Vermont HOA Laws: What Homeowners Need to Know in 2026

Vermont’s Common Interest Ownership Act (Title 27A) covers residential condominiums created after January 1, 1999, and other communities of 12 or more residential units created after that date. Earlier communities get only the sections § 1-204 lists; pre-1999 condominiums also keep the Condominium Ownership Act.

Is your community under Title 27A at all?

Type, creation year and unit count decide it (27A V.S.A. §§ 1-201 to 1-204).

• Residential condominium created after January 1, 1999: Title 27A applies (§ 1-201(a)).
• Planned community or co-op created after that date: covered only with 12 or more residential units. A planned community of up to 24 units with no development rights gets only §§ 1-105 to 1-107 (taxes, zoning, eminent domain), as does one whose declaration caps average annual common-expense liability of residential units at $300 (adjusted by the CPI formula in § 1-115), if the declarant believes in good faith the cap suffices and the declaration bars raising it during declarant control without every owner’s consent. The declaration can still adopt the whole title (§ 1-203).
• Community created before January 1, 1999: only the sections in § 1-204, and only for events after the dates it gives. The existing declaration and bylaws are not invalidated.
• Pre-1999 planned community of 24 or fewer units, no development rights: only §§ 1-105 to 1-107, unless the declaration is amended to opt in (§ 1-204(b)).
• Nonresidential community: outside the title unless its declaration brings it in (§ 1-207).

The § 1-204 lists, as amended by 2026 Act 168 effective July 1, 2026:

• for events after December 31, 1998: §§ 1-103, 1-105, 1-106, 1-107, 2-103, 2-104, 2-121, 3-102(a)(1)–(6) and (11)–(16), 3-111, 3-116, 3-118, 4-109 and 4-117;
• for events after December 31, 2011: §§ 1-206, 2-102, 2-117(h) and (i), 2-124, 3-103, 3-108, 3-110 and 3-124;
• for events after June 30, 2026: the new § 3-125 on EV charging, in communities of 12 or more residential units created on or before January 1, 2011.

Each list applies “unless excepted under section 1-203.” Pre-1999 condominiums were declared under the Condominium Ownership Act (27 V.S.A. ch. 15, subchapter 1), which § 1-201(a) closes to communities created after December 31, 1998.

What an unpaid assessment can cost you

Under § 3-116, which also reaches pre-1999 communities, the association’s lien covers assessments and fines. It ranks ahead of everything on the unit except encumbrances and liens that predate the recorded declaration; a first mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the assessment went delinquent; and real estate taxes and other governmental assessments or charges. Even against that first mortgage, the lien still takes priority for the budget-based assessments that would have come due in the six months before enforcement began, ignoring acceleration. Mechanics’ liens and liens for the association’s other assessments keep their rank, and the homestead chapter (27 V.S.A. ch. 3) does not shield the unit. Unless enforcement proceedings start within three years after the full assessment is due, the lien ends.

Foreclosure runs under 12 V.S.A. chapter 172. Under § 3-116(m), the association may not start it unless three conditions are met:

• the owner owes at least three months of budget-based assessments;
• the owner has failed to accept or comply with a payment plan the association offered;
• the board votes to foreclose on that specific unit.

If what is owed includes no unpaid assessment, only fines or fees, the association must win a judgment against the owner and perfect a judgment lien before foreclosing. Every step of a sale must be commercially reasonable. A written request gets you a recordable statement of what you owe within 10 business days, and it binds the association.

Fines under § 3-102(a)(11) come only “after notice and a hearing.”

Budget votes and the ten-day meeting notice

In a community fully under the title, § 3-123 makes the board send a budget summary within 30 days of adopting a proposed budget, with the owners’ meeting 10 to 60 days later. It takes effect unless more than half of all unit owners, or the larger number the declaration sets, vote it down. Special assessments follow the same route, except that a two-thirds board vote can declare an emergency assessment.

For board meetings, § 3-108 has reached pre-1999 communities since 2012. Owners get at least 10 days’ notice with the agenda, unless the meeting is on a schedule given to owners or is an emergency. Executive sessions allow no final vote and may be held only to consult the association’s attorney on legal matters; on existing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration or administrative proceedings; on labor or personnel matters; on contracts or bids under negotiation when premature disclosure would hurt the association; or where public knowledge would violate someone’s privacy. Owner meetings need 10 to 60 days’ notice, which may be shortened for an emergency.

Inspecting records under § 3-118

Ask in writing, with five days’ notice, identifying the specific records. The association may charge a reasonable fee for copies and for supervising your review. It may hold back material only to the extent it concerns:

• personnel, salary and medical records of specific individuals;
• contracts, leases and purchases currently being negotiated;
• existing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration or administrative proceedings;
• existing or potential government proceedings to enforce the declaration, bylaws or rules;
• attorney communications covered by privilege or work-product protection;
• information whose disclosure would violate other law;
• records of an executive session;
• unit files of owners other than you.

The resale certificate and the five-day exit

Before the buyer takes title or possession, whichever comes first, the seller must deliver the declaration, bylaws, rules and a certificate covering the 12 items in § 4-109(a). The association has 10 days after the seller asks to supply it. Until the certificate is provided, and for five days after, the buyer may void the contract, and the buyer is not liable for unpaid assessments or fees above what it states. The association’s charge falls under § 3-102(a)(12), which allows “reasonable charges” for resale certificates. Neither a certificate nor a public offering statement is needed for:

• a gift;
• a court-ordered disposition;
• one by a government or agency;
• a foreclosure sale, or a deed given instead of foreclosure;
• a disposition to a dealer;
• a sale the buyer can cancel at any time without penalty;
• a nonresidential unit (§ 4-101(b)).

A sale that requires a public offering statement uses that instead. Add the certificate charge to your Vermont closing costs.

Two 2026 changes: EV chargers and plug-in solar

EV charging (§ 3-125, 2026 Act 168, effective July 1, 2026). It reaches communities of 12 or more residential units, older ones included for events after June 30, 2026, unless § 1-203 excepts them. A covenant or rule that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts charging equipment in your unit, limited common element or exclusively designated parking space is void. Reasonable restrictions survive. The association may impose the conditions listed in § 3-125(c). An application not denied in writing within 90 days is deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for information. Costs and removal duties fall on the owner under § 3-125(f).

Solar (27 V.S.A. § 544, as amended by 2026 Act 149, effective July 1, 2026). Covenants may not prohibit solar collectors, clotheslines or other renewable-energy devices on buildings. From July 1, 2026 that includes plug-in photovoltaic devices appurtenant to a building. A review body may pick the roof spot within due south or 45° either side of it, if operation is not impaired; the prevailing party in a suit recovers attorney’s fees. Patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives and apartments are outside the section, except for plug-in devices.

Vermont owners ask

Our condo was declared in 1986. Which law applies?

The Condominium Ownership Act plus the § 1-204 sections, including the lien, records and resale-certificate rules.

Can the association foreclose while I’m keeping up with a payment plan?

Not under § 3-116(m)(1), which requires that the owner has failed to accept or comply with the plan the association offered.

Who can I call in state government?

From July 1, 2026, the Secretary of State must publish information on common interest communities, including the statutes (3 V.S.A. § 119, 2026 Act 179). Title 27A itself enforces through court actions or agreed ADR (§ 4-117). Related reading: our HOA glossary entry, how to sell a house with an HOA, the Vermont homeowner insurance guide and the Vermont page.