The questions
Ask these before the next meeting
Each question is tied to the Pennsylvania 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
Does our current budget include a reserves line item for revenues, expenditures, and reserves — and if not, has the board made an affirmative decision not to fund reserves?
Under § 5302(a)(2) (planned communities) and § 3302(a)(2) (condominiums), the association may adopt budgets for 'revenues, expenditures and reserves.' Reserve budgeting is a statutory power, not a duty — but the absence of a reserve line item should be a deliberate, documented decision, not an oversight.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5302(a)(2) / § 3302(a)(2)
- 02
Are reserve funds held in a separate account, and has the association pledged or assigned any reserve funds?
Under § 5302(a)(17) (planned communities) and § 3302(a)(17) (condominiums), reserve funds held for future major repairs and replacements of common elements may not be assigned or pledged. This is one of the few hard statutory restrictions Pennsylvania imposes on reserves. If the board has commingled reserve funds with operating funds, or used them as collateral, that is not a governance preference issue — it is a statutory prohibition.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5302(a)(17) / § 3302(a)(17)
- 03
Does the public offering statement disclose the reserve posture — including an explicit statement if no reserves exist?
Under § 5402(a)(7) (planned communities) and § 3402(a)(6) (condominiums), the public offering statement must show the amount included in the budget as a reserve for repairs and replacement, describe the provisions made for reserves for anticipated material capital expenditures, or state that no provision has been made. The statute requires the disclosure even when the answer is 'no reserves.' An offering statement that is silent on reserves is incomplete.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5402(a)(7) / § 3402(a)(6)
- 04
Does the resale certificate state the amount of reserves for capital expenditures and any portions designated for specific projects?
Under § 5407(a)(5) (planned communities) and § 3407(a)(5) (condominiums), the resale certificate must include the amount of reserves for capital expenditures and any portions designated by the association for a specified project. If you received a resale certificate that does not contain this line item, the disclosure is incomplete under the statute — regardless of whether the amount is zero.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5407(a)(5) / § 3407(a)(5)
- 05
Has the board commissioned a reserve study, even though Pennsylvania does not require one?
Pennsylvania's UPCA and UCA do not mandate reserve studies, minimum funding levels, or funding methodologies. But lender requirements, fiduciary standards, and FHA certification may still push in that direction. If no study exists, that is permissible — but understanding whether the board has considered one, and why it decided for or against, tells you whether the reserve posture is a deliberate strategy or a gap no one has examined.
- 06
If reserves exist, what capital components do they cover — and has that list changed in the last three years?
Pennsylvania does not prescribe what reserves must cover, so the scope is entirely a board decision. Moving items off the reserve schedule — to the operating budget, to deferred maintenance, or off the books — is a common way to make the reserve balance look healthier. Changes to what the reserves actually cover are the kind of thing that should be on the record.
- 07
What is the current reserve balance, and how does it compare to projected capital expenditures over the next five years?
Because Pennsylvania does not require a funding formula or a recommended-versus-actual comparison, the only way to assess adequacy is to compare the reserve balance against the capital expenditures the board expects. A low balance relative to near-term needs is not a statutory violation — but it is a financial risk the board should be able to explain.
- 08
If the association has no reserves, how does the board plan to fund major repairs — special assessments, borrowing, or deferred maintenance?
Zero reserves is a permissible posture under Pennsylvania law, but the funding question does not disappear. The board either has a plan for major capital work or it does not. Asking the question on the record turns an implicit assumption into a documented position.
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. I know Pennsylvania does not mandate a reserve study or a minimum funding level, but the statute does impose specific disclosure and fund-protection requirements that I'd like to verify. I have a few questions I'd like answered in writing. 1. Does our current budget include a reserves line item under the association's authority to budget for "revenues, expenditures and reserves" (§ 5302(a)(2) / § 3302(a)(2))? 2. Are reserve funds (if any) held in a separate account and not pledged or assigned, as required by § 5302(a)(17) / § 3302(a)(17)? 3. Does our public offering statement disclose the reserve posture — including a statement that no reserves exist, if applicable — as required by § 5402(a)(7) / § 3402(a)(6)? 4. Does the resale certificate include the amount of reserves for capital expenditures and any designated portions, as required by § 5407(a)(5) / § 3407(a)(5)? 5. Has the board considered commissioning a reserve study? If the decision was not to, I'd like to understand the reasoning. 6. What is the current reserve balance, and how does it compare to projected capital expenditures over the next five years? I understand that Pennsylvania's framework is disclosure-based rather than funding-mandated. I'm not asking the board to adopt a reserve study requirement the statute does not impose — I'm asking whether the disclosures the statute does require are current and complete, whether reserve funds are protected as the statute requires, and how the board is thinking about future capital needs. Thanks, [Your name] [Property address]
Why these questions, in this order
Pennsylvania is a disclosure-first state. The Uniform Planned Community Act (UPCA, 68 Pa.C.S. chapters 51–54) and the Uniform Condominium Act (UCA, 68 Pa.C.S. chapters 31–34) do not require reserve studies, minimum funding levels, or funding formulas. What they do require is:
- Budget authority with disclosure. The association may budget for reserves under § 5302(a)(2) / § 3302(a)(2). If it does, the offering statement and resale certificate must say so. If it does not, the offering statement must say that too.
- Reserve fund protection. Under § 5302(a)(17) / § 3302(a)(17), reserve funds held for future major repairs and replacements may not be pledged or assigned. This is a hard statutory floor, not a governance recommendation.
- Offering statement disclosure. Under § 5402(a)(7) / § 3402(a)(6), the public offering statement must disclose the reserve posture — including an explicit statement that no reserves exist, if applicable.
- Resale certificate disclosure. Under § 5407(a)(5) / § 3407(a)(5), the resale certificate must state reserves for capital expenditures and any designated portions.
The question list above follows that structure: budget first, fund protection second, offering statement third, resale certificate fourth — then the voluntary questions about studies and adequacy that the statute does not require but that any prudent owner would want answered.
Because the statute does not mandate funding, the lever for a Pennsylvania owner who believes reserves are inadequate is governance — board elections, budget discussions, governing-document amendments — not a statutory compliance argument. But the disclosure and fund-protection requirements are statutory, and those are the ones worth asking about in writing.
How to use the email template
The email below is written to be forwarded as-is to your board or property manager. It cites the specific UPCA and UCA sections — use the section numbers that match your community type (§ 5xxx for planned communities, § 3xxx for condominiums). The email is deliberately framed as “are we meeting the disclosure requirements the statute imposes” rather than “why aren’t we funding more” — because the first question has a statutory anchor and the second does not.
If the written response cannot confirm that the offering statement and resale certificate contain the required reserve disclosures, or cannot confirm that reserve funds are segregated and not pledged, those are the two findings worth bringing to the next meeting. They are documentable, they are specific, and they are tied to statutory text — not an opinion about how much to fund.
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 a Pennsylvania 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 offering statement, resale certificate, and financial statements side by side — and understanding that in Pennsylvania, the absence of a reserve study is permitted, but the absence of the required disclosures is not.
The underlying rule
Pennsylvania 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
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