Latest Legal Updates
Latest Legal Updates
HOA and condominium association legislation, court rulings and regulatory changes across every state, the District of Columbia and federal law — newest first.
Showing 145–168 of 1,989 updates
A Virginia condo association's silence about asbestos was not fraud
In Giles v. Hamlet the Court of Appeals affirmed a demurrer: a bylaw repair obligation is contractual, and a duty assumed only by agreement cannot support a fraudulent-concealment claim.
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A Vermont park closed early by state order
The Housing Commissioner shortened the statutory 18-month closure notice at Green Mountain Mobile Manor in Fair Haven, letting it close September 1, 2026 on health and safety grounds.
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Read literally, Section 27-30-130 requires an association to re-record its unchanged rules every year, forever. No court has said
The recording deadline in Section 27-30-130(B)(2) says rules must be recorded by January tenth 'of each year following their adoption or amendment.' Whether that means once or annually is unresolved in South Carolina.
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Texas condo associations' TREC filing deadline passed on March 1, and the cost of missing it is collection fees
SB 711 pulled Chapter 82 condominium associations into the Texas Real Estate Commission's management-certificate database, with a March 1, 2026 catch-up deadline that has now passed; the statute's enforcement mechanism is forfeited attorney's fees and interest, not a fine.
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Eight repairs no longer need a city permit — and still need the board's approval
SB 3 created SDCL 11-10-15, barring counties, municipalities and townships from requiring a permit for eight exterior repairs. It binds governments only, and it excludes attached townhomes and condominium units.
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Hein v. Carlson extends Wyoming’s meander line rule to private deeds
The Wyoming Supreme Court held for the first time that the meander line rule applies to private conveyances, putting riverfront subdivision boundaries at the thread of the stream — and read the subdivision's own covenants as evidence of that intent.
Read the full updateA Vermont rental bill died on the floor by one vote
H.772 passed the House 120–21 and amended the mobile home park chapter. Two days before adjournment the Senate refused it third reading, 15–16.
Read the full updateVirginia Beach made short-term rental violations criminal again
City Council voted unanimously in August 2025 to revert short-term rental zoning violations from civil penalties to misdemeanours, with fines escalating to $2,000 and a $200 application fee.
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Utah bars a board from amending its own declaration
H.B. 217 set a single amendment procedure for Utah declarations — a majority vote at a meeting with at least 51% of voting interests present — and added five words: the board may not amend the declaration.
Read the full updateReported: South Carolina revenue officials floated taxing the amenity share of HOA fees, then pulled it
A draft revenue ruling would have applied South Carolina's 5% admissions tax to the portion of association fees funding pools, courts, golf and clubhouses. It was reportedly withdrawn after industry objection.
Read the full updateA garden fence with a roof is not a fence, South Dakota's court held
Spring Canyon Properties v. Cal SD affirmed a covenant violation on a Merriam-Webster definition, then reversed the part of the injunction that added an eight-foot height cap the covenant never contained.
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Tennessee widens where the AG can sue to dissolve a nonprofit
Public Chapter 590 replaced the single-county venue rule for Attorney General dissolution proceedings against nonprofit corporations, the corporate form most Tennessee associations take, with a four-part list that includes any county where the corporation did business.
Read the full updateVermont's Open Meeting Law does not apply to your board
Act 51 of 2025 expanded Vermont's Open Meeting Law. It governs “public bodies.” An association board is not one — its duties come from 27A V.S.A. § 3-108 and the declaration.
Read the full updateWyoming’s HOA political sign bill died a third time, without a floor vote
HB0189 (2026) would have barred associations from prohibiting campaign signs and applied only to documents created or amended after July 1, 2026; the House never called it up for introduction.
Read the full updateOne holdout blocked a needed master-deed correction. A court dispensed with the unanimity requirement entirely
In Taylor v. Amar and Kennie Gill Living Trust, an unpublished 2025 decision, the Court of Appeals affirmed an order under Section 33-31-160 allowing an incorporated regime to amend with 52% rather than unanimous consent.
Read the full updateVirginia changed nothing in the HOA and condo Acts in 2026
A section-by-section check of the Code shows no 2026 chapter citation anywhere in the Property Owners' Association Act, the Condominium Act, the Resale Disclosure Act or the Common Interest Community Board's own statutes.
Read the full updateUtah lets two associations become one from October 1
New Utah Code sections 57-8a-601 and 57-8-55 create a consolidation procedure for community associations and condominium associations, effective October 1, 2026.
Read the full updateTexas regulators froze TWIA's condominium contents limit at $374,000 for 2026
Commissioner's Order 2025-9540 disapproved the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's proposed increase in the maximum liability limit for contents of an apartment, condominium or townhouse, holding the limit at $374,000 for policies issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2026.
Read the full updateA winning Vermont association lost a quarter of its fees
After a three-day trial the association won — then saw its $62,485.71 fee request cut to $28,576.65 under 27A V.S.A. § 4-117, with the judge reading all 59 pages of invoices.
Read the full updateThirteen TIF bills died, and one guardrail survived
Fourteen bills attacked South Dakota's tax increment financing districts in 2026. Thirteen died — none reached a floor vote — including one that would have required notice to property owners before a district is created.
Read the full updateWyoming HB0192 makes a denied right-of-way a utility’s wildfire defence
Chapter 119 of the 2025 session laws requires utility wildfire mitigation plans, preempts conflicting local land use rules, and deems a utility to have complied where it was denied or unreasonably delayed access to a right-of-way.
Read the full update85% of complained-about SC associations use a management company, and the state licenses none of them as such
South Carolina has no community association manager licence. The only 2025-2026 licensure bill covered rental property management and died in committee.
Read the full updateVirginia puts the declaration above the bylaws from January 2027
A 2026 rewrite of the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act settles which document wins when an association's bylaws and its recorded declaration disagree about dues, assessments, fees or membership.
Read the full updateA bill to let Vermont owners attend by phone died in a week
H.562 would have required every meeting of unit owners in a Vermont common interest community to be accessible by telephone or video. It had one committee date and no text.
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