Texas rules on owners' association dues, records and disclosures
How Association Dues and Resale Certificates Work for a Lake Conroe Home
Updated October 2026
What should I know about property owners' association dues before buying or selling a home on Lake Conroe?
In October 2026, Texas law sets no cap on how much or how often a Lake Conroe association's dues may rise, so read the resale certificate before closing.
Kim Vargas, Houston Properties Team, Lake Conroe
Source: Texas State Law Library, Property Owners' Associations guide: Assessments, October 2026.
How does Texas law treat association dues and the resale certificate?
Texas uses the word assessments for what most owners call dues, the Texas State Law Library's guide to property owners' associations explains. Regular assessments come on a set schedule, monthly or yearly, and pay for general maintenance and expenses.
The same guide says Texas law sets no ceiling on how much dues can rise or how often. So the figure to rely on is the one on the association's current statement.
The resale certificate is where an association's numbers come together. The guide says it summarizes the association's financial status, fee structures and any unpaid debts owed by the property in question, among other information.
The Texas Real Estate Commission's form for it, Subdivision Information, Including Resale Certificate (Form 37-5), applies where membership in the owners' association is mandatory. It reports on assessments, judgments, right of first refusal on resale and other information, under Chapter 207 of the Texas Property Code.
Texas law places no limit on how much or how often assessments may increase.
What does each Lake Conroe owners association charge a year?
Each larger community on the lake has its own owners association and deed restrictions, so the dues change from one to the next. Several also have a utility district, which adds a tax of its own.
Bentwater's property owners association charges $996 a year for a home, plus $150 to its street repair fund, on its schedule for July 2025 to June 2026.
Walden's community association set its 2026 maintenance fee at $1,150 a year, due each January 1. Some Walden sections charge a section fee on top of it, and Walden's deed restrictions differ by section as well.
Which association fees come due when a Bentwater home sells?
On the same schedule, a $500 transfer fee and a capital reserve fee of $597.60 are due at closing, $1,097.60 between them. Some Bentwater sections add a neighborhood fee as well.
Add these closing fees to the price, and ask for the schedule before you write an offer.
Is a Lake Conroe club bill part of the association dues?
In Bentwater the club is a separate bill. Its fee schedule of March 2025 lists initiation fees from $5,000 for a social membership to $65,000 for Grand Pines.
Monthly club dues ran from $217 to $968 as of April 2025. The association and the club each publish their own schedule, so total the two separately before an offer.
Does a Lake Conroe owners association have a say over a dock?
Where the subdivision requires it, the owners association or architectural committee must approve dock plans before they go to the San Jacinto River Authority. The authority controls the land up to the 201-foot contour, so every dock, boathouse or lift also needs its residential license.
On a waterfront purchase, ask the seller for that approval along with the license numbers and fee receipts during the option period. The association's paper and the authority's paper belong in one file.
Questions & answers
Lake Conroe questions, answered
Does the seller have to tell me about the association fees on a Lake Conroe house?
Yes, where the seller knows of them. Texas Property Code section 5.008 requires sellers to disclose if they are aware of a "Homeowners' Association or maintenance fees or assessments," the Texas State Law Library's guide says. On the lake that reaches Bentwater's yearly charge, Walden's maintenance fee and any section or neighborhood charge. During the option period, check the seller's disclosure against the association's current fee schedule.
The duty reaches only the fees the seller knows of, so get the association's latest statement yourself. In Bentwater, ask about the $500 transfer fee and the $597.60 capital reserve fee due at closing, and who pays each under your contract. Ask for any club statements separately from the association's statement, since the club bills on its own.
How much does a resale certificate cost for a Lake Conroe home?
Preparing the records can cost up to $375, the Texas State Law Library's guide says. Each larger lake community answers to a separate association, so a Bentwater house and a Walden house each need a certificate from their own. Make sure the certificate reaches you while your option period is still open, since that is when you can still end the contract.
The $375 figure is the guide's ceiling for preparation, so an invoice can come in under it. Ask your agent how the contract will assign that cost before anyone signs.
How do I get the governing documents for a Lake Conroe association before I buy?
Ask for them in writing. Texas law requires most associations to provide a buyer who asks with a copy of the governing documents. The same rule covers a copy of a resale certificate, the State Law Library's guide says. The guide also says records must be requested in writing by certified mail. On a lake purchase, send the request as soon as the contract is signed, so the answers arrive inside the option period.
The plat for a lot sits in a different place. Plats are recorded with the county's property records, and the guide says they can generally be accessed at the county clerk's office. Lake Conroe lies in Montgomery and Walker counties, so the county the lot is in decides which clerk holds it. Read the plat beside the survey.
Does a Lake Conroe owners association have to post its deed restrictions online?
In two cases, yes. Texas law requires dedicatory instruments to be posted online for all members, the State Law Library's guide says, where an association has 60 or more lots. The same applies where it is operated by a management company. Dedicatory instruments include bylaws and restrictive covenants, the guide's voting section notes. The posting is for members, so a buyer who is not yet an owner may still need to ask for copies.
By HAR's 2025 count, Walden has 3,385 single-family homes and Grand Harbor 701, the smallest of the five lake communities HAR profiles. Ask the association for the version in force on the day you write the offer.
How do Lake Conroe owners vote on a dues increase or a special assessment?
By ballot. The State Law Library's guide lists the votes Texas law requires ballots for. They are votes cast outside of a meeting, electing or removing board members, and adopting or amending dedicatory instruments such as bylaws. The rest are increases in regular assessments, such as membership dues, and adopting special assessments. An association must also hold at least one meeting of its members every year.
Before an offer on a lake house, ask the association when its last annual meeting was held and whether a special assessment has been adopted. Put both answers in the file with the dock paper.
What is the addendum for a Lake Conroe house that comes with a mandatory owners association?
A contract addendum from the Texas Real Estate Commission, Form 36-11, is used when membership in a property owners association is tied to the property. It lets the buyer choose whether to receive information about the details of the association. The form's own note says it is not for use with condominiums, so a condominium purchase falls outside it.
On a lake house, ask your agent how the election will be marked on the form before you sign the contract.
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