Where the Rules for an Empty Unit at 2727 Kirby Are Written

Not one with oversight. The Texas State Law Library's guide says there is no Texas state agency that oversees property owners' associations. A question about what the 2727 Kirby association requires of an unoccupied unit therefore goes to the association, its board or its managing agent. Read the written answer against the declaration, bylaws and rules.

The association's name, managing agent and mailing address are public. An association records a management certificate in each county where any part of the condominium sits. The county clerk indexes it as a Condominium Association Management Certificate. Not later than the seventh day after filing it for recording, the association files the same certificate electronically with the Texas Real Estate Commission, which collects it to make the data public. Send your question in writing to the address on the most current certificate, and keep a copy of what you sent.

Begin with a written request in the form the condominium statute sets. The Texas Real Estate Research Center's 2022 article on property owners' associations reports that a member denied access to requested books or records may petition the justice court for relief. The same article notes that one of the 2022 changes does not apply to condominium regimes, so ask a Texas lawyer which of its rules reach a condominium.

For a condominium, the request goes by certified mail to the mailing address on the most current recorded management certificate. It describes the records in enough detail and elects either inspection first or copies. The association answers within ten business days of receiving it. If it cannot meet that, it sends written notice naming a date no later than the fifteenth business day after that notice. The right belongs to a unit owner, or to someone the owner names in a signed writing as agent, attorney or certified public accountant.

The Texas Real Estate Research Center's 2022 article reports that associations with eight or more units must adopt a document retention policy that meets certain minimum requirements. Under the condominium retention rules, financial books and records are kept for seven years. Minutes of owner and board meetings are kept for seven years as well. That window is the range worth naming in a request.

Tax returns and audit records are also kept for seven years. Account records of current owners are kept for five years. Formation documents, bylaws and dedicatory instruments are kept permanently. A board's decision on a rule shows in its minutes, so ask for the years around any rule change you hear about. The published counts for 2727 Kirby run from 78 to 96, all above eight.

Yes, on a deadline. Not later than the 30th day after you acquire an interest in a unit, you give the association the name and telephone number of anyone occupying it other than you. You also give the name, address and telephone number of anyone managing the unit as your agent.

The same report includes your mailing address, telephone number and driver's license number, if any. It also includes the name and address of any lienholder, with the loan number. The deadline applies again once you have notice that any of that information has changed, and the association may ask for it from time to time. A change in who holds the keys or checks the unit while you travel is something to report as well as to arrange.

Read the policy itself. Under the Texas Uniform Condominium Act, an association insures the insurable common elements, and in a stacked tower that property insurance must include the units. It need not include improvements an owner installed. Whether the policy treats an unoccupied unit differently sits in its exclusions and conditions, which only the policy states.

The resale certificate must state the insurance provided for the benefit of owners, and the promulgated form carries an insurance summary as an attachment. Ask for the full policy by name as well, with its deductible. The statute lets an association carry commercially reasonable deductibles, and the governing documents decide who bears one. Renovated finishes and personal property sit outside the association's cover by default. Set your own policy against the association's for the specific unit number.

Yes. An assessment is a personal obligation of the unit owner, secured by a continuing lien on the unit that recording the declaration created. Occupancy does not change who owes it. The resale certificate states the periodic assessment on a specific home, and the budget behind that figure is adopted at least annually.

Unless the declaration provides otherwise, the lien secures more than the monthly fee. Special assessments, interest, late fees, fines, collection costs and attorney's fees are among the amounts it covers. A past due amount may bear interest at a lawful rate the association sets. If you will be away for months, set up payment so it does not depend on mail reaching an empty unit.

Look first to the association's own channels. A condominium of at least 60 units, or one that has contracted with a management company, must keep the current version of its recorded dedicatory instruments on a website accessible to members. Once you own, you are a member. Amendments to the declaration are also recorded in the county real property records.

The board's minutes record its decisions, and owners can request them in writing. The recorded management certificate states the website address where the dedicatory instruments are available. An amended certificate is due not later than the 30th day after the association has notice of a change in what it must state. In the same letter as any records request, ask how the association tells owners about a rule change and whether it sends notice by e-mail as well as by post.