Texas SB 711 (2025): HOA Websites, Management Certificates, ARC and Fencing Rules

Quick Answer

Texas Senate Bill 711 (2025) is an omnibus bill on property owners' associations, including condominium unit owners' associations. It requires larger or professionally managed condominium associations to post their governing documents online, expands condominium management certificates (with a filing with the Texas Real Estate Commission), caps the condominium resale certificate fee at $375, sets new rules on fencing, and changes who may serve on and how candidates are solicited for an architectural review authority. It took effect September 1, 2025.

At a Glance

What the Law Says

Condominium association websites (§ 82.1142)

The bill adds a definition of "management company" to § 82.003(a): a person or entity "established or contracted to provide management or administrative services on behalf of a unit owners' association." New § 82.1142 applies only to "the association of a condominium composed of at least 60 units" or "an association that has contracted with a management company." Those associations "shall make the current version of the association's dedicatory instruments relating to the association and filed in the county deed records available on an Internet website" that is maintained by the association or a management company and "accessible to association members."

Condominium management certificates (§ 82.116)

• The certificate, recorded in each county where the condominium lies and signed by an officer, must now state the name, mailing address, telephone number and email address of any management company.
• It must give the website address where dedicatory instruments are available under § 82.1142.
• It must state "the amount and description of a fee or fees charged to a unit seller or buyer relating to a transfer of a property interest in a unit."
• An amended certificate must be recorded "not later than the 30th day after the date the association has notice of a change in any information" in the recorded certificate. Before, only changes to some items triggered an update.
• New (b-1): "Not later than the seventh day" after filing a certificate or amended certificate for recording, the association must electronically file it with the Texas Real Estate Commission. The Commission collects it only "for the purpose of making the data accessible to the public through an Internet website."
• Liability protection in (c) for delay or failure now also covers the Commission filing, unless the delay or failure is "wilful or caused by gross negligence."
• New (d): a unit owner "is not liable for attorney's fees incurred by an association relating to the collection of a delinquent assessment," or for interest on it, if the fees are incurred or the interest accrues "during the period a management certificate is not recorded with a county clerk or electronically filed" with the Commission.

A transition section requires an association that recorded a certificate before September 1, 2025 to file the most recent one with the Commission "not later than March 1, 2026."

Condominium resale certificate fee (§ 82.157(f))

An association "may charge a reasonable and necessary fee, not to exceed $375, to furnish a resale certificate" under § 82.157(a).

Fencing in subdivisions (§ 202.023)

Section 202.023 already limits association bans on security cameras and perimeter fences. SB 711 rewrites subsection (c) and adds (d) and (e). The section does not prohibit an association from:

• prohibiting a security camera in a place other than the owner's private property;
• regulating the type of fencing an owner may install;
• prohibiting fencing that obstructs a license area (as defined by a written license agreement or plat), a sidewalk in the public right-of-way or installed for public or community use, or a drainage easement or drainage area;
• requiring a driveway gate to be set back at least 10 feet from the right-of-way if the driveway meets a laned roadway as defined in Transportation Code § 541.302; or
• "if provided by a restrictive covenant," prohibiting fencing in front of the front-most building line of a dwelling.

Subsection (d) says an owner "may maintain" perimeter fencing or front-of-dwelling fencing "installed or constructed before September 1, 2025." Subsection (e) says an association may not use the front-of-building-line rule against an owner whose residential address is exempt from public disclosure under state or federal law, or who provides documentation from a law enforcement agency of the owner's need for enhanced security measures.

Architectural review authority (§ 209.00506 and § 209.00507)

Both sections apply only to an architectural review authority covered by § 209.00505. That section applies only to an association of more than 40 lots and does not apply during the development period or while the declarant controls or can veto the authority.

• § 209.00506: the former subsection (c) of § 209.00505 is redesignated. A person may not be appointed or elected unless the person "timely notifies" the association of interest under § 209.00507. A current board member, a board member's spouse, or a person in a board member's household may not serve. If a vacancy remains after every eligible person who timely applied has been appointed, the association "may appoint any person to fill the vacancy."
• § 209.00507: not later than the 10th day before the association or board acts to elect or appoint, or meets to do so, it must give members notice soliciting interested persons. The notice goes by mail to each owner, or by posting (on common property, on consenting owners' private property, or on an association website or other Internet media) plus email to each owner who has registered an email address. It must tell people how and by what date to respond, and that date "may not be a date earlier than the 10th day after the date the association provides the notice."

What This Means in Practice

Condominium boards

• Check the two triggers: 60 or more units, or a contract with a management company. Either one brings the website duty. The statute names an association or management company as the host, and the site must be accessible to members.
• Calendar the certificate steps: record an amended certificate within 30 days of notice of a change, then file with the Commission within 7 days of sending it for recording. The fee-and-attorney-fee consequence in § 82.116(d) makes the filing worth tracking.
• Our reading: because the certificate must list the fees charged to a seller or buyer, a $375 resale certificate fee and any other transfer fees should be consistent with what the recorded certificate says. Confirm with counsel.

Subdivision boards

• Fencing: a board that already regulates fence type can keep doing so. A ban on front-yard fencing requires a restrictive covenant that provides for it, and fencing installed before September 1, 2025 may be maintained.
• Architectural review: if your authority is covered by § 209.00505, check your appointment process against the 10-day solicitation notice and the board-household exclusion.

What the bill does not say

• It does not extend the website rule to subdivision associations. Subdivision website duties are in § 207.006 (see the Chapter 207 page), which this bill did not amend.
• It states no deadline for the website to be live. The effective date is September 1, 2025. Whether any grace period applies is an open question for counsel.
• Our reading: the $375 cap is a ceiling on a "reasonable and necessary" fee, not a fixed fee.
• It does not say the Commission checks or approves certificates. The Commission collects them only to make the data public.

Some of these topics were also in an earlier omnibus bill, S.B. 1668 (2023), which was reported vetoed. We did not read the veto proclamation, so see the vetoed omnibus page and confirm the history with counsel.

Timeline

Related Texas Law

• Chapter 82: Uniform Condominium Act
• Management certificate filing with the Texas Real Estate Commission
• Chapter 207: resale certificates and disclosure
• H.B. 3571 (2021): security cameras and fences
• S.B. 318 (2021): condominium books and records
• S.B. 1668 (2023), vetoed, and its 2025 return
• S.B. 2629 (2025): electronic meetings and voting
• Texas HOA law changes 2021 to 2025

Board Checklist

• Condominiums: decide whether you have 60 or more units or a management contract, and if so, publish current recorded dedicatory instruments on a members-accessible website.
• Update the recorded management certificate to add management company contact details, the website address and the seller and buyer transfer fees.
• File the certificate with the Texas Real Estate Commission, and set a reminder for the 7-day filing step after every future amendment.
• Confirm the March 1, 2026 filing was made for any certificate recorded before September 1, 2025.
• Check that any condominium resale certificate fee does not exceed $375 and is reasonable and necessary.
• Review fence rules against § 202.023(c) to (e), including grandfathered fencing and the address and law enforcement exceptions.
• If you have an architectural review authority covered by § 209.00505, send the 10-day solicitation notice before appointing and exclude board households unless a vacancy remains.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which condominium associations must post documents online under S.B. 711?

Under § 82.1142, an association of a condominium composed of at least 60 units, or an association that has contracted with a management company. The website may be maintained by the association or the management company.

What is the Texas Real Estate Commission filing for condominiums?

Under § 82.116(b-1), within 7 days after sending a management certificate or amended certificate for recording, the association must electronically file it with the Commission. Associations with a certificate recorded before September 1, 2025 had until March 1, 2026.

What happens if a condominium association does not record and file its certificate?

Under § 82.116(d), a unit owner is not liable for the association's attorney's fees for collecting a delinquent assessment, or for interest on it, that are incurred or accrue during the period when the certificate is not recorded or not filed with the Commission.

What is the maximum condominium resale certificate fee?

Section 82.157(f) allows "a reasonable and necessary fee, not to exceed $375."

Can an HOA ban front-yard fences after S.B. 711?

Only "if provided by a restrictive covenant," and not against fencing installed before September 1, 2025 or against an owner who qualifies under the confidential-address or law-enforcement-documentation exceptions in § 202.023(e).

Who can serve on an architectural review authority now?

Not a current board member, the member's spouse, or someone in the member's household, and only a person who timely notified the association of interest. If a vacancy remains after every eligible applicant is appointed, the association may appoint any person.

Does the architectural review change apply to every HOA?

It applies only to an authority covered by § 209.00505, which applies to an association of more than 40 lots and excludes periods of declarant control.

Where This Comes From

We read the full enrolled text of S.B. 711 (89th Legislature, Regular Session), including its effective-date and transition sections, at capitol.texas.gov, and the 2025 Texas Statutes text of Property Code § 209.00505 on Justia for the applicability limits. The enrolled copy has a blank governor approval line, so we did not verify a signing date. We did not read the current published text of the Chapter 82 and § 202.023 sections after enactment.

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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 Texas attorney before acting.