The questions
Ask these before the next meeting
Each question is tied to the New Jersey rule it's based on. Skim all of them, then skip to the email template below if you want to send them as-is.
- 01
Has the association completed a capital reserve study within the last five years, and was it performed or overseen by a credentialed reserve specialist or a State-licensed engineer or architect?
Under N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2, the association must undertake and fund a capital reserve study conforming to National Reserve Study Standards, performed or overseen by a credentialed reserve specialist or a NJ-licensed engineer or architect. The study must be conducted at least every five years. A study older than five years — or one prepared by unqualified staff — is a direct compliance gap, not a best-practice failing.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2 (P.L. 2023, c. 214, § 6)
- 02
Does the current reserve study include a 30-year funding plan that meets the zero-balance-floor requirement?
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3 as amended requires at least one 30-year funding plan in which the reserve fund balance never falls below zero. A study that projects costs without a 30-year plan, or a plan that dips below zero at any point, does not satisfy the statute. This is the single most testable question you can ask about reserve adequacy in New Jersey.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3 (P.L. 2023, c. 214, as amended by P.L. 2025, c. 132)
- 03
Has the board adopted the 85 percent reduced-funding option, and if so, did you receive the required conspicuous notice before budget adoption?
The 2025 amendment allows certain existing associations to fund at 85 percent of a selected funding plan — but only for a maximum of five fiscal years, and only with conspicuous notice to all unit owners before the annual budget is adopted. The notice must specify the year and anticipated amount of any special assessment or loan resulting from the reduced funding. If the board is funding at 85 percent but you never received that notice, the reduced-funding election has a procedural gap.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3 (P.L. 2025, c. 132)
- 04
How are reserve funds currently held — segregated, commingled with operating funds for investment only with a floor balance, or pooled with other associations' funds?
Under N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e), reserve funds may be commingled with operating funds for investment purposes only, but the commingled account must never fall below the amount identified as reserve funds. Association funds may not be commingled with a manager's funds or with those of any other condominium association. A management company pooling reserve funds across client associations is running afoul of this statute. This question applies to NJ condominiums under the Condominium Act.
N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e)
- 05
Who performed the most recent reserve study, and are they independent of the property manager and any contractors who have done or bid on capital work for the community?
The statute requires a credentialed reserve specialist or a State-licensed engineer or architect. But credentials alone do not address conflicts. A reserve study performed by the same contractor who is bidding on the capital work is a conflict worth naming. Pin down who did it, whether the board shopped the engagement, and whether the preparer has any financial relationship with vendors the study recommends.
- 06
If our building meets the 'covered building' definition, has the required structural inspection been completed within the statutory timeline?
The Structural Integrity Law creates a separate inspection regime for residential condominium or cooperative buildings with primary load-bearing systems of concrete, masonry, steel, or hybrid construction. This is a different obligation from the capital reserve study — both should exist for a covered building. The initial inspection is due within 15 years of the certificate of occupancy for newer buildings, with older buildings on a statutory catch-up schedule.
C.52:27D-132.2 through 132.5 (P.L. 2023, c. 214)
- 07
What is the current gap between the recommended reserve fund balance in the 30-year plan and the association's actual reserve fund balance, and how has that gap moved since the last study?
One year of underfunding is a decision. A persistent or growing gap between the plan and the actual balance is a real warning sign — even if the association is technically compliant with the five-year study cadence. The trend is the thing you want on the record.
- 08
What capital components are currently included in the reserve study, and has anything been removed or reclassified since the last study?
Moving items out of the reserve schedule — to the operating budget, to a 'deferred maintenance' category, or off the books entirely — is a common way to make reserves look healthier than they are. Changes to the component list between studies should be documented and explained, not buried in footnotes.
- 09
Is this community also a planned real estate development under PREDFDA, and if so, are we meeting the PREDFDA reserve-study obligations alongside the Condominium Act fund-handling rules?
Most NJ condominiums are simultaneously governed by the Condominium Act (for fund-handling rules) and PREDFDA (for the capital reserve study and 30-year funding plan). A board that cites only the Condominium Act and concludes 'New Jersey does not require a reserve study' has found the wrong statute. The right answer is almost always 'both statutes apply.'
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2, 45:22A-44.3, and 46:8B-15(e)
- 10
If the 85 percent reduced-funding option is in effect, how many of the five permitted fiscal years have already been used, and what is the board's plan for returning to full funding?
The 85 percent option expires after a maximum of five fiscal years. After that, the association must fully fund whichever plan the board adopted. An association that has used four of its five years without a transition plan is heading for a sharp assessment increase or a compliance gap. Understanding where you are in the five-year window is how you tell whether 'we fund at 85 percent' is a temporary measure or a drifting default.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3 (P.L. 2025, c. 132)
Email template
Send this to your board
Replace the bracketed fields with your community name and your details. The statute citations are deliberate — they move a response from "we'll get back to you" to a real written answer.
Hi [Board / Property Manager name], I own a property at [Community Name] and I want to make sure I understand how our reserves are being handled before the next budget is ratified. I've been reading the Structural Integrity Law (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2 and 44.3, as amended by P.L. 2025, c. 132) and the Condominium Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e)), and I have a few questions I'd like answered in writing. 1. Has the association completed a capital reserve study within the last five years, and was it performed or overseen by a credentialed reserve specialist or a NJ-licensed engineer or architect as required by N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2? 2. Does the current study include a 30-year funding plan that meets the zero-balance-floor requirement of N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3? 3. Has the board adopted the 85 percent reduced-funding option under P.L. 2025, c. 132? If so, when was the conspicuous notice delivered to unit owners, and how many of the five permitted fiscal years have been used? 4. How are reserve funds currently held — segregated, commingled with operating funds with a floor balance per N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e), or pooled with other associations' funds? 5. Who performed the most recent reserve study, and are they independent of the property manager and any contractors who have done or bid on capital work for the community? 6. If our building meets the "covered building" definition, has the required structural inspection been completed within the statutory timeline? 7. What is the current gap between the recommended reserve fund balance and our actual balance, and how has it changed since the last study? I'm not trying to second-guess the board — I just want to confirm we are meeting both the PREDFDA reserve-study obligations and the Condominium Act fund-handling rules. I would appreciate written answers, or a pointer to where these are documented in the association's records. Thanks, [Your name] [Property address]
Why these questions, in this order
New Jersey is unusual because an owner’s reserve obligations come from two statutes at once, and most people only know about one of them.
The first layer is the Structural Integrity Law — P.L. 2023, c. 214, as amended by P.L. 2025, c. 132 — which added N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2 and 44.3 to the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREDFDA). This is the law that requires a capital reserve study every five years, a 30-year funding plan with a zero-balance floor, credentialed preparers, and the time-limited 85 percent reduced-funding option. It applies broadly to associations of planned real estate developments.
The second layer is the Condominium Act — N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e) — which does not require a reserve study or funding level at all, but does impose fund-handling rules once reserve funds exist: commingled accounts must maintain a floor balance equal to identified reserves, and no commingling with a manager’s funds or other associations’ funds. Most NJ condominiums are governed by both statutes simultaneously.
The question list above covers both layers because the most common error is analyzing either statute in isolation:
- A board that cites only the Condominium Act and concludes “New Jersey does not require a reserve study” has found the wrong statute. The reserve-study obligation is in PREDFDA.
- A board that has the reserve study but is pooling reserve funds across multiple associations managed by the same company is violating the Condominium Act’s anti-commingling rule, even if the PREDFDA study is current.
The 85 percent reduced-funding option gets its own questions because it is not a waiver — it requires conspicuous notice in 20-point bold font, buyer disclosure, and it expires after five fiscal years. A community describing its posture as “we fund at 85 percent” without the required notice and time-limit tracking is not using the statutory mechanism correctly.
How to use the email template
The email below is written to be forwarded as-is to your board or property manager. It cites both N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2/44.3 and N.J.S.A. 46:8B-15(e) because naming the statutes is what moves a response from “we’ll get back to you” to “we need to check with our attorney.” You don’t need a lawyer to send this email — just your property address and the community name.
If the written response claims reserves are “fine” but cannot produce either a current capital reserve study with a 30-year plan or confirmation of how reserve funds are held, that combination — the claim plus the absence — is the single most useful thing to bring to the next meeting.
What this page is not
This is not legal advice and it is not a complete audit of your association’s compliance posture. It is the question list an owner should be able to hand to their board without retaining counsel. If the answers raise more questions than they resolve, the next step is usually reading the actual study and the 30-year funding plan against the components the board is supposed to be maintaining — which is where we come in.
The underlying rule
New Jersey reserve law, in plain language
These questions come from the actual statute. If you want the full explainer before you send the email, start here.
Next step
Ready to put this against your community?
Send the questions to the board yourself, or pick the option below to share the community context with us so the next step is framed for the right person.