Wisconsin conditionally requires reserve funding for condominiums but never requires a formal reserve study. Under Wis. Stat. § 703.163, the declarant of a condominium created on or after November 1, 2004 must establish a 'statutory reserve account' — but the declarant may elect out, and after declarant control ends unit owners may establish or terminate the account by majority vote. Non-condominium HOAs face no statutory reserve requirement, and there is no mandated study cycle.
Verified against the statute 2026-07-06
Condominiums only, under Wis. Stat. ch. 703 — mandatory-by-default for condominiums created on or after November 1, 2004, with elections available to older condominiums. Non-condominium HOAs and planned communities have no statutory reserve account requirement in Wisconsin.
No statutory reserve study cycle; the association must instead consider the § 703.163(7) factors (current reserve funds, estimated repair/replacement costs, remaining useful life of common elements) when setting the annual reserve assessment, and conversion condos over 4 units must consider the § 703.33(2)(cm)1 report.
The annual reserve assessment amount is set by the declarant (then the association) after considering the factors in § 703.163(7)(a)-(e); no minimum funding level or percentage is prescribed. The declarant may elect not to establish the account or terminate it during declarant control, and unit owners may later establish or terminate the account by majority vote — so the requirement is effectively waivable. The statute also shields declarants, owners, and boards from liability for reserve-account decisions and deficiencies.
Under § 703.163(3)(b), the declarant must disclose in writing to the first purchaser of each unit whether accrued reserve assessments are included in the purchase price or how they will be paid. Every statutory reserve account statement (establishing, declining, or terminating an account) must be recorded with the county register of deeds, making the condominium's reserve election a public record.
Requires declarants of condos created on or after Nov. 1, 2004 to establish a statutory reserve account (sub. (3)(a)), allows declarant opt-out or termination during declarant control (sub. (3)(c)), lets owners establish or terminate by majority vote afterward (subs. (4), (6)), sets funding factors (sub. (7)(a)-(e)), and requires written disclosure to the first purchaser (sub. (3)(b)).
Cross-referenced by § 703.163(3)(a): conversion condominiums with more than 4 units must consider this expected-useful-life report when determining reserve assessments — the closest Wisconsin comes to a reserve-study requirement.
Adversarially re-verified: fetched Wis. Stat. § 703.163 on the official docs.legis.wisconsin.gov site and confirmed, with quoted statutory text, the Nov. 1, 2004 trigger ('shall establish a statutory reserve account'), declarant opt-out/termination (sub. (3)(c)), owner establishment/termination by majority of unit votes (subs. (4), (6)), the sub. (7) funding factors (current reserve funds, estimated repair/replacement cost, remaining useful life), the first-purchaser written disclosure (sub. (3)(b)), and the cross-reference to the s. 703.33(2)(cm)1 report for conversion condominiums with more than 4 units. Informational only — not legal advice. Confirm with the primary source and a community-association attorney licensed in Wisconsin. Report an issue.
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