Pennsylvania HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Pennsylvania regulates common-interest communities through three Title 68 statutes. The Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5101 et seq., governs planned communities.1 The Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 3101 et seq., covers condominiums.2 The Pennsylvania Real Estate Cooperative Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 4101 et seq., handles cooperatives.3
Civil association disputes generally start in the Courts of Common Pleas. Appeals move through Pennsylvania's statewide intermediate appellate courts. The Superior Court commonly hears private civil disputes, while the Commonwealth Court typically handles government or regulatory matters. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania then provides possible review at the top of the system.4 Pennsylvania's Department of State licenses real-estate service providers through the State Real Estate Commission, but the cited state licensing materials do not identify a separate HOA ombudsman or a dedicated common-interest-community regulator.5
Legislative activity is brisk. Current bills address association data, meetings, EV charging, and municipal-service issues.6,7 Recent appellate activity is selective but material, with rulings on rental restrictions and on condominium reserve, assessment, and declarant disputes.8,9 Pennsylvania sits among states that regulate community associations through entity-specific common-interest-community statutes rather than a single short HOA act.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5101 et seq. The primary statute for planned communities and HOA-style associations in Pennsylvania.10
- Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S. § 3101 et seq. This separate statute governs condominium creation, governance, assessments, resale, and enforcement.11
- Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System. Common Pleas courts are trial courts; Superior and Commonwealth Courts are statewide intermediate appellate courts; the Supreme Court is the highest court.12
- Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission, Department of State. The commission regulates real estate service licensure, registration, certification, and discipline.13
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Complaint. Consumers may submit complaints through the Attorney General's public complaint portal.14
4. Pennsylvania's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Four pending Title 68 bills define Pennsylvania's 2025-26 docket: county reporting tied to declarations, meeting-procedure changes, EV charging across statutes, and municipal-service reimbursement.
HB 1377 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
The House referred the bill to the Housing and Community Development Committee on May 2, 2025. The bill would add county planning-agency reporting tied to recorded declarations for common-interest communities.[15][16]
| Property managers | New-community onboarding could require cleaner declaration and community-data records. |
| HOA board members | Boards would need accurate community identity and infrastructure records for future reporting. |
| Community association attorneys | Declaration drafting and recording checklists would need a county-reporting step if enacted. |
| Homeowners | More public information about community location and structure could become available. |
HB 1174 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
The House referred the bill to the Housing and Community Development Committee on April 9, 2025. The bill would amend meeting provisions across condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities.[17][18]
| Property managers | Meeting notices, agendas, minutes, and owner-access practices would need review. |
| HOA board members | Executive-session habits and meeting procedures could face closer statutory limits. |
| Community association attorneys | Governance policies and bylaws may need revision if the bill advances. |
| Homeowners | Meeting-process rights could become more specific across common-interest communities. |
SB 561 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
The Senate referred the bill to the Transportation Committee on April 4, 2025. The bill would add EV charging-station provisions across the three common-interest-community statutes.[19][20]
| Property managers | EV charging requests would need a documented intake, review, and approval process. |
| HOA board members | Rules should address safety, location, insurance, and common-area impacts. |
| Community association attorneys | Declarations, rules, and architectural standards would need review for conflicts. |
| Homeowners | EV charging access would have a clearer statutory path if the bill is enacted. |
SB 963 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
The Senate referred the bill to the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee on August 13, 2025. The introduced text would create provisions on municipal services, reimbursement for municipal services, and arbitration.[21][22]
| Property managers | Associations would need stronger records on private roads, stormwater, trash, and related service costs. |
| HOA board members | Budget discussions may need to separate private service costs from general assessments. |
| Community association attorneys | Municipal-service reimbursement and arbitration language would require close statutory analysis. |
| Homeowners | The bill could affect local tax and assessment debates for communities that fund private services. |
Recent Court Rulings
Two appellate rulings frame Pennsylvania's recent HOA case law: a short-term-rental bylaw struck for lacking declaration authority, and a condominium reserve and fee dispute.
Leanna Chan et al. v. The Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Inc. et al.
The Commonwealth Court affirmed denial of preliminary injunction relief but reversed denial of declaratory relief. The court remanded for judgment that the association's short-term-rental bylaw amendment was void and unenforceable, because the declaration did not authorize the restriction and 68 Pa.C.S. § 5203(c) makes the declaration controlling over conflicting bylaws.[23][24] Practical implication: rental limits that narrow owner property rights need declaration-level authority, not only a bylaw or board rule.
| Property managers | Rental-rule enforcement should start with the declaration, not only the rules packet. |
| HOA board members | Boards should confirm amendment authority before adopting rental caps. |
| Community association attorneys | STR restrictions need governing-document hierarchy review before enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Rental rights may turn on declaration text rather than later board policy. |
The Carlyle Condominium Association v. Spruce Street Properties, Ltd.
In a non-precedential memorandum, the Superior Court affirmed in part and vacated in part orders in condominium developer, reserve, assessment, interest, and fee litigation. The court vacated compound interest and attorney-fee awards while affirming other determinations, including reserve-fund and Condominium Act issues.[25][26] Practical implication: condominium associations should tie reserve, assessment, fee, and interest claims to the declaration and statutory authority with a clear evidentiary record.
| Property managers | Reserve and assessment files should preserve the source of authority and the supporting calculations. |
| HOA board members | Fee and interest awards can be vulnerable if governing documents are unclear. |
| Community association attorneys | Claims involving declarants and reserves require both statutory and document-based proof. |
| Homeowners | Large fee and assessment disputes can turn on declaration text and trial evidence. |
Regulatory Developments
The Joint State Government Commission's 2025 short-term rental report provides state-level policy context for association rental rules and local ordinance interaction.
Joint State Government Commission
The Joint State Government Commission released this report under 2023 House Resolution 425. The report reviews private-residence rentals to lodgers for stays of up to 30 days.[27] It gives state-level policy background for association rental policies, local ordinances, and pending legislative debates involving short-term rentals.
| Property managers | STR enforcement should distinguish association covenants from municipal licensing or zoning rules. |
| HOA board members | Rental policy discussions should account for both governing documents and local regulation. |
| Community association attorneys | The report is useful policy context, but it does not replace declaration analysis. |
| Homeowners | Rental rights and limits may come from several sources, including covenants and local ordinances. |
Active Policy Debates
Pending bills show policy debate over association data reporting, meeting governance, EV charging access, municipal-service reimbursement, and common-interest-community property-use controls.28,29,30,31 The 2024 rental cases also keep short-term-rental authority and governing-document hierarchy in the policy mix.32
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's Pennsylvania coverage will expand as new bills, appellate rulings, and regulatory materials are issued. Federal frameworks — including the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD rule — also affect Pennsylvania associations. Federal coverage will point readers to /federal/ when that section is built.33,34,35,36,37
Footnotes
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5101, Uniform Planned Community Act ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, 68 Pa.C.S. § 3101, Uniform Condominium Act ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, 68 Pa.C.S. § 4101, Real Estate Cooperative Act ↩
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Courts overview ↩
- Pennsylvania Department of State, State Real Estate Commission ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1377, 2025-2026 Regular Session ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 561, 2025-2026 Regular Session ↩
- Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Chan v. Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Nos. 70 and 71 C.D. 2023 ↩
- Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Carlyle Condominium Association v. Spruce Street Properties, Nos. 1327 WDA 2022 and 1349 WDA 2022 ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5101, Uniform Planned Community Act ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, 68 Pa.C.S. § 3101, Uniform Condominium Act ↩
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Courts overview ↩
- Pennsylvania Department of State, State Real Estate Commission ↩
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Complaint form ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1377 information page ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1377 Printer's No. 1574 ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1174 information page ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1174 Printer's No. 1311 ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 561 information page ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 561 Printer's No. 553 ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 963 information page ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 963 Printer's No. 1102 ↩
- Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Chan v. Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Nos. 70 and 71 C.D. 2023 ↩
- Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Chan opinion, rental bylaw amendment holding ↩
- Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Carlyle Condominium Association v. Spruce Street Properties, Nos. 1327 WDA 2022 and 1349 WDA 2022 ↩
- Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Carlyle memorandum, Jan. 23, 2024 ↩
- Joint State Government Commission, The Short-term Rental Industry in Pennsylvania, March 2025 ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1377, data transparency ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 1174, meetings ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 561, EV charging stations ↩
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senate Bill 963, common interest communities ↩
- Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Chan v. Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, rental restriction opinion ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview ↩
- ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act text ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act guide ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩