Texas → HOA resale certificates
Texas HOA resale certificates: what they cost and how fast you get one
A resale certificate is the homeowners association's official statement about a home that is being sold: the dues, anything the owner still owes, known violations, lawsuits, and every fee due at transfer. Texas law caps the price at $375 and gives the association 10 business days to deliver it. We read the fee off 11,469 management certificates Texas HOAs have filed with the state. 66% charge exactly $375, the most the law allows.
The rules at a glance
| Most it can cost | $375, and only a "reasonable and necessary" fee up to that (Property Code §207.003(c)) |
|---|---|
| Deadline | 10 business days after the association receives the written request (§207.003(a)) |
| If it's late | The association may not charge a fee at all (§207.003(c-1)) |
| How fresh | Prepared no more than 60 days before it is delivered (§207.003(a)(3)) |
| An update | Up to $75, due within 7 business days; must be asked for within 180 days of the original, by whoever ordered it (§207.003(c), (f), (g)) |
| Who can order it | The owner, the buyer, their agents, or the title company acting for either (§207.003(a)) |
The dollar caps took effect September 1, 2021 (S.B. 1588). The amounts are fixed in the statute, with no inflation adjustment. This covers subdivision HOAs; condominiums follow a different chapter.
What Texas HOAs actually charge
Every Texas HOA has to state its property-transfer fees on the management certificate it files with the state (§209.004). Of the 16,862 on file, we could read 16,475 by machine, and 11,469 of those list a resale-certificate fee. The median is $375. 3,644 (32%) charge less than the cap.
| Resale certificate fee on file | HOAs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $150 | 522 | 5% |
| $150 to $249 | 996 | 9% |
| $250 to $349 | 1,435 | 13% |
| $350 to $374 | 691 | 6% |
| Exactly $375 | 7,606 | 66% |
| More than $375 | 219 | 2% |
The most common amounts after $375 are $250 (651 HOAs), $350 (529 HOAs), $150 (387 HOAs), $300 (372 HOAs).
219 certificates list a fee above $375. 181 of them mention a year of 2022 or later, so they were signed after the cap took effect. A fee on file is what the association wrote down, not always what a buyer is billed. If you are asked to pay more than $375 for the certificate itself, the limit is in §207.003(c).
By county
HOAs around Houston are the likeliest to charge under the cap. In Galveston (46%), Montgomery (50%), Fort Bend (52%), the smallest shares charge exactly $375, against Collin (85%), Dallas (84%), Travis (82%) at the top. Counties with at least 100 certificates carrying a fee:
| County | HOAs with a fee on file | Median fee | Charge exactly $375 | Charge less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 2,332 | $375 | 53% | 1,076 |
| Dallas | 1,093 | $375 | 84% | 168 |
| Bexar | 777 | $375 | 74% | 193 |
| Travis | 775 | $375 | 82% | 86 |
| Collin | 751 | $375 | 85% | 111 |
| Tarrant | 663 | $375 | 70% | 198 |
| Williamson | 484 | $375 | 78% | 60 |
| Montgomery | 334 | $370 | 50% | 167 |
| Denton | 328 | $375 | 75% | 79 |
| Fort Bend | 290 | $375 | 52% | 133 |
| Galveston | 169 | $370 | 46% | 90 |
| Hays | 141 | $375 | 81% | 23 |
| Comal | 115 | $375 | 64% | 39 |
| Ellis | 108 | $375 | 66% | 37 |
| Guadalupe | 106 | $375 | 72% | 29 |
What management companies post online
Most Texas HOAs are run by a management company, and that is who sells the certificate. On September 30, 2026 we checked the websites of 64 of the largest management companies in Texas. Only 8 post a resale-certificate price. Their standard prices: $375 (3 companies), $350 (3 companies), $250 (2 companies). 6 of the 8 also charge more for faster delivery, up to $500 all-in for one- or two-day service. Most of the rest send buyers to an ordering portal such as HomeWiseDocs or CondoCerts, where the price appears only after you register or enter a property.
The management certificate on file is often the only public place to see the fee before ordering. Each Texas association's page here links to its filed certificate: find the association, or look it up by address.
What the certificate must include
Section 207.003(b) lists sixteen items. In plain English:
- Any right of first refusal or other limit on selling the home
- The regular assessment: how much and how often
- Any approved special assessment still to come due
- Everything the owner currently owes the association
- Capital spending approved for this fiscal year
- Reserves for capital spending
- The operating budget and balance sheet
- Unpaid court judgments against the association
- Pending lawsuits the association is part of
- Proof of insurance for the common areas
- Violations the board knows about on the property
- Government health or housing code notices
- Any administrative transfer fee
- The managing agent's name, address and phone number
- Whether the association can foreclose for unpaid assessments
- Every fee due at transfer: what it is, who gets it, how much
Texas Real Estate Commission form No. 37-5 is a standard layout for these items; the law requires the content, not the form.
Buyers: what the sales contract gives you
When a home in a Texas HOA is sold on the standard state contract forms, the HOA addendum (TREC No. 36-11) decides who orders and pays for the certificate. It also gives the buyer a way out:
- You may end the contract within 3 days after you receive the certificate and HOA documents, and get your earnest money back.
- If the seller was supposed to deliver them and they never arrive, you may end the contract any time before closing.
- If anything in them turns out untrue, or changes for the worse before closing, you may end the contract.
Paragraph C of the addendum also sets the most the buyer pays toward the association's transfer fees and deposits; the seller pays any excess.
Sellers: if the HOA doesn't deliver
Send a second request by certified mail or hand delivery. If the association still hasn't delivered within 5 business days, the owner can go to court for the documents, up to $5,000, and court costs and attorney's fees. The owner can also give the buyer an affidavit saying both requests went unanswered. The association's lien for amounts owed on that date then ends (§207.004).
The certificate binds the association: it "may not deny the validity of any statement in the resale certificate," and it loses its lien for any amount it left out (§207.005).
Sources and method
Law: Texas Property Code chapter 207 and §209.004, read in the Legislative Council's official text; TREC forms 36-11 and 37-5 from trec.texas.gov. Fees on file: every management certificate on the Texas Real Estate Commission's registry (16,862 as of August 8, 2026). We read the recorded PDFs by machine and took the first resale-certificate fee each one lists, which is the standard tier (rush and update fees are listed separately and left out). 1,726 certificates mention a resale certificate without an amount we could read; they are left out, not counted as zero. A certificate can be older than the cap and still be the one on file. Company prices: each company's own website, read 2026-09-30; a price is counted only if it was posted there.
Cite as: "The HOA Book, Texas HOA resale certificate fees, from 11,469 management certificates filed with TREC, data as of 2026-09-30." Wrong or missing? Tell us. This page explains the law; it is not legal advice.