Most boards must budget major-repair reserves unless a majority of owners waives them.
Ohio's condominium law sets no owner vote for a special assessment in the sections cited. If your declaration or bylaws limit the board's ability to raise assessments without an owner vote, the board need not budget the reserves described here. Owners holding at least a majority of the voting power can also waive the reserve requirement in writing, each year.
R.C. 5311.081(A)(1)The sections cited set no notice period for adopting a special assessment; your bylaws must say how meetings are called and noticed. Before charging you for damage or an enforcement assessment, the board must send written notice of the amount and your right to a hearing, and you have until the tenth day after receiving it to ask for one.
R.C. 5311.08(B)(2); 5311.081(C)You can examine and copy the association's books of account, records of how expenses are allocated and collected, meeting minutes and owner list, under reasonable standards in the declaration, bylaws or board rules, which can set times, places and a copying fee. Unless the board approves, records over five years old and records on personnel, legal advice, contracts under negotiation, enforcement against other owners, or matters the law bars from disclosure are off limits. The sections cited set no deadline for the association to respond.
R.C. 5311.091; 5311.09(A)The association's lien covers common expenses still unpaid ten days after they are due, plus interest, late fees and collection costs if your documents allow them. The lien takes effect when the association records a certificate of lien, lasts five years, and can be foreclosed like a mortgage; you can sue in common pleas court to discharge a lien you believe was improperly charged. Unless your documents say otherwise, payments go first to interest, then late fees, then collection costs, and last to the assessment; the sections cited set no cap on late fees and no right to a payment plan.
R.C. 5311.18Ohio's planned community law sets no owner vote for a special assessment in the sections cited. The board may not charge assessments unless the declaration provides for them, and may not raise assessments above a limit in the declaration unless owners amend the declaration. Owners holding at least a majority of the voting power can waive the required reserves in writing, each year.
R.C. 5312.10(C); 5312.06(A)(1)The sections cited set no notice period for adopting a special assessment; your bylaws must say how meetings are called and noticed. Before charging you for damage or an enforcement assessment, the board must send written notice of the amount and your right to a hearing, and you have until the tenth day after receiving it to ask for one.
R.C. 5312.02(B)(8); 5312.11(C)-(D)You can examine and copy the association's books of account, records of collecting common expenses, meeting minutes and owner list, under reasonable standards in the declaration, bylaws or board rules, which can set times, places and a copying fee. Unless the board approves, records over five years old and records on personnel, legal advice, contracts under negotiation, enforcement against other owners, or matters the law bars from disclosure are off limits. The sections cited set no deadline for the association to respond.
R.C. 5312.07; 5312.06(C)The association's lien covers assessments and charges still unpaid ten days after they are due, plus interest, late fees and collection costs. The lien takes effect when the association records a certificate of lien, lasts five years, and can be foreclosed like a mortgage; you can sue to discharge a lien you believe was improperly charged, and the court may award you attorney's fees. Interest is set by the board and cannot exceed any maximum rate permitted by law; the sections cited set no payment-plan right.
R.C. 5312.12; 5312.10(B)Summarised from the statutes in November 2026. Not legal advice; your declaration and bylaws may add more rules.