Buying A Connecticut Condo? The Seller's Report Now Tells You To Ask About The Reserves

Many buyers assume the seller's property condition report tells them what they need to know about a condo. It tells you about the unit: the heat, the plumbing, the leak under the sink the seller knows about. It says very little about the association, and the association is often where the money questions are.

As of October 1, 2026, the report points you there. Under Public Act 26-31, the seller's residential property condition report now includes a special statement for condos and other common interest communities. In a community of more than 12 units, it advises you to get the association's resale certificate and to ask the community for a report of its reserve funds, the money set aside for major repairs and replacements. Those documents show how much the association has saved and what major projects the board has already approved. If those projects cost more than the savings, owners may have to make up the difference through a special assessment, an extra charge on top of the regular common charges. Ask about that before you buy.

What The Seller's Condition Report Now Tells Condo Buyers

Connecticut generally requires the seller of a one to four unit home, including a condo or co-op, to give the buyer a written condition report before the buyer signs a binder, contract or option, under C.G.S. § 20-327b. Some sales are exempt, including sales by an executor, administrator, trustee or conservator, and many sales after a foreclosure. If a seller who owes the report fails to provide it, § 20-327c requires the contract to give the buyer a $500 credit at closing. The credit does not excuse the seller from disclosing certain defects the seller actually knows about.

Public Act 26-31 adds a special statement to that report for condos and other common interest communities. It appears right after the form's question about association dues or fees, and what it says depends on the size of the community. In a community of more than 12 units, it advises the buyer to obtain a "Resale Certificate" and to request from the community "a report of such common interest community's reserve funds." The statement also covers a community of 12 or fewer units that is not required to provide a resale certificate. In such cases, if no certificate is available, it advises the buyer to talk with trade professionals, attorneys, real estate professionals, financial analysts and residents of the community.

That is advice to you, printed on the seller's form. It does not require the seller to disclose the association's reserves, and it does not define what a reserve report must contain.

What A Connecticut Condo Resale Certificate Shows

A resale certificate is a document the association prepares. It comes with copies of the declaration, the bylaws and the association's rules. When one is required, the selling owner must give it to the buyer or the buyer's attorney before closing, or before the buyer gets the right to possession if that happens first, under C.G.S. § 47-270. Some sales are exempt, including many in small communities, as explained below.

The statute lists 19 items. These say the most about the association's money and risks:

• the common charge and any unpaid common charges or special assessments currently due from the seller;
• any capital expenditures over $1,000 the board has approved for the current and next fiscal year;
• the amount of any reserves for capital expenditures;
• the current operating budget;
• any unsatisfied judgments against the association, and pending lawsuits or administrative proceedings in which the association is a party, including foreclosures but excluding other collection matters;
• the insurance coverage provided for the benefit of unit owners;
• how many units had owners at least 60 days behind on common charges, as of a date within 60 days of the certificate, and how many foreclosure actions the association has brought in the past 12 months;
• the most recent fiscal period within the past five years for which an independent certified public accountant reported on the association's financial statements, and whether that report was a compilation, a review or an audit (an audit is the most thorough of the three).

The certificate also discloses restrictions on leasing or occupying the unit and any right of first refusal the association holds. If you plan to rent the unit out later, read that part carefully.

The association must provide the certificate within ten business days after the selling owner asks for it in writing, on paper or electronically, and pays the statutory fee. The law sets that fee at $185, adjusted from time to time, plus a small charge for copies.

How Long You Have To Back Out After You Get The Resale Certificate

Under § 47-270(c), when a resale certificate is required, you may void the purchase contract for a short time after the certificate and documents are delivered to you or your attorney. The window is five days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. If the documents are sent by registered or certified mail, or by mail with a certificate of mailing, you get seven such days counted from mailing instead. Either way, the right ends at closing if closing comes first.

In practical terms, the clock runs from delivery, or from mailing, not from when you get around to reading the documents. Ask your attorney to make sure the seller orders them early, and have your attorney read them the day they come in. A late certificate can also push back the closing, which our article on delayed Connecticut closings covers.

The same subsection also protects you in another way: you are not liable for any unpaid assessment or fee greater than the amount stated in the certificate the association prepared. That protection covers what the certificate reports. It does not stop the board from adopting a new special assessment after you own the unit.

Potential Red Flags In A Condo Resale Certificate

When you read the certificate, look for these:

• Reserves compared with approved projects. Reserves are the money the association has set aside for major repairs and replacements. Compare the reserve figure with the capital expenditures the board has already approved. A large project and a thin reserve can mean a special assessment.
• Special assessments. A special assessment is an extra charge to owners on top of the regular common charges, usually to pay for a project or a shortfall. The certificate shows only special assessments currently due from the seller, so ask whether any has been proposed or approved but not yet billed.
• Delinquencies and association foreclosures. When many owners are behind, more of the budget may fall on the owners who pay.
• Lawsuits. A pending suit against the association, or an unpaid judgment, can affect the budget.
• The accountant's report. Check the date of the most recent accountant's report and whether it was a compilation, a review or an audit. An old report, or none within five years, is worth asking about.

Some special assessments do not need an owner vote. Under C.G.S. § 47-261e, unless the declaration or bylaws say otherwise, the board can impose one without an owner vote as long as it, plus the other special and emergency assessments proposed that calendar year, stays at or under 15 percent of the last adopted budget. A larger one generally goes to the owners, and it takes effect unless a majority of all owners, or a larger number the declaration sets, votes to reject it. Certain communities created before July 3, 1991 with more than 2,400 residential units follow a different voting rule. The board can also adopt an emergency special assessment by a two-thirds vote, effective immediately.

Asking The Association For A Reserve Report

The new statement advises you to ask the association for a report of its reserves. Neither the statement nor the statute says what that report must contain. And the statement does not itself require the association to give you one, let alone have a formal reserve study done. A reserve study is a professional estimate of the major repairs coming up and how much to save for them.

You can still get the numbers, though. Two documents should already show the reserves. The first is the resale certificate: when one is required, it must state the amount of any reserves for capital expenditures. The second is the budget summary. Under § 47-261e, each time the board adopts a proposed budget, it must give owners a summary that includes the amount of any reserves and how they are calculated and funded. Ask for the most recent budget summary along with the certificate.

If The Condo Community Has 12 Or Fewer Units

Many small communities do not have to provide a resale certificate. Under § 47-262(b), a community of 12 or fewer units generally does not need one if it is not subject to development rights and does not use a master association. Development rights are rights a developer reserves in the declaration to add land, units or common areas to the community, divide units or turn them into common areas, or withdraw land from it. A master association is an umbrella association that acts for one or more communities. A resale certificate is also not required in some other sales, including sales by foreclosure and sales under a court order.

Without a certificate, you may need to ask the association directly for the budget, the reserve figures and recent minutes. Talk with the residents too, which the new statement also suggests.

Condo Owners Can Now Ask A Court To Order An Audit

Public Act 26-31 also gives owners a new tool if they suspect the association's money is being mishandled. Owners whose units hold at least 20 percent of the association's votes can ask the Superior Court to order the association to hire an independent third party to audit certain financial records.

It is not automatic. Among other requirements, the owners need a signed opinion from an independent certified public accountant who specializes in fraud or financial forensics. The opinion must say there appears to be evidence of fraud or misuse of the association's funds and state its basis. No audit under the law can have been completed in the prior 12 months. The owners who ask for the audit pay for it, they may be charged a reasonable fee for the records, and the association may be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. The last question below lists the full requirements.

If you are buying, you can use this only after you own the unit, and only as part of a group of owners whose units together hold at least 20 percent of the association's votes. Our guide to the laws that took effect October 1, 2026 covers both this change and the new statement.

What To Do Before You Sign And Before You Close On A Condo

1. Through your attorney, ask the seller for the resale certificate, the declaration, the bylaws, the rules and the latest budget summary as early as possible.
2. In a community of more than 12 units, ask the association in writing for a report of its reserves, as the new statement advises. In a smaller community without a certificate, ask for the budget, the reserve figures and recent minutes instead.
3. When the certificate arrives, have your attorney read it right away. The window to back out runs from delivery, or from mailing, not from when you read it.
4. Before sending closing funds, confirm the wiring instructions by calling the closing office at a number you found independently, not one in the email. Our article on wire fraud at Connecticut closings explains why.

If you are buying a condo in New Haven or anywhere in Connecticut, our real estate attorneys can review the resale certificate and the association documents with you before the window closes.