New Jersey HOA Law Changes 2021–2025: Board Guide

New Jersey HOA and condominium associations are governed by the New Jersey Condominium Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8B-1 et seq.) and the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREDFDA, N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq.), which also reaches HOAs and planned communities. New Jersey enacted its most consequential community-association law in decades during this period, in response to the collapse of a high-rise multifamily building in Florida, and amended part of it in August 2025.

2024: Structural Inspection and Reserve Study Mandate (S2760/A4384)

Signed in Response to the Surfside, Florida Collapse

Governor Murphy signed S2760/A4384 on January 8, 2024. It became P.L.2023, c.214 and took effect immediately. The law's findings cite "the tragic collapse of a high-rise, multifamily housing structure in Florida," and it does two main things, plus several related changes.

Mandatory structural inspections. The law requires periodic structural inspections of "covered buildings": residential condominium or cooperative buildings with a primary load bearing system of concrete, masonry, steel, or hybrid construction (including heavy timber and buildings with podium decks), but not "excluded structures" such as ISO Type 1 or frame-built construction with combustible walls or roofs, buildings that are mainly rental dwellings, and single-family dwellings. A covered building's initial inspection is due within the earlier of 15 years after its certificate of occupancy or 60 days after observable damage to the primary load bearing system. For buildings that already had a certificate of occupancy when the law took effect: if it was issued 15 or more years earlier, the initial inspection is due within two years after the effective date, which was January 8, 2026; if it was issued from one day to 14 years and 364 days earlier, the inspection is due within one year of the date 15 years after the certificate of occupancy. Reports go to the municipal appointing authority, the construction official, and the enforcing agency, and are available to residents on request.

Mandatory reserve studies. The law also requires an association of a planned real estate development to undertake and fund a capital reserve study that includes a proposed 30-year funding plan. The study is not required for an association with less than $25,000 in total common area capital assets. The deadline is not "within two years." Under N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2(b), an association that had not undertaken a reserve study within five years of the law's effective date must undertake one within one year of the effective date (January 8, 2025). An association formed after the effective date must undertake a study as soon as practicable after owners elect a majority of the executive board, and no later than two years after that election. After that, a study must be conducted and reviewed at least once every five years.

Related changes. The same act lets an executive board adopt an assessment or obtain a loan to fund corrective maintenance of the primary load bearing system without owner consent, but only after a board determination and a written report from a licensed engineer or architect (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45a as printed in the session law). It also requires developers to prepare a preventive maintenance document and expands what a developer must deliver at turnover.

2025: Reserve Funding Amendments (P.L.2025, c.132)

On August 21, 2025, New Jersey approved P.L.2025, c.132 (S3992), which amended P.L.2023, c.214 and took effect immediately. It makes these changes to the reserve rules:

• It defines "adequate" funding as a reserve balance that "will not fall below zero dollars" over the association's 30-year funding plan.
• It moves the duty to ensure the study is conducted and reviewed every five years from the "covered building owner" to the association of a planned real estate development.
• It deletes the earlier rules that capped catch-up funding increases at 10 percent of the prior year's assessment, required equal annual increases, and limited reserve spending to study-allocated amounts.
• It lets an association that existed on January 8, 2024 fund its reserve either under a funding plan in its most recent study or at 85 percent of one of those plans. The 85 percent option requires a notice to all owners in 20-point bold font stating the year and anticipated amount of the special assessment or loan, and sellers must give buyers a copy of the most recent notice before a contract is signed. The 85 percent method cannot be used for more than five fiscal years following the amendment's effective date.
• An association created after January 8, 2024 must fund its reserve under a funding plan in its most recent study.

Section 3 of P.L.2023, c.214 contains two different outer limits for later inspections (not more than 10 years after the initial inspection in one subsection, and not more than five years after a preceding inspection in another). Confirm the applicable interval with counsel or the Department of Community Affairs before calendaring a next inspection. Bills to adjust these laws have been introduced in the 2026 session; we have not confirmed that any has been enacted, so check the current text.

What New Jersey HOA and Condo Boards Should Do Now

• Determine whether your building qualifies as a "covered building" under the concrete, masonry, steel, or hybrid load-bearing criteria, and whether it falls within an excluded structure category.
• If your building's certificate of occupancy was issued 15 or more years before January 8, 2024, confirm with your engineer and counsel that the first structural inspection was completed by the January 8, 2026 deadline, and if it was not, get advice promptly.
• If your certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before January 8, 2024, calendar the inspection due within one year of the date 15 years after the certificate of occupancy.
• Confirm that your association has a capital reserve study with a 30-year funding plan that complies with N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2, and that it is reviewed at least every five years, unless your association has less than $25,000 in total common area capital assets.
• Review your reserve funding against the study's funding plan. If the board elects the 85 percent option, prepare the 20-point bold owner notice and a copy for sellers to give buyers.
• Ask counsel how the structural inspection provisions apply to your building before relying on this summary.

Related New Jersey Law

• New Jersey HOA laws and regulations
• P.L.2023, c.214: structural integrity and reserve law
• P.L.2025, c.132: reserve funding amendments
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2: capital reserve study
• N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3: reserve funding and the 85 percent option
• N.J.S.A. 52:27D-132.4: covered building inspections

How APM Provides Remote HOA Management in New Jersey

APM's remote HOA management service starts at a flat $99/month per community and monitors New Jersey HOA and condominium law updates, providing client boards with compliance guidance and updated policy templates as the law changes. Contact us at billing@apmhoa.com or call 810-777-7060, or visit remote HOA management in New Jersey for a free remote management proposal.

Legal disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and associations differ. Confirm the current statute text and how it applies to your governing documents with a licensed New Jersey attorney before acting. Last verified October 26, 2026.