2026 Election and HOA Laws: What Condo Buyers Should Watch

No statewide measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot changes HOA or condo association powers. Property tax measures and 2027 laws reach buyers.

If you are buying a condo or a home in an HOA between now and next spring, you will close in the middle of an election and the legislative season that follows it. It is fair to wonder whether the rules in your resale package will still be the rules by the time you own the place.

The headlines do not help. Ballot coverage mixes property tax measures with housing measures, and state HOA bills get written months after the votes are counted. A buyer can come away thinking November decides their dues, or that nothing changes until a new law passes, and both are wrong in different ways.

We checked every statewide measure on the 2026 ballot, the start dates of the legislatures that meet next, and the HOA laws already signed with effective dates this winter. Here is what is actually on the record, state by state, and the questions to ask before you close.

Is Anything on the November 3 Ballot About HOAs?

No. Of the 164 statewide measures listed for 2026, none changes HOA or condo association powers. The relevant ones are property tax measures.

Ballotpedia counts 164 statewide measures certified in 40 states for 2026, with 145 of them on the November 3 ballot. We read the title and description of every one, looking for homeowners associations, condominium associations, common interest communities, and the accessory dwelling and solar rules that sometimes override HOA covenants. We found none.

So your association's powers, from how it collects dues to how it approves a rental, are not on any statewide ballot this year. What is on the ballot in several states is property tax, and property tax is part of what a condo costs to carry each month alongside the HOA dues.

Several measures you may have read about will not appear at all. An Ohio initiative to abolish property taxes will not be on the ballot; its backers did not file signatures by the July 1 deadline and are aiming for 2027. Massachusetts' highest court kept a rent control question off the ballot in June. And a Florida proposal to eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteads did not make it either. The Florida measure that did reach the ballot is Amendment 3.

Florida Amendment 3: What It Would Change for a Condo Buyer

If 60% of voters approve, it raises the homestead exemption on non-school taxes and cuts the non-homestead cap to 5%. HOA dues are untouched.

Florida Amendment 3 is the measure on this year's ballot most directly tied to what a condo costs to own. The legislature placed it on the ballot in June, and under the Florida constitution it needs 60% of the vote to pass, according to Ballotpedia's summary of the measure. If it passes, it takes effect January 1, 2027.

A condo unit can already qualify as a homestead. The Florida constitution lets a homestead be held "as a condominium," and the joint resolution behind Amendment 3 keeps that wording. So what the measure does depends on how you will use the unit.

If you will live in the unit

The ballot summary says the amendment "increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter." School taxes are outside it. The existing $25,000 exemption would apply only to school taxes going forward.

There is a residency condition that matters for anyone moving to Florida this winter. People who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would start with the existing exemption, which the resolution text puts at up to $50,000 of assessed value for non-school taxes, and would get the larger exemption beginning with their fifth year of exemption. The summary adds that this applies "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution."

If you are buying a rental, a second home, or an investment unit

Units that are not anyone's homestead get a lower cap on how fast their taxable value can rise. The amendment cuts that annual cap from 10% to 5% for non-school taxes, and Ballotpedia's explainer lists "rental units, vacation homes, commercial properties, and apartment buildings" among the property it covers. The 5% cap does not apply to school district taxes.

What it does not touch

The amendment is about property taxes that counties, cities and school boards levy. HOA and condo association dues and special assessments are charges by the association, and nothing in the measure addresses them. A Florida condo facing a structural repair bill faces the same bill whether Amendment 3 passes or fails.

The measure also limits what counties and cities may spend property tax money on, and legislative staff estimated it would reduce local government revenue statewide by $4.6 billion in fiscal year 2027-28 and $8.4 billion in 2028-29. The ballot language itself was rewritten after a Leon County judge ruled on August 3, 2026 that the legislature's original title and summary were defective; the version voters see now is titled "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments."

Other Property Tax Measures on the 2026 Ballot

Oklahoma, Wyoming and North Carolina vote on property tax limits, and California on a loan program that covers new condos. None changes HOA rules.

Ballotpedia lists 13 property tax measures in seven states for 2026. These are the ones most likely to change what an owner of attached housing pays, with what we could and could not confirm about each.

Wyoming's measure also has an unusual bar to clear. Wyoming measures need a majority of everyone who casts a ballot in the general election, so a voter who skips the question counts against it. Louisiana also votes on five property tax amendments, including a senior exemption that only applies where a parish or city's own voters later approve it. If you are buying in one of these states, ask the local tax assessor how the measure would change the tax estimate on the unit, and whether the unit would count as your primary residence.

When Next Year's HOA Bills Get Written

Most legislatures with large condo markets convene between December 2026 and March 2027. That is when changes to HOA law get filed and debated.

HOA and condo rules mostly change through bills a legislature passes, so the election matters here through who sits in the legislature when it meets. These are the start dates on the record for several states with large HOA and condo markets.

Sources: the California Assembly calendar, the Texas Legislative Council, the Colorado 2027 deadline schedule, the Virginia Legislative Information System, the Nevada Legislature and the Florida Senate's 2027 session dates, with the November organization and committee dates from the Florida Bar News. Arizona, Washington, Illinois and North Carolina dates follow the fixed convening rules in each state's constitution or statutes.

Little is already waiting for these sessions. In Florida, the broad 2026 community association bill and a separate bill on HOA roofing rules died when the session ended in March, so anything next year starts as a new filing. In Texas, we found no HOA item among the topics either chamber assigned for study between sessions.

Virginia has at least three HOA bills held over. HB 621, a Virginia Housing Commission recommendation, was continued to 2027 in committee. Once most of the board members other than the developer are owners of improved lots, it would require a developer that still has any right to control a property owners' association to disclose that right, and its status, in any contract for the sale of a lot, other than the sale of a lot to someone buying it to build on or resell. Two others, HB 1196 and SB 746, deal with how an association is paid when the government takes its common area. If you are buying a lot in a Virginia community the developer still controls, ask whether the developer keeps any right to control the association; HB 621 would put that in the contract, but it is not law yet.

What Changes This Winter Whoever Wins

Georgia, Minnesota, Illinois and California laws start January 1, 2027, Fannie Mae's reserve rule tightens January 4, and flood cover needs Congress.

These were settled before the election. If you are buying in one of these states, check which of its rules take effect January 1, and note that Fannie Mae's rule turns on your loan application date. Both belong in your document review now.

Georgia: associations register with the state

From January 1, 2027, Georgia SB 406 requires owners' associations, including condominiums, to register with the Secretary of State. Under the enacted text, an association that is not registered cannot collect fines or fees, record liens or start foreclosure. The law also lets an association file a notice that it will not register, which costs it the right to charge fines, fees and accelerated dues.

Minnesota: caps on late fees and interest

Minnesota's Laws 2026, chapter 82 caps interest on late dues and assessments at 8% and late fees at the greater of $20 or 5% of the amount owed. Both apply to action an association takes on or after January 1, 2027. The Minnesota guide covers the rest of the act.

Illinois: a written collection policy before suing

Under Public Act 104-0734, effective January 1, 2027, an Illinois condo or common interest community association cannot take legal action to collect unpaid assessments unless it has adopted a written policy governing how it collects them.

California: utility outages and a reserve rule that starts in 2032

California bills signed by October 2 take effect January 1, 2027. AB 1892 rewords an association's existing duty to restore interrupted gas, heat, water or electricity so that it applies when the interruption begins in the common area, and shortens some election notice deadlines. AB 2050 was also signed, but its main reserve requirement does not start until January 1, 2032: an association whose reserves are projected to fall below zero within 30 years would have to move 15% of its gross annual budget into reserves each year.

Fannie Mae: a higher reserve line from January 4

For condo loans reviewed under Fannie Mae's Full Review process, the association's budget must put at least 15% of its assessment income into reserves, up from 10%, for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027, according to Lender Letter LL-2026-03. This is a Fannie Mae requirement issued in coordination with its federal regulator, so it does not wait on any vote. Our guide to the 15% rule shows how to check a budget against it.

Flood insurance: Congress has until December 11

The National Flood Insurance Program is authorized only through December 11, 2026, according to FEMA, so the next extension falls to Congress after the election. If the program lapses, FEMA says it would stop selling and renewing policies, and the National Association of Realtors estimates a lapse could affect about 1,300 property sales a day. Our HOA insurance guide covers how the association's policy and your own fit together.

Which Offices on the Ballot Oversee HOAs?

In Georgia, the new HOA registry sits with the Secretary of State, an open seat. In Florida, the governor appoints the head of the agency that regulates condos.

In Georgia and Florida, an office on this year's ballot has a direct line to HOA or condo oversight. We are reporting the offices and making no prediction about the races.

• Georgia. SB 406 places registration with the Secretary of State, and that office is an open seat on November 3, with a runoff date of December 1.
• Florida. The governor appoints the secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees condo associations, under Fla. Stat. 20.165, and the state's condominium ombudsman, appointed by that department's secretary, can be removed by the governor at any time under Fla. Stat. 718.5011. Florida's governor is term-limited, so the seat is open.

Nevada and Virginia both have an HOA ombudsman appointed by an agency official. Nevada's governor, who is on the ballot, appoints the head of the department that houses that office; Virginia has no governor's race this year. If you close in Georgia after January 1, 2027, ask the association whether it has registered with the Secretary of State or filed a notice that it won't.

What to Ask Before You Close This Winter

Ask the association about January 1 rules, the lender about the 15% reserve line, and the county and insurer about taxes and flood coverage.

Each of these questions works the same whatever the result in November, and each is best asked before your inspection or document-review period ends.

1. To the association or manager: Which new state rules take effect on January 1, 2027, and has the association changed its fees, collection policy or registration to match? In Georgia, ask whether it has registered or filed a notice that it won't.
2. To your lender: Is the loan application dated before or after January 4, 2027, and does the association's budget put at least 15% of assessment income into reserves? Our free reserve study tool pulls the funding figures out of the study in minutes.
3. To the county property appraiser (Florida): How would the first tax bill on this unit change if Amendment 3 passes, given whether I will homestead it and whether I will be a Florida resident on December 31, 2026?
4. To your insurance agent: If the closing needs a new federal flood policy, can it be bound before December 11, and what happens if the program lapses?
5. To the seller: Has the association announced any fee or assessment change tied to a new law?

Rules already in the declaration and the state laws that have already overridden them are a separate question from what changes next year, and the CC&R analysis tool will pull the recorded rules out for you. For how a specific new law applies to your purchase, talk to a real estate attorney in your state.