HOA, condo, club and special assessments for Texas retirees: what the charges are and what to ask

Summary

For many Texas retirees the monthly cost of a home is shaped as much by a private association as by any tax bill. A homeowners association, a condominium association and a golf or country club can each charge dues, a fee at the time of sale, and an extra assessment when a roof, a clubhouse or a gate needs money. None of these charges is a tax. They are set under a recorded declaration or a contract, they are collected by a private body, and they are enforced through a lien and the association's own rules rather than through the appraisal district and the tax collector.

This guide separates the kinds of charge, summarizes what the Texas Property Code says about resale certificates, association records, payment plans and liens, and then uses published figures from Texas communities, each with its date, to show how the pieces fit together. It describes the statutes only as their text reads, which was retrieved from the Texas Legislature's statutes site in October 2026 and is current through the 2025 second called legislative session. A statute is not legal advice, and an attorney or title company should confirm how it applies to a particular purchase. Dues and fees change with each annual budget, so every dollar figure here belongs to the date given next to it. For charges that do come from the tax system see MUDs, PIDs and special districts and Texas property taxes and appraisal districts.

Key takeaways

• An association assessment, a condominium assessment, a club membership and a district tax are four different charges with different rules; none of the first three appears on the property tax statement.
• Property Code Chapter 207 requires a property owners' association to deliver a resale certificate within 10 business days of a written request, with the assessment, reserve, budget and transfer-fee information the statute lists; condominiums follow Chapter 82 instead.
• Published fees at sale vary widely and carry dates: Robson Ranch Denton lists a 2025 capital improvement fee of $3,380.00, Hill Country Retreat's 2023 Declaration sets a $1,500 supplemental reserve contribution or more, and Sun City Texas lists an undated $650 working capital fee.
• Golf and club costs are often separate from dues, so ask for the club's own schedule, initiation terms and any dining minimums before comparing monthly totals.
• Request the budget, reserve information, special assessment history and transfer-fee list in writing, and ask who controls the board if the developer is still building.

Four different kinds of charge

It helps to keep four kinds of charge apart, because they come from different sources and follow different rules. The first is the homeowners association assessment, the regular dues and any special assessment levied under a declaration of covenants. The second is the condominium assessment for common expenses, which is governed by a different chapter of the Property Code. The third is a club or golf membership, which is a contract with a club and may be mandatory, optional or bundled depending on the community. The fourth is a charge by a public body, such as a utility district tax or a public improvement district assessment, which belongs to the tax-and-assessment system covered in the companion guides.

Chapter 209 of the Property Code, the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, defines an assessment as a regular assessment, special assessment or other amount a property owner is required to pay a property owners' association under the dedicatory instrument or by law. Chapter 209 applies only to a residential subdivision whose declaration authorizes the association to collect regular or special assessments on all or a majority of the property, and generally to an association that requires mandatory membership. Section 209.003 says the chapter applies regardless of whether the entity is called a homeowners' association, a community association or something similar, and that it does not apply to a condominium as defined in Section 81.002 or 82.003. Chapter 207, which covers disclosure of information by property owners' associations, likewise does not apply to a condominium council of owners governed by Chapter 81 or a unit owners' association governed by Chapter 82.

The practical consequence is that a retiree buying a single-family home in a gated 55+ community, a condominium unit and a lot in a lake community with a voluntary club should expect three different sets of paperwork. The rest of this guide takes them in turn.

Resale certificates under Chapter 207

Chapter 207 sets the timetable and contents for the resale certificate that a property owners' association provides when a home in its subdivision is sold. Under Section 207.003, within 10 business days after receiving a written request from the owner or the owner's agent, a purchaser or the purchaser's agent, or a title insurance company acting for them, the association must deliver a current copy of the restrictions, a current copy of its bylaws and rules, and a resale certificate prepared not earlier than the 60th day before delivery. The association may require a purchaser to show reasonable evidence of a contract or other right to acquire property in the subdivision before it begins the work.

The certificate must contain, among other items, any right of first refusal or other restraint on transfer, the frequency and amount of regular assessments, the amount and purpose of any special assessment that has been approved before and is due after delivery, the total of all amounts due and unpaid on the property, capital expenditures approved for the current fiscal year, the amount of reserves for capital expenditures, the association's current operating budget and balance sheet, unsatisfied judgments, pending lawsuits, a certificate of insurance for common areas, conditions the board knows violate the restrictions, any administrative transfer fee, the managing agent's contact information, whether the restrictions allow foreclosure of the association's lien for unpaid assessments, and a statement of all fees associated with the transfer of ownership, including a description of each fee, to whom it is paid and the amount.

The statute caps the fee the association may charge to assemble, copy and deliver the required information at $375, and caps the fee for an update at $75. An update must be delivered by the seventh business day after a written request, and a request for an update must be made within 180 days of the original certificate by the party that requested it. If the association fails to deliver on time, Section 207.004 lets the owner send a second request. If the association then still has not delivered by the fifth business day after the second request was mailed by certified mail or hand delivered, the owner may seek a court order, a judgment of up to $5,000 against the association and costs and attorney's fees, and may give a buyer under contract an affidavit that the requests were made. With that affidavit, the buyer, lender and title company are not liable for money due to the association on the date of the affidavit, and the association's lien for amounts due on that date terminates automatically.

Section 207.005 gives the certificate legal weight. The association may not deny the validity of any statement in it, its lien for undisclosed amounts due on the preparation date terminates as to the undisclosed amount, and a buyer or lender is not liable for an undisclosed debt that existed on that date. The certificate does not affect the association's right to recover debts that arise after the date it was prepared or its lien for future assessments. Section 207.006 adds that an association of a subdivision with at least 60 lots, or one that has contracted with a management company, must make its recorded dedicatory instruments available to members on a website.

What Chapter 209 gives owners

Chapter 209 is about how an association behaves once someone owns a home. Section 209.004 requires an association to record a management certificate in each county where the subdivision lies, stating among other things the name and contact information of the person managing the association, the website for its dedicatory instruments and the amount and description of any fee or fees charged relating to a property transfer. Section 209.005 makes the association's books and records, including financial records, open and reasonably available to an owner. The request must be written and sent by certified mail to the address on the most recent management certificate with enough detail to identify the records. Within 10 business days the association must either send dates for inspection or produce the copies, or explain why it cannot and give a date not later than the 15th business day after that notice. The board must adopt a recorded policy that sets the cost of compiling and copying records.

Section 209.0051 requires regular and special board meetings to be open to owners, subject to closed executive session for matters such as personnel, litigation, contract negotiations and enforcement. The section also says that a board may act outside a meeting without prior notice to owners only if each board member has a reasonable opportunity to express an opinion and vote, and even then it may not consider or vote on fines, increases in assessments, the levying of special assessments, the approval of an annual budget, borrowing money, or the construction of capital improvements other than the repair, replacement or enhancement of existing capital improvements, unless the matter is handled in an open meeting for which prior notice was given. For a retiree, that is the legal basis for attending or reviewing the minutes of the meetings where an increase or a special assessment would be decided.

Chapter 209 also regulates collection. Section 209.0061 requires an association that may levy fines to adopt an enforcement policy that includes a schedule of fines and information about hearings. Section 209.0062 requires an association of more than 14 lots to adopt guidelines for an alternative payment schedule for delinquent regular or special assessments, with a minimum term of three months, without additional monetary penalties, although the association need not allow a plan that extends beyond 18 months or offer more than one in any 12-month period. Section 209.0063 sets an order of priority for payments, applying money first to delinquent assessments and then to current assessments before fines. Before an association files an assessment lien, Section 209.0094 requires a first notice of delinquency and then a second notice by certified mail, and the association may not file the lien before the 90th day after the second notice was sent. Section 209.009 prohibits foreclosure of the assessment lien if the debt consists solely of fines, attorney's fees associated solely with fines, or certain amounts added to the account, and Section 209.0092 generally requires a court order, through an expedited foreclosure procedure or a judicial one, before an association can foreclose its assessment lien.

Condominiums are governed by Chapter 82

Because Chapters 207 and 209 do not apply to condominiums, a condominium buyer relies on Chapter 82 of the Property Code instead. Section 82.157 provides that a unit owner other than a declarant who intends to sell, before executing a contract or conveying the unit, must furnish the purchaser a current copy of the declaration, bylaws and association rules and a resale certificate prepared not earlier than three months before delivery. The certificate must come from the association and must contain the current operating budget along with statements of any right of first refusal, the amount of the periodic common expense assessment and unpaid common expenses or special assessments due from the seller, capital expenditures approved for the next 12 months, the amount of reserves for capital expenditures and any portions designated for a specified project, unsatisfied judgments, pending suits, insurance coverage for unit owners, any known violations, the remaining term of any leasehold, the managing agent's contact information, the association's balance sheet, and all fees payable to the association that are associated with the transfer of ownership.

The association must furnish the certificate within 10 days after a written request by the selling owner. If it does not, the owner may give the purchaser a sworn affidavit in place of the certificate, and the statute adds that a failure to provide a resale certificate does not void a deed to a purchaser. Section 82.113 says an assessment levied against a unit is a personal obligation of the owner secured by a continuing lien on the unit, and it defines assessments for this purpose broadly, to include regular and special assessments, dues, fees, charges, interest, late fees, fines, collection costs and attorney's fees. The association's lien has priority over any other lien except certain listed ones, including liens for real property taxes and governmental assessments, and the association may not foreclose a lien for assessments that consists solely of fines. For a condominium buyer the budget, the reserve balance and the insurance coverage in the certificate are the main guides to whether a special assessment is likely; they are the figures to read before the contract deadline.

Published examples with their dates

Robson Ranch Denton, 2025. The Robson Ranch Denton HOA's resale and refinance page states that the 2025 assessments are $1,956.46 semi-annually and $3,912.92 yearly, billed on January 2 and July 1. It lists a capital improvement fee of $3,380.00 for 2025, described as equal to the annual dues rate for the current year, a one-time fee generally paid by the buyer that homeowners voted on in 2019, with all funds going into the association's reserve fund. Because the 2025 yearly assessment and the 2025 capital improvement fee are different numbers on the same page, a buyer should ask which figure applies at closing. The page also lists resale document fees of a $50 disclosure fee, generally paid by the seller, and a $350 administrative fee, generally paid by the buyer, for $400.00 in total for processing within 10 days, with a 72-hour rush option for an additional $100, and a $200 refinance disclosure fee. The statute caps a defined fee to assemble, copy and deliver the required information, so an itemized statement of what each line covers helps a buyer see what is a document charge and what is a separate association charge. The developer's legal disclaimer for Robson Ranch Texas adds that there are additional fees, not included in the HOA fees, for using some of the recreational facilities, and that the golf course and restaurant are open to the public. See Robson Ranch Texas and Denton.

Hill Country Retreat, 2025 assessment and 2023 Declaration. The association's FAQ states that the 2025 quarterly assessment is $556.50, which includes a $55.50 trash fee, and that the rest covers the vast majority of operating costs and entitles owners to use the amenities. As our arithmetic from that figure, four quarterly payments would total $2,226 a year. The FAQ page carries an updated date of 12/20/23 while quoting a 2025 figure, so a buyer should request the current assessment in writing. The Amended and Restated Declaration, recorded on June 30, 2023, adds charges that arise at sale. A New Member Fee is charged to the seller on each sale or transfer in an amount set by the board, not to exceed the greater of $650 or one-third of one percent of the gross selling price, and the seller and purchaser are free to agree on who bears it. A Supplemental Reserve Contribution is due from the purchaser and/or the seller in an amount of $1,500 or such greater amount as the board determines, and a separate administrative transfer fee is also collected. The association's governing-documents page lists a resolution on the collection and amount of the Supplemental Reserve Contribution, so the current figure may differ from the Declaration. The Declaration also treats special assessments: the board may authorize them by majority vote, they take effect unless disapproved at a meeting by owners representing a majority of the voting power, and a special assessment for a capital improvement costing more than ten percent of the association's budgeted gross expenses for the year is not effective until members holding a majority of the voting power approve it at a meeting called for that purpose. See Hill Country Retreat.

Sun City Texas, undated. The developer's HOA page for Sun City Texas lists HOA dues of $1,535 per year and a one-time working capital fee of $650 paid at closing. The page carries no effective date, so these figures are undated and should be confirmed with the association. The page says the dues cover use of the amenities (excluding golf), maintenance of common areas and other association obligations, that certain activities including golf, exercise classes, chartered clubs and special events are paid for outside the dues, and that the board sets dues each year through a budgeting process and that dues are subject to increase. It says the community has an asset reserve fund and that there are four resident board members and one developer board member, with the developer member holding the majority vote until the community is 95% complete. That last detail matters for special assessments and rule changes: while a developer controls the board, residents have less say over the budget. See Sun City Texas and Georgetown.

Bridgeland, 2025. The Bridgeland schedule of approved 2025 assessment rates shows how assessments can layer in a master-planned community. It lists a Bridgeland Council general maintenance fee of $665.00 and, in addition, a village association general maintenance fee, $690.00 for Creekland Village and Prairieland Village, $695.00 for Parkland Village and $725.00 for Lakeland Village, plus subdivision-specific assessments where they apply. Annual assessments are due January 1 and delinquent February 1, and the association offers a three-month payment plan on a written request made before the due date. The schedule does not carry a line for the Del Webb section, so a buyer there should obtain the Del Webb association's own budget. See Del Webb Bridgeland and Cypress.

Golf and club memberships are separate from dues

Whether golf is covered by the monthly assessment varies by community, and the published materials say so in different ways. At Sun City Texas, dues cover use of the amenities excluding golf. At Kissing Tree, the developer's FAQ says the golf green fees are not included with the purchase of the home or the HOA fees, and that the course is semi-private with priority tee times and discounted rates for residents. At Robson Ranch Texas the developer says the golf course and restaurant are open to the public and that some recreational facilities carry fees beyond the HOA fees. At Comanche Trace, the membership page lists several categories, a Full Golf Membership, a Non-Resident Golf Membership for people whose homestead exemption or primary residence is outside a 50-mile radius, a Limited Golf Membership with restricted tee times, and a Social Membership without golf, and it posts no prices on that page. At Pecan Plantation, the land-sales site says the owners' association dues include access to the country club with daily access to 18 holes of golf and no additional green fees or food and beverage minimums, while the association's FAQ points to a fee list for golf cart and trail fees.

The lesson is that a monthly fee is not the whole cost. Ask whether a club membership is mandatory for homeowners, whether it carries an initiation fee, a monthly minimum for dining or a capital assessment, whether a membership can be transferred on resale, and what happens to the membership if the club is sold. These are contract terms, not statute, and each comes from the club's own schedule. See Sun City Texas, Kissing Tree, Comanche Trace and Pecan Plantation for the communities' own descriptions.

An association assessment is not a tax

An association assessment is a private obligation created by a declaration that each owner takes title subject to. A property tax is levied by a government taxing unit on the appraised value of the property. The Comptroller reports that more than 4,796 local taxing units in Texas assess property tax and that the appraisal district does not itself levy a tax, which is the system that produces a tax statement. An association's dues do not appear on that statement, and exemptions such as the homestead exemption have no effect on them.

The difference matters most at the edges. A public improvement district assessment is levied by a city or county, not a private association, and Local Government Code Section 372.018 makes it a first and prior lien superior to all other liens except liens for state, county, school district or municipality ad valorem taxes. A condominium association's lien under Section 82.113 has priority over other liens except certain listed ones, including liens for real property taxes and governmental assessments. Both can add a payment that does not appear in a tax rate table, so a buyer of a newer community should ask separately about association dues, any district tax or assessment, and any club charge, and add them. The guide on MUDs, PIDs and special districts explains the district side.

What to request before you buy

Ask for the resale certificate or condominium resale certificate, the declaration and all amendments, the bylaws and rules, the current operating budget and balance sheet, and the amount of reserves. Statute requires several of these to be included in the certificate, so a missing item is itself informative. Ask for the minutes of recent board meetings and the notice of any proposed assessment increase, because under Section 209.0051 a board generally may not decide an increase or a special assessment outside an open meeting held with prior notice to owners.

Ask for the special assessment history: the date, amount, purpose and payment schedule of every special assessment in recent years, and whether any is approved but not yet due, which the certificate must state. Ask whether the association has commissioned a reserve study. A reserve study is not named in the statute, but the reserve amount for capital expenditures is a required item and the study explains it. Ask for the transfer fee list in writing, as the certificate must include a statement of all transfer fees and to whom they are paid. Ask about the enforcement and fine policy, the payment plan guidelines, whether the association is in a lawsuit, and what insurance it carries on common areas.

In an age-restricted or active-adult community, ask who controls the board and when control passes to residents; Sun City Texas's page, for example, ties the developer's majority vote to the community being 95% complete. For any club, ask for the current membership schedule and what is covered by dues. Finally, put the figures side by side by year: dues, any one-time fee at closing, the club cost, and any district tax or assessment, and then compare them with the monthly cost of a similar home without an association.

Places where this matters most

• DentonA Denton County university city on I-35 at the northern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with two hospitals on its I-35 corridor, a commuter rail line, a 55+ golf community on its south side, and a citywide age profile that is young because of its universities.
• San AntonioA very large Bexar County city and metro hub with a concentrated medical center cluster, a university-hospital district, an international airport, a long-standing military retiree community and a property-tax picture that varies sharply by school district, special district and suburb.
• GeorgetownA Williamson County city on the northern end of the Austin corridor, with a historic town center, a hospital and clinics in town, an age-restricted community on its west side, and a property-tax picture that depends on a layered set of local taxing units.
• CypressAn area of northwest Harris County, not an incorporated city in the Census Bureau's 2020 Texas place list, defined by its ZIP codes, the Cypress-Fairbanks school district and a patchwork of municipal utility districts, with large master-planned communities such as Bridgeland, a Houston Methodist hospital on the US 290 corridor, and flood exposure that varies by parcel.
• San MarcosA Hays County river and university city on the Austin to San Antonio corridor whose retirement case rests on one large 55+ community, a hospital in town, and a flood and aquifer picture that deserves a close look before buying.
• KerrvilleThe Kerr County seat on the upper Guadalupe River and the western medical hub of the Hill Country, with a regional hospital, a VA medical center, a large older-resident population, and a July 2026 flood whose recovery the city is still documenting.
• GranburyA Hood County city on Lake Granbury, a Brazos River reservoir southwest of Fort Worth, with a historic square, a community hospital and a freestanding emergency room, a city-owned airport, one of the older populations in the Fort Worth area, and a property-tax and water picture that depends on Hood County, Granbury ISD and the lake's drought rules.

Communities where this matters most

• Robson Ranch TexasA gated 55+ golf community on the south side of Denton with a 17,500-square-foot clubhouse, 27 holes of golf, a sports and fitness complex, and a homeowners association that publishes its dues and resale fees.
• Hill Country RetreatA gated, completely built-out 55 and over Del Webb community at 4550 Del Webb Blvd. in San Antonio, ZIP 78253, with a large amenity center and homes that now change hands as resales.
• Sun City TexasA large Del Webb active adult community in northwest Georgetown, marketed as 55+, with three championship golf courses, four fitness centers, eight pools and new single-family homes from $340,990.
• Del Webb BridgelandA gated Del Webb community in Creekland Village within the Bridgeland master plan in Cypress, marketed as 55+, with a clubhouse, resort-style pool, indoor and outdoor pickleball and a golf simulator.
• Kissing TreeA gated 1,300-acre master-planned community in San Marcos marketed to people 55 and older, with Traditional homes, Cottages and Villas, a 20-acre amenity campus called The Mix and a semi-private golf course.
• Comanche TraceA 1,300-acre master-planned golf community just outside Kerrville on the Guadalupe River Valley, with 27 holes, a private club, new and resale homes from the $500s, and no age restriction in its marketing.
• Pecan PlantationA gated golf, marina and airpark community of about 3,000 acres south of Granbury, open to buyers of all ages, with a mostly Hood County location, an owners association and, by the Census estimate, a population in which nearly half are 65 or older.

Related guides

• Texas MUDs, PIDs and special districts: how to read the bill and the closing disclosure
• Texas property taxes and appraisal districts: how to compare actual total tax bills
• 55-plus communities versus all-age master plans in Texas
• New construction versus resale homes in Texas