A Reserve Study and a Maintenance Plan is a budget planning tool which identifies the current status of a community’s Reserve and Maintenance Fund to insure it has a stable and equitable Reserve Funding Plan to offset anticipated future maintenance and replacement expenditures. 

One of the primary responsibilities of any Community’s Management Team is to protect, maintain, and improve the community's common elements. Management must plan many years in advance to accomplish this objective without reliance on additional funding like special member contributions or loans.

In countries like the United States, creating reserves for major work have been legislated for Residential Community Associations, essentially banishing the scourge of the special levy. In order to protect both current and future homeowners, it was legislated that a proper study needs to be done and disclosed with regards to current ability to fund future major maintenance and replacement costs.

This has now been legislated in South Africa as well for Sectional Title Residential Schemes and the common believe is that this will soon apply to Residential Schemes managed by Homeowner Associations as well.