominiums created on or after January 1, 1994; older condominiums are governed by Chapter 81 unless their declaration was amended to bring them under Chapter 82. Chapter 81 has its own disclosure regime that is broadly similar but with distinct provisions. For a pre-1994 condominium, the licensee should review the declaration to confirm which chapter governs before relying on §82.157 specifics.
- What if the association charges a resale certificate fee?
- Associations may charge a reasonable fee for preparing the resale certificate. The statute permits the fee but does not specify a cap. In practice, Texas associations charge in the range of $250 to $400 for standard resale certificates, with additional fees for rush processing or extensive document reproduction. Fees must be reasonable and proportionate to the actual cost of preparation — excessive fees can be challenged as unreasonable restraints on alienation.
- How current must the certificate be at closing?
- The certificate must have been prepared no earlier than three months before delivery to the purchaser. If the closing is delayed such that the certificate would be more than three months old at delivery, Chapter 82 requires a new resale certificate — the statute contains no formal "update" mechanism analogous to §207.003(f) for subdivision POAs. In practice, associations may charge a lower fee to re-issue a certificate that is going stale, but the requesting party is asking for a fresh certificate, not a statutory update.
- What happens if the certificate incorrectly understates the seller's unpaid balance?
- Under §82.157(c), if a properly executed certificate incorrectly states the total of delinquent sums owed by the selling unit owner, the purchaser is not liable for additional delinquencies that are unpaid on the certificate's preparation date and exceed the total stated in the certificate. The association bears the loss of the understatement. This provision creates a strong incentive for careful accounting when preparing the certificate.
- Can a buyer waive the right to receive the resale certificate?
- Only in specific narrow circumstances. The primary route is under the affidavit provision — where the association fails to timely furnish the certificate and the unit owner supplies an affidavit — the unit owner and buyer may agree in writing to waive the certificate requirement. Absent that scenario, the statute imposes the delivery requirement on the unit owner as a condition of contract execution, and a buyer cannot waive the association's obligation to provide a certificate on request.
- Does the resale certificate cover future assessments the board might vote on?
- No. The certificate discloses assessments approved before the certificate is prepared. Future assessments the board might vote on after the certificate is prepared are not disclosed and are not affected by the certificate's protective provisions under §82.157(d). Buyers concerned about pending assessment votes should investigate board meeting minutes and pending capital planning during their review period.
Bottom Line
Texas Property Code §82.157 requires selling condominium unit owners (other than the declarant) to furnish buyers with the current declaration, bylaws, association rules, and a resale certificate before executing a sales contract. The resale certificate must be prepared no earlier than three months before delivery and disclose 14 specific items covering the association's finances, seller obligations, legal exposure, insurance, and transfer restrictions. The association must deliver the certificate within 10 days of the unit owner's written request; if it fails to do so, a sworn affidavit from the unit owner can substitute under a waiver agreement. TREC 30-17 is the standard resale contract and TREC 32-5 (effective November 25, 2024) is the current resale certificate form implementing §82.157 in TREC-form transactions. Buyers, lenders, and title insurers can rely on the certificate under §82.157(e), and this reliance protection is the primary mechanism for buyer protection in condominium resales. For the parallel subdivision property owners' association resale certificate regime, see our Texas POA resale certificate guide. For the option-period termination mechanics that interact with the certificate review period, our Texas option period and earnest money guide.
Source: Texas Property Code Chapter 82 — Uniform Condominium Act · TREC Promulgated Contract Forms · Texas Property Code §82.157 — Resale of Unit