State profile
Oregon
Oregon puts the reserve study on an annual cycle: every year the board must determine the reserve account requirements by conducting a study or reviewing and updating an existing one, feeding five statutory inputs — balances, remaining useful lives, costs, inflation, and investment returns. The board may do the work itself, and pairs the study with a maintenance plan. Owners can only escape funding through a narrow valve: after turnover, a unanimous annual vote not to fund the following year — and even then the study duty itself survives. The rules reach communities created since October 1999; older ones join by board resolution or a majority owner petition.
Update every
Annual
Site visit
Not required
Applies to
PCs & condos formed after Oct 1999; older ones opt in
What your board must do
01Annually determine the reserve account requirements by conducting a reserve study or reviewing and updating an existing one, using the five statutory inputs — starting reserve balance, each item's remaining useful life, its maintenance/repair/replacement cost, the current inflation rate, and returns on invested reserves (ORS 94.595(3)(a); condos ORS 100.175(3)(a)). After the review, the board may adjust reserve payments without any owner vote.
02Maintain a reserve account, separate from other funds, for items of common property needing major maintenance, repair, or replacement in more than 1 and less than 30 years, plus exterior painting and anything the declaration or bylaws add — funded by assessments; borrowing from it requires a board resolution and a written repayment plan by the next budget (subsections (2), (6)/(7)).
03Keep a maintenance plan alongside the study — describing and scheduling the maintenance, repair, and replacement work, sized to the association, addressing warranties and useful lives — reviewed and updated as necessary (subsection (4)). The declarant prepares the initial study, plan, and account before turnover ((1)).
04Treat the funding opt-out as the narrow valve it is — after turnover, the board with the approval of ALL owners may elect, one year at a time, not to fund the account; and no vote may eliminate funding at all unless the board first determines under the annual study that the account will be adequately funded (94.595(8); 100.175(10)). No opt-out touches the annual study duty itself.
05Disclose reserves in two places — the annual budget must include the money allocated to the reserve account (ORS 94.645(2); 100.483(2)), and the association must keep the study on file and give any owner a copy within 10 business days of a written request (ORS 94.670(10)-(11); 100.480).
06Know the scope — the study and plan duties apply to planned communities and condos created on or after October 23, 1999; older communities join when the board so resolves or a majority of owners petition (study due within one year). Condos of one or two units are exempt from the study and plan duties. No preparer credential is required — the board may self-perform. There is no specific penalty; violations are actionable with prevailing-party attorney fees, and planned-community claims must be brought within one year of discovery (ORS 94.780; 100.470).
Quick answers
- Does Oregon require a reserve study?
- Reserve study required. Yes. Oregon puts the reserve study on an annual cycle: every year the board must determine the reserve account requirements by conducting a study or reviewing and updating an existing one, feeding five statutory inputs — balances, remaining useful lives, costs, inflation, and investment returns. The board may do the work itself, and pairs the study with a maintenance plan. Owners can only escape funding through a narrow valve: after turnover, a unanimous annual vote not to fund the following year — and even then the study duty itself survives. The rules reach communities created since October 1999; older ones join by board resolution or a majority owner petition.
- How often must a Oregon reserve study be updated?
- Update interval: Annual. Site visit: Not required.
- What must a Oregon association disclose about reserves?
- Budget reserve line; study to owners on request. Applies to: PCs & condos formed after Oct 1999; older ones opt in.
Statutes
Last statutory change 2019 · Page reviewed Sep 2026 · Not legal advice