Louisiana HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

The Louisiana Condominium Act governs condominiums created by a recorded declaration, including regimes originally formed under the state's earlier condominium statutes, so it reaches condominiums regardless of when they were created. It covers the condominium's creation, the unit owners' association and its governance and assessment powers, association records, and the disclosure documents an association must provide, including a resale certificate for a purchaser of an existing unit.

• La. R.S. 9:1124.107 (Resales of Units)

  On a resale by a unit owner other than a declarant, the seller furnishes the purchaser, before any contract to purchase or otherwise before conveyance, the declaration (without plats and plans), the articles or other documents creating the association, the bylaws, and a certificate with eight items: current common expense assessments, capital expenditures approved for the current and next two fiscal years, reserves and their designated portions, the most recent balance sheet and income and expense statement, the current operating budget, unsatisfied judgments and pending suits, insurance coverage, and the remaining term of any ground lease. The association furnishes the certificate within 10 days after the unit owner's request; no fee is stated. The seller is not liable for the association's errors or delay, but the contract to purchase is voidable by the purchaser until the certificate is provided and for five days thereafter, or until conveyance, whichever comes first. A declarant's sales fall under the public offering statement sections instead.

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The Louisiana Planned Community Act governs homeowners associations and other planned communities created by a recorded declaration. It was substantially rewritten and renamed from the former Louisiana Homeowners Association Act, effective in 2025, and reaches both existing and newly formed communities. It covers formation of the community and its association, association governance and board powers, assessments and budgets, association records, and consumer protections owed to a purchaser buying directly from the developer, such as a public offering statement and cancellation rights, but it does not impose a separate resale certificate or disclosure statement requirement when an existing owner resells a lot.

• La. R.S. 9:1145 (Privileges; Enforcement)

  Part III of the chapter, reaching associations organized under either the Condominium Act or the Planned Community Act: a privilege arises on a lot or unit for any assessment attributable to it and any fines against the owner, enforceable with board approval. Within 10 business days after receipt of a request made in a record, the association must furnish the owner a statement of the amount of unpaid assessments against the lot or unit, and the statement binds the association. Amended effective January 1, 2025.

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• La. R.S. 9:1141.36 (Association records)

  Under the Planned Community Act as rewritten effective January 1, 2025, a lot owner, the owner's agent, or a person holding a contract to purchase a lot may request the association's governing and financial records, and the association may charge a reasonable fee for copies and for supervising an inspection. The Act imposes no resale certificate or disclosure duty on an existing owner's resale; its purchaser protections (9:1141.41 to 9:1141.50) govern sales by a declarant.

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