Reserve Studies & Disclosure
A reserve study tells an association what its buildings will cost to maintain and whether it's setting aside enough to get there. Washington now requires most associations to keep one current and to disclose it, and the 2026 changes pulled older communities into those rules. We handle the legal side of reserves, funding, and the disclosures owners and buyers are owed.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
3
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Reserve study and disclosure attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle community associations
Oseran Hahn advises HOA and condominium boards on reserve studies, reserve funding, and the disclosure obligations that go with them. WUCIOA requires a current reserve study and a funding plan for the major repairs every community eventually faces, and the resale certificates the association gives sellers have to disclose the reserve picture accurately. The 2026 changes extended much of this to communities created before July 2018 and expanded what must be disclosed. We keep boards compliant and use the study as the tool it should be, not a checkbox.
Reserves are where a community's long-term financial health is won or lost, and Washington now regulates both the planning and the disclosure. We make sure the association's reserve study meets the statutory requirements; we advise on funding the reserve account and ratifying the budget that pays for it; we get the resale-certificate disclosures right when owners sell; we handle the offering-statement disclosures for new and expanding projects; and we use the study to justify assessments and defend the board if funding decisions are challenged.
The reserve study requirement
WUCIOA requires an association to prepare and regularly update a reserve study, a professional projection of when the major common-element components will need repair or replacement and what that will cost (RCW 64.90.545), with the contents the statute specifies (RCW 64.90.550). The point is to see the big expenses coming, a roof, a facade, an elevator, decades out, rather than discovering them as emergencies. As of January 1, 2026, this requirement reaches many communities created before July 2018 that were previously outside it, so a board that has never commissioned a study may now be required to. We tell boards what the law requires and when.
Reserve funding and the budget
A reserve study is only useful if the association funds toward it. WUCIOA governs the reserve account and the withdrawals from it (RCW 64.90.535; RCW 64.90.540), and the board sets the contribution through the annual budget the owners ratify (RCW 64.90.525). Chronic underfunding is the most common reserve problem and the one that forces a painful special assessment when a big component fails. We advise boards on a funding plan that the statute supports and that the membership will actually approve, and on the disclosures required when reserves fall short.
Disclosure: the resale certificate
When an owner sells a unit, the association has to give the seller a resale certificate disclosing the association's finances, the reserve study and balance, the assessments, any pending litigation, and the other items the statute lists (RCW 64.90.640). The 2026 changes expanded what the certificate must disclose and capped what the association can charge to prepare it. A certificate that understates a coming special assessment or misstates the reserves can expose the association to the buyer, so accuracy matters. We build a resale-certificate process that is complete, timely, and priced within the statute.
Offering statements for new and expanding projects
For communities still being developed or expanded, the declarant has to give buyers a public offering statement that lays out the budget, the projected assessments, and the reserve picture before they buy (RCW 64.90.610; RCW 64.90.625). Established boards rarely deal with this, but it matters on conversions, additional phases, and developer-controlled communities approaching transition. We prepare and review offering-statement disclosures so the financial picture presented to buyers is accurate and the association is not left answering for a declarant's optimistic numbers.
Enforcement and using the study
The reserve requirements have teeth: an owner can demand that the association obtain a compliant study, and the statute provides a mechanism to enforce it (RCW 64.90.555). More often, the study earns its keep by giving the board cover. When owners object to a dues increase or a special assessment, a current reserve study showing the funding was necessary is the board's best defense, and it ties directly to the directors' standard of care. We help boards treat the study as a planning and risk-management tool rather than a line item to minimize.
Two decades advising Eastside associations on reserves, funding, and disclosure, with attorneys who track the WUCIOA reserve rules and the 2026 changes that now reach older communities. We keep the board compliant and turn the reserve study into the funding and defense tool it should be.
We keep you compliant with the new rules.
The 2026 changes pulled many older associations into the reserve-study and disclosure requirements for the first time. We tell boards exactly what now applies to them, so a missed requirement doesn't surface in a lawsuit or a failed sale.
We get the disclosures right.
A resale certificate that misstates reserves or a coming assessment is a claim waiting to happen. We build a disclosure process that's accurate, on time, and priced within what the statute allows.
We turn the study into leverage.
A current reserve study is the board's best answer to owners who fight a dues increase. We help boards use it to justify funding and defend the decision under the directors' standard of care.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Does our association have to have a reserve study?
Most do now. WUCIOA requires associations to prepare and regularly update a reserve study (RCW 64.90.545), and as of January 1, 2026, that requirement reaches many communities created before July 2018 that were previously exempt. If your board has never commissioned one, it may be required to now. We confirm what applies to your community.
How much do we have to keep in reserves?
Washington doesn't set a single required balance, but it requires a reserve study and governs the reserve account and funding plan (RCW 64.90.545; RCW 64.90.535). The board sets the contribution through the budget owners ratify (RCW 64.90.525). The practical answer comes from the study: fund toward the repairs it projects, because underfunding is what forces special assessments later.
What do we have to disclose when an owner sells?
The association provides a resale certificate disclosing its finances, the reserve study and balance, assessments, pending litigation, and more (RCW 64.90.640). The 2026 changes expanded those disclosures and capped the preparation fee. Accuracy matters: a certificate that hides a coming special assessment can expose the association to the buyer. We make the process complete and compliant.
We're an older HOA. Do the 2026 reserve rules apply to us?
Often yes. Effective January 1, 2026, ESSB 5129 extended several WUCIOA provisions, including reserve studies and expanded resale disclosures, to communities created before July 2018. By 2028, WUCIOA governs nearly all Washington associations. We tell boards exactly which of the new requirements now apply to their community.
An owner is challenging our special assessment for a big repair. Are we protected?
A current reserve study is your best defense. If it shows the repair was anticipated and the funding was necessary, the board's decision is far easier to defend under its standard of care. Where reserves were underfunded, we help the board document the basis for the assessment and address any owner challenge, with the trial group available if it escalates.
When should we bring in a lawyer on reserves?
When you're not sure the new requirements apply to you, when a sale is pending and a resale certificate has to go out, and before a contested dues increase or special assessment. Early advice keeps the board compliant with the 2026 rules and turns the reserve study into protection rather than exposure.
Reserve-study compliance, funding strategy, resale-certificate disclosures, and the 2026 WUCIOA changes for Washington community associations.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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