Rhode Island HOA Laws: What Homeowners Need to Know in 2026

Rhode Island regulates condominiums and leaves subdivision HOAs to their recorded covenants. The Condominium Law, chapter 34-36.1, fully covers condos created after July 1, 1982; pre-1982 condos get a listed set of its sections. A condo association’s lien jumps ahead of the first mortgage for six months of budgeted dues.

Condo, older condo, or house lot: sorting out which Rhode Island statute applies

Section 34-36.1-1.02 draws the lines. Chapter 34-36.1 “applies to all condominiums created within this state after July 1, 1982.” An older condo can switch to it in full only by a written agreement signed by the association and every unit owner, recorded in each town where the condo sits.

A pre-1982 condo that never switched is still bound by these sections, for events after July 1, 1982, and without invalidating its existing declaration, bylaws, plats or plans (subdivision (a)(2); 2024 Public Laws chapters 154 and 156, effective June 17, 2024, added 3.06(c)–(d), and 2025 chapters 123, 136 and 177–180, effective June 24, 2025, added 3.08, 3.13(d) and (k), and 2.19(b)):

• 34-36.1-1.05, 1.06 and 1.07 (separate titles and taxation; local ordinances and building codes; eminent domain);
• 2.03 and 2.04 (validity of declaration and bylaws; unit descriptions) and 2.19(b) (mortgage approval);
• 3.02(a)(1)–(6) and (11)–(17) (association powers), 3.06(c)–(d) (recording and certifying bylaws and rules), 3.08 (meetings and notice) and 3.11 (tort and contract liability);
• 3.13(d) and (k) (unit owners’ share of the master-policy deductible), 3.16 (lien), 3.18 (records) and 3.20 (fines);
• 4.09 (resale certificate) and 4.17 (remedies and attorney’s fees), plus the 1.03 definitions as far as needed to read them.

A phase added later to a pre-1982 condo counts as pre-1982 if the original declaration contemplated it, and the power-of-sale section, 3.21, reaches condos created before June 19, 1991 only for events after June 18, 1991. Otherwise older buildings remain under the Condominium Ownership Act, chapter 34-36, which § 1.02(b) shuts out of post-1982 condos.

For subdivisions, the Title 34 chapter index (“Property”) lists “Condominium Ownership” and “Condominium Law” and no chapter for planned communities or homeowners’ associations. Such an association answers to its declaration of covenants and, if incorporated as a nonprofit, to chapter 7-6: member-meeting notice “not less than ten (10) nor more than 60 days” ahead unless the articles or bylaws provide otherwise (§ 7-6-19), and a member’s right to inspect books and records “for any proper purpose at any reasonable time” (§ 7-6-30). Everything below comes from the condo statute and does not bind a subdivision HOA.

Condo dues, the budget vote, and the $100-a-day ceiling on fines

Overdue assessments carry interest at a rate the association sets, “not exceeding twenty-one percent (21%) per year” (§ 34-36.1-3.15). Within 30 days of adopting a budget, the board mails owners a summary and sets a ratification meeting 14 to 30 days after mailing; the budget stands unless a majority of all unit owners, or a larger vote the declaration requires, rejects it (§ 3.03(c)). That section is not on the pre-1982 list.

Fines under § 34-36.1-3.20 require notice and a chance for a hearing first, before the board or its designee. A residential condo may fine no more than $100 a day for continuing conduct and no more than $500 for any other fine (commercial condos: $500 and $1,000). Every fine is a lien on the unit.

Six months ahead of the mortgage: the condo lien and power of sale

Under § 34-36.1-3.16 the lien attaches when an assessment or fine falls due, and recording the declaration perfects it. It outranks every other lien on the unit except three: liens recorded before the declaration and not subordinated to it; a first mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the assessment went delinquent; and real estate taxes and other governmental charges.

Even against that first mortgage, the lien wins for the budget-based assessments that would have come due, absent acceleration, in the six months before foreclosure, plus collection attorney’s fees up to $2,500 and foreclosure costs up to $5,000 ($7,500 combined). Special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties and interest get no such priority. At 60 days’ delinquency the association must notify the owner and the first mortgagee by certified mail, return receipt requested, and first-class mail; skipping the lender’s notice keeps the six-month priority but drops the fees and costs from it. The priority rules leave mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens, and liens for the association’s other assessments, where they were (§ 3.16(b)(6)). The lien dies unless enforcement starts within six years after the full assessment comes due.

Section 3.21 lets the board itself sell the unit at public auction when an owner defaults on “any assessment, fine, or any other charge which is a lien.” Certified-mail notice goes to the owner and first mortgagee at least 20 days before the newspaper ads, which run weekly for two successive weeks; the sale comes at least 15 days after the first ad. The lender is told the high bid within seven days after the sale and then has 30 days to redeem by paying all assessments due plus the association’s fees and costs.

Books, meetings and board votes inside a Rhode Island condominium

An owner or the owner’s authorized agent can examine “all financial and other records” within 30 days of asking (§ 3.18, as amended by 2019 Public Laws chapters 285 and 309). Nothing in the section lets the board withhold a category.

Owners meet at least yearly, and owners holding 20 percent of the votes (or a lower bylaw figure) can call a special meeting. Notice goes out 10 to 60 days ahead and must list the agenda, including proposed amendments, budget changes and any move to remove a director or officer (§ 3.08). Two-thirds of the owners present at a meeting with a quorum can remove a director, with or without cause, other than a developer appointee (§ 3.03(g)).

Selling a condo unit: a $125 certificate and the buyer’s five-day window

Before the contract is signed, or otherwise before closing, a reselling owner hands the buyer the declaration (without plats and plans), bylaws, rules and a certificate with the twelve statements listed in § 34-36.1-4.09(a).

The association has 10 days from the owner’s request to produce it and may charge no more than $125 (2021 Public Laws chapters 56 and 59, effective June 18, 2021). Missing the 10 days after a written request exposes it to a civil penalty of $100 to $500 per occurrence. The buyer owes no unpaid assessment above the certificate’s figure and can void the contract until the certificate arrives and for five days after, or until conveyance, whichever comes first.

No certificate is required where the sale calls for a public offering statement instead, or for a disposition § 4.01(b) exempts: gratuitous; under court order; by a government or agency; by foreclosure or deed in lieu; to a person in the business of selling real estate who intends to offer the units to purchasers; or one the buyer may cancel at any time for any reason without penalty. See also selling a home in an HOA and Rhode Island closing costs.

Rhode Island owners ask

My subdivision has an HOA. Does the Condominium Law protect me?

No, unless your home is a condominium unit. Chapter 34-36.1 governs condominiums; a subdivision association runs on its recorded covenants, with chapter 7-6 supplying meeting and records rules if it is a nonprofit corporation.

Can a condo association sell my unit over unpaid fines?

Yes. Section 3.21 authorizes an auction for default on “any assessment, fine, or any other charge which is a lien.” Fines, though, never share the lien’s six-month priority over an earlier first mortgage.

How long can a condo board take to open its books?

Thirty days from the request, under § 3.18, and that deadline covers pre-1982 condos as well.

Background: the HOA glossary entry, the home buying guide and the Rhode Island hub.