HOA glossaryProperty & ownership

What is a condominium association?

An association governing a community where owners hold title to units and an undivided percentage interest in the common elements.

Condominium ownership splits the building: the unit belongs to the owner, the structure and grounds belong to the owners collectively, and the association administers the whole. Each unit's percentage interest, set in the declaration, generally drives both its assessment share and its voting weight.

Because the association is responsible for the building envelope in most condominiums, the stakes on reserves and insurance are higher than in a typical planned community. Roofs, elevators, plumbing stacks and structural repair are association problems, and they arrive in large, expensive units of work.

Several states regulate condominiums under a separate chapter from planned communities, with different notice, budget and reserve requirements. Using planned-community procedure in a condominium, or the reverse, is a recurring source of defective decisions.

Why it matters to a board

Confirm you are reading the condominium chapter of your state's law, not the planned-community one. They are often numbered next to each other and are not the same.

Where the answer lives

Your recorded declaration and bylaws first, then the act that governs associations in your state. Whichever is stricter is the one that binds you.

Related terms

Common interest communityA development where owning a lot or unit carries automatic membership in an association and an obligation to pay assessments.Planned unit developmentA development of individually owned lots plus shared common area administered by an association — the most common form of HOA community.Limited common elementCommon property assigned to the exclusive use of one unit or a small group of them, such as a balcony, patio or assigned parking space.Reserve studyA professional inventory of common area components with remaining life, replacement cost, and a funding plan that keeps the reserve solvent.Master policyThe association's property and liability insurance covering the common area and, in many condominiums, the buildings themselves.
General information, not legal advice. This entry explains what the term means, not what your association must do about it. Any notice period, cure window, fine cap, vote threshold or deadline comes from your recorded declaration and your state's act — those differ in all fifty states and are amended every session. Updated August 2026. Confirm the current requirements with an attorney licensed in your state before acting.
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