HOA glossaryProperty & ownership

What is a declarant?

The developer who records the declaration and creates the association, holding special rights until control transfers to the owners.

Also called: Developer

The declarant creates the community, appoints the first board, and typically reserves rights: to annex additional phases, to amend the declaration for defined purposes, to approve architectural changes, and to control the board until a stated threshold is met.

Those reserved rights are legitimate and time-limited, but they are also frequently drafted broadly. Reading exactly what the declarant may still do, and for how long, is one of the more valuable hours a new owner-controlled board can spend.

Declarant obligations run the other way too — funding deficits during the control period, delivering common area free of liens, and turning over records, keys, warranties and plans at transition.

Why it matters to a board

Diary the transition triggers. Rights that expire on a percentage of sales or a fixed date have a habit of outliving their expiry unless someone is watching.

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

TurnoverThe handover of association control from the developer to a board elected by the owners, and the audit and record transfer that should accompany it.DeclarationThe recorded instrument that creates the community, submits the land to the association's authority, and defines what is common and what is owned.Board of directorsThe elected body that governs the association, holding all authority the governing documents grant to it and no more.Reserve studyA professional inventory of common area components with remaining life, replacement cost, and a funding plan that keeps the reserve solvent.
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.
D&O insurance Declaration All 65 terms

Start with one community. Or all forty.

Free for thirty days. No card required.

Start free trial Talk to sales
For management companies with 500+ doors, ask about Multi-Portfolio onboarding.