District of Columbia HOA laws

District of Columbia HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

District of Columbia has one statute that govern community associations: Condominium Act. Here is what each covers, who it applies to, and the rules that come with a sale, with a link to the official text of every one.

A summary for boards and owners, not a substitute for the statute or your attorney. Every act links to its official text, and the association that acts on a rule is responsible for reading it.

The actsWhen a home sellsQuestions

HOA laws

District of Columbia

DC
Condominium Act
Resale documentResale Certificate
Fee capNo fixed dollar cap
Deadline10 days
Buyer may cancel3 days after receiving it

The Acts, and Who Each One Covers

Community type decides which act applies, and a community created before an act took effect may still be under the older one. The declaration says which.

D.C. Code 42-19 (Condominium Act)

Condominiums

D.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 19 is the Condominium Act, governing the creation, registration, governance, and operation of condominiums in the District of Columbia, including the unit owners' association and executive board, assessments and liens, owner access to records, and resale disclosure obligations. The District has no separate statute governing homeowners associations or planned communities; those are typically organized as nonprofit corporations under other D.C. law and governed by their own recorded covenants, so no statutory resale disclosure requirement applies and any resale or payoff fees follow the association's governing documents rather than a state fee cap. Applies to condominiums only.

  • D.C. Code 42-1904.11 (Resale by unit owner)

    Requires a unit owner reselling a condominium unit to obtain a resale certificate and copies of the condominium instruments from the unit owners' association and furnish them to the purchaser, and sets a delivery deadline along with a purchaser right of review tied to timely delivery. Applies to condominium resales in the District of Columbia.

    Official text

  • D.C. Code 42-1903.13(h) (Statement of unpaid assessments)

    Requires the unit owners' association to furnish, upon written request, a statement of the unpaid assessment balance against a unit (an estoppel or payoff statement) to a unit owner or purchaser, and sets a response deadline while permitting the association to charge a fee for issuing it. Applies to condominiums in the District of Columbia.

    Official text
Read D.C. Code 42-19 on the state's site

When a Home Sells in District of Columbia

District of Columbia law has the association furnish resale certificate to the buyer, under D.C. Code 42-1904.11. The figures below come from the rules Havn applies to every order.

What District of Columbia calls the resale document
Resale Certificate
Fee cap
No fixed dollar cap
Delivery deadline
10 days
Buyer's right to cancel
3 days after receiving it

The full District of Columbia resale rules, who pays, and how to order are on the District of Columbia resale certificate page. Every state's cap and deadline sit side by side in the fee and deadline table.

District of Columbia HOA Law Questions

Which law governs condominiums in District of Columbia?

D.C. Code 42-19 (Condominium Act). D.C.

Does District of Columbia cap the fee for a resale certificate?

No. District of Columbia sets no dollar cap on resale certificate, so the association or its management company sets the fee within the statute.

How long does a District of Columbia association have to deliver resale certificate?

10 days, counted from the request.

Where can I read the District of Columbia statutes?

Each act on this page links to its official text on the state legislature's site. Havn summarizes the law and links to the source rather than restating it.

Nearby States

Maryland HOA laws

Resale fee: $250 · 20 days

Virginia HOA laws

Resale fee: $176.64 · 14 days

Keep Reading

Guides

Templates

  • HOA Annual Meeting Notice TemplateA free HOA annual meeting notice template: date, place, agenda, the election, quorum, and the proxy or ballot enclosed, written to meet the notice window in your bylaws.
  • HOA Violation Notice TemplateA free HOA violation letter template: the rule cited, what was observed and when, the photo, the cure date, what happens next, and how the owner can respond or request a hearing.
  • HOA Dues Increase and Special Assessment Notice TemplateA free HOA letter template for a dues increase or a special assessment: the new amount and when it starts, why, the payment schedule, how to pay, and where to ask questions.
  • HOA Proxy Form TemplateA free HOA proxy form template: the owner, the home, the proxy holder, the meeting, directed instructions on each item, the expiration, and the signature.

Terms to Know

  • Resale certificateThe disclosure package an HOA or condo association furnishes when a home in the community is sold: what is owed, what is coming, and the documents that govern the home.
  • HOA lienThe association's legal claim on a home for unpaid assessments, created by the declaration and, in most states, by statute.
  • Super lienIn roughly twenty states, a slice of the association's assessment lien that takes priority over the first mortgage, usually a set number of months of assessments.
  • QuorumThe minimum number of owners, or share of the votes, that must be present or represented for a meeting to act.
  • Special assessmentA one-time charge beyond the regular assessment, levied to cover a shortfall or a project the budget and the reserves cannot: a roof, a lawsuit, a storm.

In Havn

  • Self-Managed HOAsEverything a volunteer board needs, for a dollar a home a month.
  • AccountingFund accounting, budgets, bank feeds, payables, and owner statements.
  • CommunicationsMeeting notices, violation letters, and dues notices by email, text, and mail, with delivery logged.

Run a District of Columbia community with the rules built in.

HOA management software with a homeowner portal owners actually use. Resale documents are included; the requester pays for each one.

Get Started FreeSee the Homeowner Portal