Exceptional Legislation:


Who is Exempt


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from Conducting a Reserve Study?


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from Conducting a Reserve Study?


By Tim Feth, Esq. of Rafel Law Group PLLC


eserve studies provide community associations with a valuable financial tool to help them evaluate how much money


they should be saving to maintain and replace major common area components, and over what period of time that money should be saved. Washington law requires most communities to have a reserve specialist visit the site in-person every three years to conduct a visual inspection and prepare a reserve study report. Those communities are also required to have the reserve professional prepare a reserve study “update” in the years between site inspections.


Some communities are exempt from the reserve study requirement.


Some communities are exempt from the reserve study requirement. To discuss those exemptions, we first need a basic understanding of the—somewhat messy— state of community association law in Washington. For condominiums, there are three “layers” of statutes that may


28 Community Associations Journal | April 2023


apply. First, the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (“Old Act”) primarily governs condominiums formed before July 1, 1990. Second, the Washington Condominium Act (“Condo Act”) governs condominiums formed between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2018. Some Condo Act provisions apply to Old Act condos. Third, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (“WUCIOA”) governs condominiums created on or after July 1, 2018, and some of its provisions apply to both Condo Act condos and Old Act condos.


For condominiums, there are three “layers” of statutes that may apply.


Similarly, the Homeowners’ Associations Act (“HOA Act”) governs HOAs created before July 1, 2018 and WUCIOA governs HOAs created on or after July 1, 2018, with some of WUCIOA’s provisions applying to the older HOAs.


Obtaining a Reserve Study


Prior to WUCIOA, the requirements for obtaining a reserve study were relatively straightforward. RCW 64.34.380(2), a section of the Condo Act, required condominium associations that had “significant assets” to prepare and update a reserve study unless doing so “would impose an unreasonable hardship.” That section applied to both Condo Act condos and Old Act condos. Consequently,


Exceptional Legislation:


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