Virginia
Virginia HOA and Condo Resale Certificate: Fees, Deadlines, and How to Order
A resale certificate is the document a title company asks for before a Virginia closing. Virginia associations must deliver it within 14 days. The fee is capped at $176.64.
Free for the resale platform. No contract to sign.
Virginia Resale Certificate
Example Commons Condominium Association
Regular assessment
$205.00 monthly
Buyer's review period
3 days by statute
Fee for this document
$176.64, the Virginia cap
Due to the requester
Within 14 days
Virginia at a glance
- What Virginia calls it
- Resale Certificate
- Fee cap
- $176.64
- Delivery deadline
- 14 days
- Buyer's right to cancel
- 3 days after receiving it
Also called: HOA resale certificate, resale disclosure packet, disclosure packet. If you were told to get a Virginia resale certificate, or a VA resale certificate as closing agents write it, for a home in an HOA or a condominium, this is that document. It has nothing to do with the sales tax resale certificate a retailer files with the state.
What Virginia law sets
One set of rules covers Virginia. Havn applies it to every order in the state.
Va. Code 55.1-2309
Resale Disclosure Act. Applies to condominiums, HOAs and planned communities, and cooperatives.
- Required by statute
- Yes
- Fee
- $176.64
- Deadline
- 14 days from the request
- Rush
- $70.66 more for delivery within 5 business days
- Buyer may cancel within
- 3 days
Virginia HOA laws on resale documents, in plain words
Each entry links to the official text. Read the statute itself before relying on a summary.
Va. Code 55.1-1800 (Property Owners' Association Act)
Governs Virginia property owners' associations formed under a recorded declaration for planned communities other than condominiums or cooperatives, generally reaching developments and associations created after January 1, 1959. It covers association formation and powers, board and member governance, assessments and liens, records, and lot owner rights, with its former resale disclosure provisions now handled under the Resale Disclosure Act.
Va. Code 55.1-1900 (Condominium Act)
Governs Virginia condominiums created by recorded condominium instruments, applying to condominiums established on or after July 1, 1974, while recognizing earlier regimes formed under the prior Horizontal Property Act. It covers creation and amendment of the condominium, unit owners' association governance, assessments and liens, and owner rights, with resale disclosure requirements now handled under the Resale Disclosure Act.
Va. Code 55.1-2100 (Real Estate Cooperative Act)
Governs Virginia real estate cooperatives, in which a cooperative association holds title to the property and residents hold proprietary leases or similar interests rather than direct ownership, applying most fully to cooperatives created on or after July 1, 1982. It covers formation and governance of the cooperative association, common expense assessments, member records and rights, and purchaser protections, with resale disclosure requirements now handled under the Resale Disclosure Act.
Va. Code 55.1-2307 (Resale Disclosure Act)
Consolidates the resale disclosure rules for Virginia condominium, property owners', and cooperative associations, replacing since 2023 the separate disclosure provisions once scattered across each of those acts. It sets requirements for the resale certificate an association must provide to a seller or purchaser, covering the certificate's contents, delivery and update deadlines, and permissible fees.
Va. Code 55.1-2309 (Resale certificate; delivery)
Requires the association, its managing agent, or a third party preparing the resale certificate to deliver it to the requesting seller by a set deadline after a written request, treating the certificate as unavailable if that deadline is missed. It also addresses the format in which the certificate may be requested and limits what the association may demand before preparing it.
Va. Code 55.1-2310 (Resale certificate; form and contents)
Specifies the detailed information an association must include in a resale certificate, covering current and unpaid assessments, financial statements, budgets and reserves, governing documents and rules, pending litigation, and any restrictions on the unit or lot. It gives a purchaser a full picture of the community's finances and rules before the sale closes.
Va. Code 55.1-2311 (Updated resale certificate; financial update)
Allows a seller or purchaser to request an updated resale certificate when the original has aged, requiring the association to report any changes since it was issued, and separately lets a settlement agent request a quick financial update at closing that functions as Virginia's payoff or estoppel statement of amounts owed to the association. Both must be delivered on a fast turnaround.
Va. Code 55.1-2316 (Resale certificate; fees)
Caps the fees an association may charge for preparing, delivering, updating, or providing a financial update for a resale certificate at a commercially reasonable maximum set and periodically adjusted by the Common Interest Community Board. It also addresses how those costs are split between seller and purchaser and requires the association to be current on its registration to collect such fees.
The notice Havn prints on every Virginia resale certificate
Every Virginia document Havn prepares carries a notice that tells the reader where the document comes from and what Virginia law says about it. This is the wording, act by act.
Va. Code 55.1-2309Condominiums, HOAs and planned communities, and cooperatives
This resale certificate is furnished under the Virginia Resale Disclosure Act (Va. Code 55.1-2307 et seq.) on the Common Interest Community Board's standardized form, within 14 days of the written request of the seller or the seller's agent (55.1-2309); a certificate not delivered within 14 days is deemed unavailable. The fee for its preparation and electronic delivery does not exceed the Board's maximum of $176.64, plus $70.66 where expedited delivery within five business days was requested and agreed to (55.1-2316); fees are due when the certificate is requested and the seller is responsible for them. The purchaser is not liable for any unpaid assessment or fee greater than the amount set forth here, and the association is bound, as to the purchaser, by the information provided as to current assessments, including approved special or additional assessments, and any violation of the governing documents or rules and regulations as of the date of this certificate, unless the purchaser had actual knowledge that its contents were in error (55.1-2313). The purchaser may cancel the contract within the period the ratified contract provides or, if it provides none, within three days of ratification or of receiving this certificate, and at any time before settlement if no certificate or notice of unavailability was delivered; the right is waived if not exercised before settlement (55.1-2312). An updated resale certificate may be requested if this certificate was issued more than 30 days but less than 12 months before settlement (55.1-2311). The information in this document is current as of its issue date.
Virginia's payoff statement: the financial update
Virginia's payoff instrument is the financial update. A settlement agent or other third party authorized by the seller or purchaser may request it, and the association must provide it within three business days after the written request (Va. Code 55.1-2311(C)). It carries updated financial information for the unit or lot, including the assessment and unpaid amounts items of the resale certificate (55.1-2310(A)(4) and (5)). The fee may not exceed the maximum the Common Interest Community Board publishes under 55.1-2316, which is adjusted for inflation; confirm the current figure on the Board's fee schedule before pricing. Section 55.1-2316(B) requires the association to accept payment by electronic instruction or to let the fee be paid at closing.
About Demand LettersVirginia resale certificate: common questions
What is a Virginia resale certificate?
It is what Virginia law has the association provide when a home in condominiums, HOAs and planned communities, and cooperatives is sold: a statement of what the home owes and of the association's finances, insurance, and rules, under Va. Code 55.1-2309.
How much does a Virginia resale certificate cost?
Virginia caps the fee at $176.64. Rush delivery can add $70.66 for delivery within 5 business days. Inside the cap, the association or its management company sets the price.
How long does a Virginia association have to provide a resale certificate?
14 days, counted from the request.
Is a resale certificate required in Virginia?
Yes, for condominiums, HOAs and planned communities, and cooperatives, under Va. Code 55.1-2309.
Can a buyer cancel after receiving a Virginia resale certificate?
Yes. The buyer has 3 days after receiving it to cancel the purchase contract.
Who pays for the resale certificate in Virginia?
Whoever orders it pays the association's fee, usually the seller or the closing agent on the seller's behalf, and the purchase contract can move the cost to the buyer.
What is included in a Virginia resale certificate?
What the home owes the association, the fees due at closing, the budget and reserves, the insurance the association carries, pending lawsuits, and the governing documents. The full list is in Va. Code 55.1-2309.
How do I get a resale certificate in Virginia?
Ask the association, or its management company if it has one. Many take the request through an online order page and deliver by email. Once asked, a Virginia association has 14 days. A buyer should ask the seller or the closing agent to order it.
Is this the same as a Virginia sales tax resale certificate?
No. A sales tax resale certificate is a form a retailer gives a supplier so it can buy goods without paying sales tax. It shares a name and nothing else. This page is about the HOA document used when a home is sold.
How Virginia compares with its neighbors
Management companies that work across state lines meet a different rule on each side. Virginia: $176.64, 14 days.
Maryland
Resale Certificate
$250
20 days
Required by statute
District of Columbia
Resale Certificate
No fixed dollar cap
10 days
Required by statute
North Carolina
Resale Certificate
No fixed dollar cap
No statutory deadline
Required by statute
West Virginia
Resale Certificate
No fixed dollar cap
10 days
Required by statute
See all 51 jurisdictions on the map, compare every state in the fee and deadline table, or read about lender questionnaires, estoppel letters, and demand letters.
Your next Virginia resale certificate could write itself.
The resale platform is free for the association. The requester pays for the document, never more than Virginia's $176.64 cap. No contract to sign.