Virginia HOA Governing Statute

Overview — How HOAs are governed in Virginia

Virginia runs its community associations through a multi-statute framework backed by one of the country's most substantial regulatory overlays — administered by the Common Interest Community Board (CICB).¹ Planned-community homeowners associations operate under the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act (POAA), Va. Code § 55.1-1800 et seq., while condominiums fall under the separate Virginia Condominium Act, Va. Code § 55.1-1900 et seq.² Cooperatives and time-shares each have their own chapters — the Virginia Real Estate Cooperative Act (§ 55.1-2100 et seq.) and the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act (§ 55.1-2200 et seq.).³

One citation caution shapes all Virginia research: the General Assembly recodified Title 55 into a new Title 55.1, effective October 1, 2019. Pre-2019 authorities citing former § 55-508 (POAA) or § 55-79.39 (Condominium Act) now point to provisions in the § 55.1-XXXX range. The substance largely carried over, but every current citation requires the new numbering.⁴

The regulatory overlay sets Virginia apart from most states. The CICB, established under Va. Code § 54.1-2349 et seq. and housed within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), licenses community association managers, requires associations to register and file annual reports, regulates resale disclosure forms, and runs an Ombudsman for Common Interest Communities.⁵ Virginia belongs to a small group — nine states in total — that require community managers to hold a state license.⁶

One more structural change affects case research: the Court of Appeals of Virginia gained jurisdiction over civil appeals as of right on January 1, 2022. Post-2022 community-association appeals route through that court first, while pre-2022 civil appeals went directly from circuit court to the Supreme Court of Virginia.⁷ Taken together, Virginia presents a layered, bespoke regime in which statute, regulation, and recorded declaration each carry independent weight.

The statutory framework

The Virginia Property Owners' Association Act (POAA)

The POAA, Va. Code § 55.1-1800 et seq. (formerly § 55-508 et seq.), is Chapter 18 of Title 55.1 and governs planned-community homeowners associations.⁸ It applies to developments subject to a declaration initially recorded after January 1, 1959, to associations incorporated or organized after that date, and to subdivisions created under the Subdivided Land Sales Act — all as set out in the applicability section at § 55.1-1801.⁹

The defined terms in § 55.1-1800 anchor the framework. A "declaration" is any recorded instrument that either imposes maintenance or operational responsibilities on the association for the common area or creates authority to impose mandatory payments on lots or owners. A "lot" is a parcel designated for separate ownership. The "association" is the incorporated or unincorporated entity the declaration empowers.¹⁰ That definition of declaration matters: it ties POAA coverage to a recorded instrument, and recordation among the county or city land records is what makes the covenants run with the land and bind successors.

The General Assembly restructured the resale disclosure process in 2023. The disclosure-packet provisions formerly at §§ 55.1-1808 through 55.1-1814 were repealed and consolidated — alongside the Condominium Act resale provisions — into the new Resale Disclosure Act.¹¹ Section 55.1-1808 now stands repealed, and current resale obligations live at § 55.1-2310.¹²

The POAA provides a statutory floor, not a complete operating manual. The recorded declaration, or CC&Rs, supplies the substantive covenants, assessment formulas, and architectural controls; the bylaws govern internal procedure. Where the declaration is silent or its grant of authority is general, Virginia courts read the covenants narrowly against the association — a point reinforced by recent appellate decisions.¹³

The Virginia Condominium Act

The Virginia Condominium Act, Va. Code § 55.1-1900 et seq. (formerly § 55-79.39 et seq.), is Chapter 19 of Title 55.1.¹⁴ Under the applicability provision at § 55.1-1901, it governs all condominiums and supersedes the older Horizontal Property Act for condominiums created on or after July 1, 1974.¹⁵ Where the POAA assumes a recorded declaration creating an association, the Condominium Act also regulates the creation of the condominium estate itself — including the condominium instruments, the allocation of undivided interests in common elements, and par-value calculations.¹⁶

Key defined terms in § 55.1-1900 include "unit owner," "executive board," "declarant," and "condominium instruments."¹⁷ A structural distinction from the POAA: the Condominium Act limits variation by agreement. Section 55.1-1902 provides that, except as expressly allowed, the chapter's provisions may not be varied by agreement and its rights may not be waived — and a declarant may not use a device to evade those limits.¹⁸ Bylaws governing the unit owners' association must be recorded simultaneously with the declaration under § 55.1-1940.¹⁹

The General Assembly consolidated resale disclosure for condominium units into the Resale Disclosure Act effective July 1, 2023, so the operative resale instrument is now the standardized resale certificate at § 55.1-2310.²⁰ The practical difference between the two statutes is one of approach: the Condominium Act is more prescriptive about the underlying property estate and constrains private ordering, whereas the POAA defers more heavily to the recorded declaration.

Regulatory framework and the role of CC&Rs and corporate law

The CICB, established under Va. Code § 54.1-2349 et seq. as Chapter 23.3 of Title 54.1 and operating within DPOR, is the feature that places Virginia among the most heavily regulated HOA states in the country. Its powers under § 54.1-2349 include promulgating regulations, setting licensing fees, and enforcing the chapter.²¹

Mandatory manager licensing is central. Under § 54.1-2346, any person or entity offering management services to a common interest community must hold a valid CICB license — a requirement in force since January 1, 2009. Unlicensed practice carries a penalty.²² Licensees must maintain a blanket fidelity bond or employee dishonesty insurance, and principal or supervisory employees must obtain CICB certification within two years of hire.²³

Mandatory association registration is the second pillar. Under § 55.1-1835, every property owners' association must file an annual report with the CICB accompanied by a fee, with parallel provisions for condominiums (§ 55.1-1980) and time-shares (§ 55.1-2182).²⁴ The CICB develops the standardized resale certificate form under § 54.1-2350, and the consolidated Resale Disclosure Act sits at Chapter 23.1 of Title 55.1.²⁵ The Ombudsman for Common Interest Communities, created under § 54.1-2354.3, receives notices of final adverse decisions from owners and provides nonbinding guidance on common interest community law.²⁶

Two further bodies of law fill gaps. Most Virginia associations organize as nonstock corporations under the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, Va. Code § 13.1-801 et seq., which governs corporate formalities, director duties, member record inspection (§ 13.1-933), and the State Corporation Commission annual report (§ 13.1-936).²⁷ And common-law contract and property doctrine governs interpretation of the declaration as a contract running with the land — the area where Virginia courts have been most active.²⁸

Compliance obligations created by the statutory framework

Governance obligations

Both statutes impose open-meeting, records, and due-process duties that the declaration cannot waive away. Under the POAA, boards must keep meetings open to members under § 55.1-1816, and they must keep records and make them available under § 55.1-1815 — setting a five-business-day response window for professionally managed associations and ten business days for self-managed ones, among the shortest records deadlines in the country.²⁹ The Condominium Act mirrors these duties through the records and open-meeting provisions at §§ 55.1-1945, 55.1-1949, and 55.1-1952.³⁰ Director conduct is also shaped by the Nonstock Corporation Act fiduciary standards. These governance duties are mandatory floors; the declaration may add procedure but may not strip the statutory minimums.

Financial obligations

Assessment authority flows from the recorded declaration as constrained by statute. The POAA regulates association charges at § 55.1-1805 and additional assessments and borrowing at § 55.1-1825; the Condominium Act parallel is § 55.1-1904.³¹ Assessment liens arise under § 55.1-1833 (POAA) and the condominium lien provision at § 55.1-1964.³² Regular and special assessment levels are typically set by the declaration and budget, so this category is partly variable, but the lien mechanics and the capital-component reserve definitions in § 55.1-1800 are statutory.³³

Disclosure obligations

The General Assembly unified resale disclosure under the Resale Disclosure Act, Chapter 23.1 of Title 55.1, effective July 1, 2023, replacing the former POAA disclosure packet and Condominium Act resale certificate.³⁴ The seller or seller's agent must obtain a resale certificate from the association and deliver it; the association must deliver within 14 days of a written request or the certificate is deemed unavailable, with contents specified at § 55.1-2310.³⁵ Distinct from these transaction-driven disclosures is the recurring annual obligation: CICB association registration under § 55.1-1835 is not a one-time creation filing but an annual report and fee that must be kept current — and an association not in good standing cannot collect resale-certificate fees.³⁶ These disclosure duties are mandatory and the declaration may not vary them.

Dispute resolution obligations

Before fining or suspending services, a board must afford due process. Under POAA § 55.1-1819 and Condominium Act § 55.1-1959, the association must give written notice of the violation, a reasonable opportunity to cure, and an opportunity to be heard with counsel before charges are imposed; charges are capped at $50 for a single offense or $10 per day for a continuing offense, not to exceed 90 days.³⁷ These powers are available only if the declaration has adopted the relevant statutory provisions, so they are conditional rather than automatic. Separately, the CICB Ombudsman process under § 54.1-2354.3 lets an owner file a notice of final adverse decision within 30 days, with a $25 fee, after exhausting the association's internal complaint procedure.³⁸ The CICB also holds licensing and disciplinary jurisdiction over managers under § 54.1-2346 and may assess a monetary penalty up to $1,000 per violation or issue a cease-and-desist order against managers and associations.³⁹

Virginia's recent legislative and judicial activity

Virginia has seen steady legislative reform and significant appellate activity in recent years, reshaping rules around management contracts, resale disclosure, assessment authority, and HOA statutory status.

Recent bills

Virginia's legislature has targeted management contracts, resale disclosure, and assessment authority through recent legislation.

Recent court rulings

Virginia courts have scrutinized HOA statutory status, declaration scope, and assessment authority in recent decisions.

Active legislative debates

Virginia's regulatory agenda continues to evolve, with rule changes from the CICB and ongoing debate over reserve-study requirements.

National positioning and related coverage

Virginia belongs to the group of full-framework, non-UCIOA states that built bespoke community-association statutes rather than adopting the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act — alongside California (Davis-Stirling), Florida (Chapters 718 and 720), Texas (Property Code), and Arizona (Title 33). What sets Virginia apart is the regulatory layer: a dedicated CICB comparable in reach to Nevada's regime, mandatory manager licensing, mandatory annual association registration, the 2019 Title 55 to 55.1 renumbering, and the 2022 Court of Appeals jurisdiction expansion. For multi-state operators, Virginia compliance overhead — including licensing, bonding, annual filings, and standardized disclosure forms — is meaningfully higher than in most states and should be staffed and budgeted accordingly. UCIOA defaults such as deemed-rejection budget ratification do not apply in Virginia.

Closing note

HOA Weekly updates its Virginia Governing Statute coverage quarterly to track legislative amendments, CICB regulatory action, and new appellate decisions. Federal frameworks — including the Fair Housing Act and federal lending and disclosure rules — also apply to Virginia associations and are addressed in HOA Weekly's separate federal coverage.

Footnotes

1. Common Interest Community Board, Virginia Dep't of Professional and Occupational Regulation ↩
2. Va. Code § 55.1-1800, Property Owners' Association Act — Definitions; Va. Code § 55.1-1900, Virginia Condominium Act — Definitions ↩
3. Va. Code § 55.1-1801, Property Owners' Association Act — Applicability (excluding cooperatives under § 55.1-2100 et seq. and time-shares under § 55.1-2200 et seq.) ↩
4. Va. Code § 55.1-1800, historical citation note — Acts 2019, c. 712, recodifying Title 55 as Title 55.1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019; Virginia DPOR CIC Board — recodification notice ↩
5. Va. Code § 54.1-2349, Powers and Duties of the Common Interest Community Board; Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman, Virginia DPOR ↩
6. Va. Code § 54.1-2346, License Required for Community Association Management ↩
7. Sands Anderson, Expanded Civil Jurisdiction of the Virginia Court of Appeals (Jan. 1, 2022) — Senate Bill 1261 (2021), amending Va. Code §§ 17.1-405, 17.1-406 ↩
8. Code of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 18 — Property Owners' Association Act, §§ 55.1-1800 through 55.1-1837 ↩
9. Va. Code § 55.1-1801, Property Owners' Association Act — Applicability ↩
10. Va. Code § 55.1-1800, Property Owners' Association Act — Definitions of "declaration," "lot," and "property owners' association" ↩
11. Virginia DPOR CIC Board — Disclosure Notices; Resale Disclosure Act established by HB 2235 / SB 1222 (2023), eff. July 1, 2023, consolidating POAA and Condominium Act resale provisions into Chapter 23.1 ↩
12. Va. Code § 55.1-1808, Repealed by Acts 2023, cc. 387 and 388, eff. July 1, 2023; Va. Code § 55.1-2310, Resale Certificate — Form and Contents (current operative section) ↩
13. Sainani v. Belmont Glen Homeowners Ass'n, 298 Va. 380, 831 S.E.2d 662 (Va. 2019) (restrictive covenants construed narrowly and not favored) ↩
14. Code of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 19 — Virginia Condominium Act ↩
15. Va. Code § 55.1-1901, Virginia Condominium Act — Application and Construction of Chapter ↩
16. Va. Code § 55.1-1918, Virginia Condominium Act — Reallocation of Interests in Common Elements; Par Value ↩
17. Va. Code § 55.1-1900, Virginia Condominium Act — Definitions ↩
18. Va. Code § 55.1-1902, Virginia Condominium Act — Variation by Agreement ↩
19. Va. Code § 55.1-1940, Virginia Condominium Act — Bylaws to Be Recorded with Declaration; Executive Board ↩
20. Va. Code § 55.1-2310, Resale Certificate — Form and Contents ↩
21. Va. Code § 54.1-2349, Powers and Duties of the Common Interest Community Board ↩
22. Va. Code § 54.1-2346, License Required; Certification of Employees ↩
23. Va. Code § 54.1-2346(C)–(D), Certification Within Two Years; Blanket Fidelity Bond or Employee Dishonesty Insurance ↩
24. Va. Code § 55.1-1835, Annual Report by Association; Va. Code § 54.1-2354.2, Annual Report Fee Structure ↩
25. Va. Code § 54.1-2350, Standardized Resale Certificate Form; Annual Report ↩
26. Va. Code § 54.1-2354.3, Common Interest Community Ombudsman — Appointment; Powers and Duties; Office of the CIC Ombudsman, Virginia DPOR ↩
27. Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, Va. Code § 13.1-801 et seq.; member inspection at § 13.1-933 and annual report at § 13.1-936 ↩
28. Sainani v. Belmont Glen Homeowners Ass'n, 298 Va. 380, 831 S.E.2d 662 (Va. 2019) (restrictive covenants construed narrowly; declaration interpreted as a contract running with the land) ↩
29. Va. Code § 55.1-1815, Access to Association Records — Five Business Days (professionally managed); Ten Business Days (self-managed); Va. Code § 55.1-1816, Meetings of the Board of Directors ↩
30. Va. Code § 55.1-1945, Books, Minutes, and Records — Inspection; § 55.1-1949, Meetings of Unit Owners' Association and Executive Board; § 55.1-1952, Quorums ↩
31. Va. Code § 55.1-1805, Association Charges; § 55.1-1825, Authority to Levy Additional Assessments; Authority to Borrow; Condominium Act § 55.1-1904, Association Charges ↩
32. Va. Code § 55.1-1833, Lien for Assessments; Foreclosure; Condominium Act § 55.1-1964, Lien for Assessments ↩
33. Va. Code § 55.1-1800, Definitions of "Capital Components" and "Reserve Study" ↩
34. Resale Disclosure Act, Code of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 23.1, eff. July 1, 2023 ↩
35. Va. Code § 55.1-2308, Contract for Resale — Disclosures; § 55.1-2310, 14-Day Delivery Requirement; Deemed Unavailable; Contents ↩
36. Va. Code § 55.1-1835, Annual Report by Association; Va. Code § 55.1-2316(F), Fee Collection Conditioned on Current Registration ↩
37. Va. Code § 55.1-1819, Adoption and Enforcement of Rules; Due Process; Charge Caps ($50 single offense; $10/day continuing, not to exceed 90 days); Condominium Act § 55.1-1959 ↩
38. Va. Code § 54.1-2354.3(B), Notice of Final Adverse Decision Within 30 Days; $25 Filing Fee; Office of the CIC Ombudsman, Virginia DPOR ↩
39. Va. Code § 54.1-2346, License Required; § 54.1-2351, General Powers; Monetary Penalty up to $1,000 per Violation; § 54.1-2352, Cease and Desist Orders ↩
40. Whiteford Taylor & Preston, 2025 Virginia Legislative Updates for Common Interest Communities — HB 2750, Acts 2025 c. 105, amending Va. Code §§ 54.1-2353, 54.1-2354.5, 55.1-1837, and 55.1-1940.1, eff. July 1, 2025 ↩
41. Whiteford Taylor & Preston, 2025 Virginia Legislative Updates for Common Interest Communities — HB 1704 and SB 808, amending Va. Code § 55.1-2310, eff. July 1, 2025 ↩
42. Mondaq, May 2024 Community Associations Newsletter — Virginia Legislative Update 2024; SB 672 amending §§ 55.1-1805 and 55.1-1904; HB 880 and SB 341 amending §§ 55.1-1833 and 55.1-1966, eff. July 1, 2024 ↩
43. Terrace View Property Owner's Ass'n, Inc. v. Jannah, Record No. 2007-24-3 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2026) (published) ↩
44. Virginia Business Litigation Blog, Analysis of Terrace View (Feb. 7, 2026) — applying two-prong test from Dogwood Valley Citizens Ass'n, Inc. v. Winkelman, 267 Va. 7, 590 S.E.2d 358 (2004) ↩
45. Sainani v. Belmont Glen Homeowners Ass'n, 298 Va. 380, 831 S.E.2d 662 (Va. Aug. 26, 2019) ↩
46. Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Appeals Court: HOA Inspection Fees Unlawful (Feb. 27, 2023) — Burkholder v. Palisades Park Owners Ass'n, Record No. 0187-22-4 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 2023), construing Va. Code § 55.1-1805; Opinion PDF, Va. Courts ↩
47. Whiteford Community Associations, Articles & Alerts — CICB Complaint Regulations Amended, eff. Aug. 1, 2025 ↩