Oregon reserve study laws and requirements

Oregon is one of a small group of states that requires community associations to base their reserve funding on a reserve study, and it has been this way for longer than most. The rules sit in two statutes: ORS 94.595 for planned communities (HOAs) and ORS 100.175 for condominiums. They are almost word-for-word identical, so whichever kind of association you serve, the obligations are the same.

There is also a lot of confusion online about what those obligations are. Some guides say Oregon requires a professional study every three years. Others say the law only asks for a maintenance plan. Neither is right. Here is what the statutes require, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant in 2026.

What Oregon Law Requires

Both statutes set out four obligations - and this covers most of what you need to know.

A reserve account 

Every association must establish a reserve account, in the association's name, funded through assessments on the lots or units. 

The account must cover major maintenance, repair or replacement of common property that will normally need that work in more than one year and less than 30 years. Exterior painting is named specifically, as is anything else the declaration or bylaws require the association to reserve for.

An initial reserve study and maintenance plan 

When a community is created, the declarant must conduct an initial reserve study, prepare an initial maintenance plan, and set up the reserve account before turning the association over to the owners.

An annual reserve study or update

This is the part most often misquoted. 

Under ORS 94.595(3) and ORS 100.175(3), the board must determine the reserve account requirements every year, either by conducting a new reserve study or by reviewing and updating the existing one. There is no three-year or five-year cycle in the statute. The cadence is annual.

Since a 2017 amendment (HB 3057), that annual review must use five specific inputs: the reserve account's starting balance for the fiscal year, the estimated remaining useful life of each reserve component, the estimated cost of maintaining, repairing or replacing each component at the end of its life, the current rate of inflation, and returns on any invested reserves.

A written maintenance plan

Separately from the reserve study, the board must maintain a plan describing the maintenance, repair and replacement work the association is responsible for, with a schedule, sized to the complexity of the property, and addressing warranties and useful life. The board must review and update it as necessary.

Who this Applies to

The requirements apply in full to planned communities and condominiums created on or after October 23, 1999.

Associations recorded before that date are not automatically covered. For them, the reserve study and maintenance plan requirements only kick in if the declaration or bylaws require a reserve account and either the board adopts a resolution applying the statute or a majority of owners submit a petition asking for it. Once that happens, the association has one year to complete its first reserve study and maintenance plan.

In practice, many pre-1999 communities have already opted in, and many more have governing documents that require a reserve account anyway. If your association is older and has never confirmed its status, that is the first thing to check.

What the Reserve Study Must Contain

The statutory minimum is modest. The reserve study must identify every item for which reserves are or will be established, state the estimated remaining useful life of each as of the study date, and give an estimated cost of maintenance, repair and replacement at the end of that life.

Oregon does not specify who must prepare the study. There is no licensing requirement, no credential requirement and no mandatory site inspection. A board could, in theory, produce the study itself. That flexibility is why the "no professional study required" line keeps appearing in articles about Oregon. It is technically true and practically misleading, for reasons covered below.

Funding Rules and the Budget

After reviewing the study or update, the board may adjust reserve contributions and add reserve items without a vote of the owners. Oregon does not set a minimum funding level or a percent-funded threshold.

It does, however, close the obvious loophole. Unless the board has determined that the reserve account will be adequately funded for the following year, neither the board nor the owners may vote to eliminate reserve funding. The only exception is a unanimous vote of all owners, taken annually, after turnover. In an association of any size, that is not a realistic route.

The reserve account must be kept separate from operating funds and used only for its stated purpose. After turnover, a board can borrow from reserves to cover seasonal cash-flow gaps or unexpected operating costs, but only under a board resolution, and it must adopt a written repayment plan by the time it approves the next year's budget.

The annual budget itself must include the amount being allocated to the reserve account under ORS 94.595 or ORS 100.175, and the board must provide a budget summary to all owners within 30 days of adopting it. Reserve contributions are association property and are not refundable to sellers when a unit changes hands.

Why a Professional Study Still Matters in Oregon

If the statute allows a board to do its own study, why commission one?

The first reason is the annual update rule. A board that self-prepares is committing to re-estimating useful lives, replacement costs and inflation every single year, and to defending those figures if a special assessment is ever challenged. A professional study gives the board a documented, defensible baseline that the annual updates can be built on.

The second reason is lenders. Fannie Mae's project standards now require condominium projects to show either a reserve study conducted or updated within the last three years or a fixed reserve contribution as a share of the budget. Those rules are national and apply in Oregon regardless of what ORS 100.175 says. A condo relying on a board-prepared spreadsheet is likely to run into that requirement the first time a buyer applies for a conforming mortgage.

The third is the statute itself. The five inputs required by the 2017 amendment are the same inputs a professional reserve study is built around. Doing a proper study every three to five years, with light annual updates in between, is the simplest way to satisfy the law and the lender rules at the same time.

Practical Steps for Oregon Boards

If you’re still not sure where to get started, the steps below are an easy way to figure out what you need to do.

• Confirm whether your association was recorded before or after October 23, 1999, and if before, whether it has opted in.
• Check that a written maintenance plan exists and matches what the association actually maintains.
• Put the annual reserve review on the board calendar ahead of budget season, and minute the decision.
• Make sure the adopted budget shows the reserve allocation and that the summary goes to owners within 30 days.
• If the last professional study is more than three years old, update it before the next lending cycle rather than after.

Reserve Study Group works with associations across Oregon. Request a proposal or see our Oregon reserve study page for how we approach studies in the state.‍

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Oregon require HOAs and condominiums to have a reserve study? Yes. ORS 94.595 (planned communities) and ORS 100.175 (condominiums) require a reserve account, an initial reserve study and maintenance plan, and an annual reserve study or update, for associations created on or after October 23, 1999. Older associations must comply once they opt in by board resolution or owner petition.
• How often does an Oregon association need to update its reserve study? Every year. The board must either conduct a new study or review and update the existing one annually. There is no three-year or five-year cycle in Oregon law, although a full professional study every three to five years is standard practice and is what lenders expect.
• Does the reserve study have to be prepared by a professional? No. Oregon does not set qualification requirements for whoever prepares the study. Most associations use a professional anyway, both to satisfy lender requirements and because the annual update rule makes a solid baseline valuable.
• Can an Oregon board or the owners vote to stop funding reserves? Only if the board has determined the account will be adequately funded for the following year, or by a unanimous annual vote of all owners after turnover. Otherwise, no.
• What must an Oregon reserve account cover? Major maintenance, repair or replacement of common property that will need it in more than one and less than 30 years, exterior painting where the association maintains painted surfaces, and anything else the declaration or bylaws require. Items that can reasonably be funded from the operating budget can be left out.

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