Texas HOA and condo association law: what boards and owners need to know

What Texas law actually requires

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 (the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act) sets baseline rules for homeowners' associations covering records, management certificates, board meetings, and elections. It applies to most residential subdivisions governed by a property owners' association — check your declaration if you're unsure whether your community is covered.

This is a summary of what the statute requires, not a restatement of every provision. Use it to know what to ask a management company, not as a substitute for reading your governing documents or talking to counsel.

Association records

Section 209.005 requires an association to make its books and records — including financial records — open to examination by an owner. An owner requests records in writing by certified mail describing what they want. The association then has 10 business days to either produce the records or provide a written statement of the date, time, and place they'll be made available; if it can't meet that window, it must notify the owner of a date no later than the 15th business day.

Associations with more than 14 lots must adopt a document retention policy: financial records and meeting minutes for at least 7 years, and current owner account records for at least 5 years. An owner who is wrongfully denied access can petition a justice of the peace for relief, including court costs and attorney's fees.

What this means for choosing a manager: ask how a candidate handles records requests today — response time, whether requests go through a portal or by mail, and whether their retention practices already meet the statutory minimums. A manager who can't describe this process clearly is telling you something.

Board meetings

Section 209.0051 requires open board meetings with advance notice — generally mailed between 10 and 60 days before the meeting, or posted/emailed at least 144 hours before a regular meeting. Certain actions — fines, assessment increases, and special assessments among them — can't be decided outside an open meeting with proper prior notice to owners.

What this means for choosing a manager: a manager who runs meetings casually, without documented notice, is creating legal exposure for your board, not just an inconvenience.

Management certificates

Section 209.004 requires the association to record a management certificate with the county — the association's name and mailing address, and the name, mailing address, phone number, and email of whoever manages it. When that information changes (a new management company, for instance), an amended certificate must be filed within 30 days.

What this means for choosing a manager: when you switch management companies, confirm the certificate gets updated within that 30-day window. It's a small filing that boards forget, and it's the thing a title company or attorney checks first when a resale certificate or records request comes in.

Voting rights

Section 209.0059 voids any provision in governing documents that would disqualify an otherwise-eligible owner from voting in board elections based on things like assessment disputes or violations, with narrow statutory exceptions. A management company shouldn't be advising a board to bar owners from voting outside those exceptions.