New Jersey HOA reserve study requirements

A plain-language summary of N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2. Last checked October 2026.

Who it applies to: Associations of planned real estate developments, except those with less than $25,000 in total common area capital assets.
How often: Every covered association must undertake and fund a capital reserve study. Owners of covered buildings, as the act defines them, must have it conducted and reviewed at least once every five years.
Who can prepare it: It must be "performed or overseen by" a reserve specialist credentialed through the Community Associations Institute, or an engineer or architect licensed by the state.
What it must contain: Reserve fund balances, anticipated income and expenses, the physical condition of common components, repair and replacement costs, and a proposed 30-year funding plan. It must follow national reserve study standards.

Can a board do its own reserve study in New Jersey?

Outside preparer required

The study must be performed or overseen by a credentialed reserve specialist or a licensed engineer or architect, so the workbook cannot serve as the required study. Its 30-year plan can help a board test contribution levels between studies. This summary is taken from the law as enacted in 2023 (P.L.2023, c.214), so check for later amendments.

Your governing documents may set stricter rules than the statute. Check them too.

The workbook

Reserve Study Kit is an Excel workbook that builds a 30-year reserve funding plan from your component list: every year's balance, percent funded, and the contribution that keeps you above your minimum.

See how it works

Source

N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.2. Read the statute itself before relying on this summary.