Park City HOA CC&Rs, dues, and resale documents: Utah does not hand you a resale certificate

Before you remove the HOA contingency, you are buying three files, not a lifestyle. The recorded CC&Rs tell you the use rules. The budget and reserve study tell you what your assessment actually funds. The payoff letter tells escrow what you owe at closing.

Utah law makes the seller give you the recorded governing documents and a link to the HOA Ombudsman before closing. It does not mail you a California-style resale certificate. If you want the budget, minutes, and reserve study, your contract has to say so — and the seller has to ask the association in time for the records clock.

Name the association from the Commerce registry, not from the listing headline. One address can owe two assessments (building + master). A club membership is a separate contract. Several association sections are marked Effective 5/6/2026 — quote the current statute, not a 2025 blog. This is not legal advice or tax advice.

Marriott Mountainside Resort, Park City, Nov. 19, 2013 — a building with an association and shared amenities. Not a dues quote. Photo: Michelle Maria, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Two statutes — keep them separate

Community associations (typical single-family / townhome HOAs, planned communities) sit under the Utah Community Association Act, Title 57, Chapter 8a.

Condominiums sit under the Utah Condominium Ownership Act, Title 57, Chapter 8. A condo is created by a recorded declaration and a record of survey map. Apply Chapter 8a language to a Chapter 8 project only after checking the deed.

§ 57-8a-102: an assessment is a charge imposed in accordance with a governing document recorded with the county recorder. Amounts live in that budget. There is no official average — amounts live in that association’s budget.

Governing documents include articles, bylaws, plat, CC&Rs, and rules. The packet must answer rental minimums, who maintains snow/exterior/insurance, design review, reinvestment fees, and whether club membership rides with the deed.

What Utah actually requires before closing

§ 57-8a-105.1 (Effective 5/6/2026): before sale to an independent third party, the grantor shall provide (a) the association’s recorded governing documents, and (b) a link to Ombudsman education in 13-79-103(4) — before closing. The association must furnish those to the grantor on request. Condo parallel: § 57-8-6.1.

Commerce’s January 7, 2026 explainer: Utah law currently only requires those two things. Section 7 of the standard REPC tacks on a much longer list. Extra documents are contractual, not a state mandate. Until you own, you generally have no independent right to demand association records; the seller must request them.

The April 2026 Home Buyer Checklist: recorded docs typically include articles, bylaws, plats, and the declaration — not automatically rules or fee schedules. The REPC adds rules, fee schedules, design guidelines, plus most recent minutes, budget, and financials. Reserve analysis is not on the default list; negotiate it. Builder forms can differ.

Seller education link: commerce.utah.gov/hoa and hoa.utah.gov.

Flagstaff Lodge, 8894 Empire Club Drive, Oct. 21, 2022 — one Empire Pass association example; other buildings have their own. Photo: Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Payoff letter ≠ resale certificate

§ 57-8a-106: unless specifically authorized in the CC&Rs, bylaws, or rules, an association may not charge a fee for payoff information needed to close. If authorized, the fee may not be required before closing and may not exceed $50. If the association fails to provide it within five business days after a valid written request (registered primary contact, owner consent), it may not enforce a lien for money due at closing. Condo parallel: § 57-8-6.3.

Utah does not “cap resale certificates at $50.” That cap is for payoff information, not a full document package. Third-party “Utah resale certificate” vendors exist; they’re not the statute — use § 57-8a-106 for payoff rules.

How to time the document request

§ 57-8a-227 (Effective 5/6/2026): owners can get governing documents; most recent minutes, budget, financials, and reserve analysis; insurance certificates; three years of board minutes and of P&L/balance sheet. Written request: 10 business days. No charge for electronic copies. Physical copies: 10 cents/page and $20/hour. Website associations must post governing docs plus most recent minutes/budget/financials free to owners.

Commerce’s January explainer still said “up to 14 days” (2025 law). Current code as of 5/6/2026 is 10 business days — use the statute. Payoff remains a separate five-business-day track. A 10-business-day clock can blow a short due-diligence period. Sellers: start the request before the listing goes live.

§ 57-8a-105: associations register with Commerce, renew annually, and designate a primary payoff contact. During noncompliance, a lien may not arise under § 57-8a-301 and the association may not enforce an existing lien. Condo parallel: § 57-8-13.1. Check the registry.

The HOA Ombudsman (Title 13, Chapter 79) issues advisory opinions on state-statute issues only. It will not interpret CC&Rs (13-79-103). Your CC&R fight is still a declaration + attorney problem.

What your dues buy — and what they are not

§ 57-8a-201: you pay a proportionate share of common expenses. An assessment is a debt when levied. Late fee cap: greater of 10% or $50, plus interest up to 1.5%/month, after the board adopts a fee schedule by rule. Unpaid assessments can become a lien under § 57-8a-301.

Reserve analysis (§ 57-8a-211): at least every six years, reviewed at least every three. The budget must include a reserve line. Keeping the analysis is required. Adequacy is not.

Closing-line charges that are not dues, from § 57-1-46 (Effective 5/6/2026): a transfer fee covenant recorded on or after March 16, 2010, is void. Reinvestment fees are a defined exception with a recorded notice. Unless the property is a large master planned development, a reinvestment fee covenant recorded on or after May 6, 2026, may not exceed 0.5% of value (0.25% if a “low-amenity association” as defined there). Which Park City projects qualify belongs on the recorded notice — confirm there rather than guessing from a blog. An administrative setup fee imposed on or after May 7, 2025, is void unless used only for transfer-related expenses.

Utah REPC Section 4.2 has blanks for special assessments and “change of ownership fees.” Who pays is a negotiated checkbox. Confirm the current form — Commerce still hosts a 2023 PDF.

Amenities are whatever that declaration and budget fund (snow, elevator, pool, ski locker) — not a statutory list. Public rec is not an HOA amenity: Basin Recreation is a district levy; the MARC is city. A club is a separate contract — leave club dues out of the HOA line.

Historic Main Street, March 28, 2015 — city zoning Planning does enforce; private CC&Rs the City does not. Photo: Don Ramey Logan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The city will not enforce the CC&Rs

Park City LMC language, as quoted in city compilations: private covenants that are more restrictive than the LMC control to the extent allowed by law. “The City does not enforce private restrictive covenants.” Live book: parkcity.municipalcodeonline.com. Planning enforces city regulations. CC&R enforcement is solely up to the association. HOA notification on a building permit is a permit process, not covenant enforcement.

Nightly rental is a separate public-law layer (4-5-3). Inside city limits: occupancy under 30 days, licensed only if zoning allows, plus a local responsible party. CC&Rs can still prohibit it. Two permissions must align: city/county use and recorded covenants. Licenses expired September 30; that does not rewrite the declaration. No rental-income promise. Unincorporated Summit County and Wasatch County: same Title 57, different STR licensing — Park City LMC does not automatically apply in the basin.

Ready to pull the packet on a specific address before you remove the contingency? I can help you identify the registered association, see which documents the REPC already requires, and separate building HOA vs master association vs club — without a dues table and without a preferred vendor.

Esteban J. Nunez, Park City Realtor.