Alabama HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

Governs condominiums created in Alabama before January 1, 1991, unless the association has voted to opt into the newer Alabama Uniform Condominium Act. It covers formation of the condominium, unit ownership and common elements, association duties, and assessment liens, but it has no resale certificate, resale disclosure, or payoff and estoppel statement provisions. Any resale package or fee for producing one is set by the condominium's own declaration and bylaws rather than by statute.

• Ala. Code 35-8A (Uniform Condominium Act)

  Governs condominiums created in Alabama on or after January 1, 1991, and any older condominium that elects to be covered. It addresses creation and management of the condominium, the unit owners' association, assessments and liens, records, and protections for purchasers, including a resale certificate requirement and an assessment payoff statement available to owners, purchasers, and lenders.

  Official text

Governs homeowners' associations for residential planned communities (not condominiums) whose declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or that have elected to be covered. It addresses organization and filing of the association, assessments and liens, and the records the association must keep and make available to members and prospective purchasers. It has no dedicated resale certificate statute; the purchaser's right is to request specified association records, and any fee is a general reasonable-cost standard rather than a statutory cap.

• Ala. Code 35-20-13 (Association records and purchaser disclosure)

  Requires a homeowners' association to maintain records, including assessment and dues amounts, budget and reserve information, insurance, loans, and pending disputes, and to provide or direct a member or potential purchaser to them on written request within a set time and for a reasonable cost. This is the Act's functional substitute for a resale certificate in planned communities, though it does not set a specific statutory fee cap.

  Official text

On a purchaser's written request, requires the selling unit owner to deliver the declaration, bylaws, rules, and an association-prepared resale certificate covering assessments, finances, and other disclosures before the sale closes, with the association furnishing the certificate to the owner on request. The statute sets a delivery deadline, limits the purchaser's post-closing liability to what the certificate discloses, and lets the purchaser cancel if the certificate is not timely provided.

Entitles a unit owner, mortgagee, contract purchaser, or prospective lender to request a statement from the association showing assessments owed on a unit, including any past-due amounts. The statute sets a deadline for the association to respond, caps the fee it may charge for the statement, and releases the association's lien on the unit if the deadline is missed, though the underlying debt survives.