Colorado Reserve Study Requirements Under CCIOA

The policy, in the statute's words

Subsection (1)(b)(IX) says the policy must address:

"When the association has a reserve study prepared for the portions of the community maintained, repaired, replaced, and improved by the association; whether there is a funding plan for any work recommended by the reserve study and, if so, the projected sources of funding for the work; and whether the reserve study is based on a physical analysis and financial analysis."

The same item adds one sentence that matters to smaller communities: an internally conducted reserve study is sufficient for this purpose. A board can meet the requirement with its own study, although lenders, insurers and buyers' agents often ask who prepared it.

Five answers the policy has to give

When the association has a reserve study prepared. How often a study is done, and what would bring one forward.

Which parts of the community it covers. Everything the association maintains, repairs, replaces and improves.

Whether there is a funding plan. Whether the board commits to a plan for the work the study recommends.

Where the money is projected to come from. Regular assessments, a special assessment, a loan, or a mix.

Whether it rests on physical and financial analysis. Whether someone looked at the components, and whether the numbers were run.

The policy sentence on our homepage drafts wording that answers all five, with your choice of interval, site visits and funding goal.

What owners are shown each year

Section 38-33.3-209.4 sets a yearly disclosure. Within 90 days after the association takes over from the developer, and within 90 days after the end of every fiscal year after that, owners must be able to see the operating budget, the assessments, the annual financial statements including any amount held in reserve, the latest audit or review, insurance details, the bylaws and rules, meeting minutes and the governance policies adopted under 209.5.

The Division of Real Estate's summary of HB26-1099 says the association must now also give owners the most recent reserve study within those same 90-day windows.

The 2026 change: a study before handover

HB26-1099 was signed on April 13, 2026 and took effect on August 12, 2026. For new communities, the developer has to commission and pay for a reserve study that projects 30 years of costs for the parts the association will maintain, before control passes to the owners. The preparer has to be independent of the developer. Our transition study guide covers what that means for a board taking over.

What the act leaves to the board

Everything else: how often to update, whether to pay for a site visit every time, which funding goal to aim for and how to raise the money. Those choices belong in the policy, and they are where a reserve study firm earns its fee, because the policy is only as good as the study behind it.

Nothing on this page is legal advice. The statute text quoted here comes from public copies of the Colorado Revised Statutes; your association's attorney can confirm how it applies to your declaration.

Questions on this topic

Is a Colorado HOA breaking the law if it has no reserve study?

Not by itself. The Division of Real Estate says CCIOA does not require a reserve study. The association does need the written policy, and that policy has to say plainly when, or whether, a study is prepared.

Does the law make an association fund its reserves?

No. CAI's June 2026 summary of state laws records no statutory requirement to fund reserves in Colorado. The policy has to say whether there is a funding plan; it does not have to promise one.

Which associations does this apply to?

Common interest communities governed by CCIOA, which covers most Colorado HOAs, condominiums and cooperatives created since 1992 and many older ones for parts of the act. Small and limited-expense communities can be partly exempt, so check your declaration with the association's attorney.

Where do owners see the policy?

In the yearly disclosure. Within 90 days after each fiscal year ends, the association must make its responsible governance policies available to owners, along with the budget and the amount held in reserve (C.R.S. 38-33.3-209.4).

How often should a Colorado association update its study?

No Colorado statute fixes an interval; your written policy does. Many boards choose a full study with a site visit, then updates every three to five years. Communities that had a large hail claim, a roof replacement or a paving project often bring the update forward.

Can the board do the reserve study itself?

For the purposes of the policy requirement, the statute says an internally conducted reserve study is sufficient. Lenders, insurers and buyers may still look for a study by an outside preparer, and the HB26-1099 transition study must be done by an independent professional with no ties to the developer.

Who prepares reserve studies in Colorado?

CCIOA names no required credential for an ongoing study. Preparers range from engineering practices to specialist reserve consultants; some hold the Reserve Specialist (RS) designation from the Community Associations Institute or APRA's Professional Reserve Analyst (PRA). Our list of firms that work in Colorado links to each one.

Colorado reserve study requirements under CCIOA