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S 2702Real Estate

Property - Condominium Law

This bill caps condo resale certificate fees at $125 and fines associations for failing to deliver them within 10 days.

Held for study
Population
Affected
25
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Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island Condominium Law to regulate fees associated with selling a condominium unit. Specifically, it caps the fee that a condominium association can charge a unit owner for a resale certificate at $125, regardless of whether the document is provided physically or electronically. It also caps the fee for an updated certificate at $25. Additionally, the bill establishes a civil penalty of $100 to $500 for associations that fail to provide the required certificate within ten days of a written request, ensuring timely processing for sellers.

For younger readers

When someone wants to sell their apartment in a building shared with others (called a condo), they need a special paper from the group that manages the building. This paper tells the buyer about the building's rules and money. This new law says the managers can only charge $125 for this paper. It also says that if the managers take too long to give the paper to the seller (more than 10 days), the managers have to pay a fine. This helps people sell their homes without paying too much extra money or waiting too long.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Condominium unit ownersCondominium associationsProperty management companiesHome buyersReal estate agents
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects consumers from excessive junk fees by capping the cost of resale certificates, ensuring that condominium associations and management companies cannot exploit unit owners during the sale process.
  • Increases accountability for housing associations by imposing financial penalties for failing to provide necessary documents on time, preventing delays that harm sellers and buyers.
  • Lowers the financial barrier to selling a home, which helps working-class families and individuals retain more of their equity when moving.
  • May place a financial strain on smaller, self-managed condominium associations if the capped fee does not adequately cover the actual administrative time and resources required to prepare detailed financial and legal documents.
  • The fixed fee cap does not account for future inflation or living wage increases for administrative staff, potentially forcing associations to subsidize these costs through higher monthly common fees for all residents.
  • Focuses on a relatively minor administrative fee rather than addressing broader systemic issues regarding housing affordability, rent control, or the rights of tenants versus property owners.
For Conservatives
  • Protects individual property owners from being charged arbitrary or exorbitant fees by management entities when exercising their right to sell their private property.
  • Promotes efficiency in the real estate market by mandating a ten-day turnaround for documents, reducing bureaucratic delays that can stall private transactions.
  • Establishes clear, predictable cost structures for real estate transactions, allowing sellers to manage their finances without fear of hidden costs or price gouging.
  • Represents government overreach into private contracts by dictating the specific price a private entity can charge for a service, rather than letting the free market determine the value.
  • Interferes with the autonomy of condominium associations to manage their own finances and set fees that reflect their specific operational costs and needs.
  • Imposes government-mandated penalties on private organizations, creating a regulatory burden that could discourage individuals from serving on condo boards.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 34-36.1-4.9 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-36.1 entitled "Condominium Law" is hereby amended to read as follows: 34-36.1-4.09. Resale of units.

(a) Except in the case of a sale where delivery of a public offering statement is required, or unless exempt under § 34-36.1-4.01(b), a unit owner shall furnish to a purchaser before execution of any contract for sale of a unit, or otherwise before conveyance, a copy of the declaration (other than the plats and plans), the bylaws, the rules or regulations of the association, and a certificate containing:

(1) A statement disclosing the effect on the proposed disposition of any right of first refusal or other restraint on the free alienability of the unit;

(2) A statement setting forth the amount of the monthly common expense assessment and any unpaid common expense or special assessment currently due and payable from the selling unit owner;

(3) A statement of any other fees payable by unit owners;

(4) A statement of any capital expenditures anticipated by the association for the current and two (2) next succeeding fiscal years;

(5) A statement of the amount of any reserves for capital expenditures and of any portions of those reserves designated by the association for any specified projects;

(6) The most recent regularly prepared balance sheet and income and expense statement, if any, of the association;

(7) The current operating budget of the association;

(8) A statement of any unsatisfied judgments against the association and the status of any pending suits in which the association is a defendant;

(9) A statement describing any insurance coverage provided for the benefit of unit owners;

(10) A statement as to whether the executive board has knowledge that any alterations or improvements to the unit or to the limited common elements assigned thereto violate any provision of the declaration;

(11) A statement as to whether the executive board has knowledge of any violations of the health or building codes with respect to the unit, the limited common elements assigned thereto, or any other portion of the condominium; and

(12) A statement of the remaining term of any leasehold estate affecting the condominium and the provisions governing any extension or renewal thereof. (b)(1) The association, within ten (10) days after a request by a unit owner, shall furnish a certificate containing the information necessary to enable the unit owner to comply with this section.

(2) The association may require a unit owner to pay a fee that does not exceed:

(i) one One hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) to prepare and provide an electronic version or physical version of the resale certificate; or

(ii) Twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to provide an updated electronic version or physical version of resale certification.

(3) In addition to those remedies as set forth in § 34-36.1-4.17, any association that fails to provide a certificate to the unit owner within ten (10) days of a written request by the unit owner is subject to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) per occurrence.

(4) A unit owner providing a certificate pursuant to subsection (a) is not liable to the purchaser for any erroneous information provided by the association and included in the certificate.

(c) A purchaser is not liable for any unpaid assessment or fee greater than the amount set forth in the certificate prepared by the association. A unit owner is not liable to a purchaser for the failure or delay of the association to provide the certificate in a timely manner, but the purchaser contract is voidable by the purchaser until the certificate has been provided and for five (5) days thereafter or until conveyance, whichever first occurs.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on September 1, 2026.