The Guide to Washington HOA Laws

An association meeting must be held at least once annually, and homeowners must be notified at least 14 and no more than 50 days in advance. The board must take minutes of all owner and board meetings, excluding executive sessions, and keep them in the association’s records. All HOA meetings, except executive sessions, must be open to owners, though the board has the right to expel or prohibit the attendance of any disruptive person, provided they’ve been given a warning. Executive sessions may be held only during a regular or special meeting of the board or a committee, and final votes cannot be taken during an executive session.

As of January 1, 2026, RCW 64.90.445’s open-meeting requirements now apply to all common interest communities, including HOAs established before 2018. Board meetings must now set aside at least 15 minutes at the start for owners to comment on agenda items before the board votes.

What it means for HOAs: A board cannot make major decisions for the HOA behind closed doors. Owners have the right to adequate notice about upcoming meetings and to speak during those meetings if they wish. HOA mass communication tools allow boards to automate those notices.

HOAs cannot prohibit units from displaying the U.S. flag in a manner that’s consistent with federal flag display law (4 U.S.C. Sec. 1 et seq.). Owners also cannot be prevented from displaying political signs outdoors before any primary or general election. In both cases, the board can set reasonable, consistent rules on size and placement.

What it means for HOAs: An association can regulate how flags and political signs are displayed (size, placement, mounting), but it cannot prohibit them entirely.

The association or its managing agent is required to keep financial and other records detailed enough to declare the HOA’s true financial condition. These records are property of the association, not the managing agent. Washington HOA laws mandate that all association records are available for review by owners, mortgage holders, or their authorized agents during reasonable business hours or at a mutually convenient time and location. (The association must redact the addresses of any owners enrolled in Washington state’s address confidentiality program.) Boards may charge a reasonable fee for copies and for supervising an inspection, but all owners are entitled to a free annual copy of the HOA owner list and any preforeclosure information that concerns them.

The board must prepare a financial statement for the HOA at least annually. Associations with $50,000 or more in annual assessments are required to have their statements audited each year by an independent CPA, unless 67 percent of the votes cast waive the audit for that year.

On January 1, 2028, WUCIOA’s standards for records retention and access (RCW 64.90.495) replace this rule for every association, and they already govern communities created on or after July 1, 2018, along with any pre-2018 HOA that opted in early. Under that standard, associations have 10 days to produce records, extended only by the size of the request or by the need to redact reasonably required information, and never past 21 days without a court order. Additionally, when a management contract ends, or the board requests it, the managing agent must return all of the association’s original books and records. Electronic records must be provided within five business days, while physical records can take up to 10 business days.

What it means for HOAs: Boards are responsible for keeping comprehensive, accurate records and providing them to owners or their authorized agents within a reasonable amount of time. Software with HOA document storage capabilities makes retaining and retrieving those records easy.

Washington law encourages HOAs to establish a reserve account in the association’s name, administered by the board, to fund major maintenance, repair, and replacement of common elements expected to need improvements within 30 years. An HOA with “significant assets” (defined as major reserve components whose current replacement value is 75 percent or more of the association’s gross budget, excluding reserve funds) is required to have a reserve study professional prepare an initial reserve study based on a visual site inspection and update it annually. At least every third year, that update has to rest on a new visual site inspection rather than a paper refresh. Under RCW 64.38, this requirement does not apply if the study would cost more than five percent of the HOA’s annual budget, the HOA lacks significant assets, or the HOA has 10 or fewer homes.

To be compliant, an association’s reserve study must list every component whose maintenance or replacement is expected to cost more than one percent of the annual budget, present a recommended contribution rate, a plan to fully fund the reserve by year 30, a baseline plan to ensure the balance never falls below zero, and a 30-year projected balance of the reserve.

WUCIOA’s RCW 64.90.545 now governs reserve studies for every Washington association and is stricter than RCW 64.38 in several respects. A reserve study is required unless the association qualifies for an exemption, so the “significant assets” trigger no longer determines who needs one. The cost exemption rises from five percent of the annual budget to 10 percent. The exemption for associations with 10 or fewer homes is gone, replaced by exemptions covering nominal reserve costs, nonresidential communities, and middle housing. Where the two statutes differ, WUCIOA controls, so boards should plan to the RCW 64.90.545 standard.

What it means for HOAs: Associations of a certain size are required to have a plan for long-term repairs and replacement of common elements. PayHOA’s HOA bookkeeping service provides boards with expert advice on funding reserves.

Within 30 days of adopting a proposed regular or special budget, the board has to set a date for an owners’ meeting to consider ratifying it. RCW 64.38.025 puts that meeting between 14 and 60 days after the budget summary is mailed, but WUCIOA’s RCW 64.90.525 now governs budgets and assessments for every Washington association and sets the window at 14 to 50 days. Where the two differ, WUCIOA controls, so schedule to the 50-day outside date. Unless a majority of the association’s votes (or any larger percentage specified by the governing documents) reject it, in person or by proxy, the budget is ratified. If the proposed budget is rejected by a majority of owners or the required notice period is not met, the previously ratified budget remains in effect until a new one is ratified.

What it means for HOAs: Under Washington HOA laws, boards cannot enact a new regular or special budget unless the owners ratify it. If the new budget doesn’t pass, the existing budget stays in effect.

Washington HOAs can impose late charges and reasonable fines when owners violate the governing documents, as long as the board follows a previously established fine schedule that’s been distributed to owners. Associations are also mandated to provide notice and an opportunity for the homeowner to address the violation.

If anyone violates this statute, the aggrieved party may seek any remedy available at law or in equity, and the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in some cases.

What it means for HOAs: The board can’t issue fees or fines that don’t align with a fine schedule already provided to owners, without adequate notice, or without allowing the owner in question the opportunity to be heard. If it does, the owner can legally challenge the charge. HOA violation tracking tools assist boards in complying with their own regulations and state laws.

If the association’s governing documents allow a lien for unpaid assessments, the association must notify the owner of the delinquency by first-class mail no later than 30 days after the assessment becomes past due. The notice must be written in English and in any other language the owner has listed as a preference, and sent to the unit address and any other address the owner has provided, as well as by email if an email address has been provided. The first notice must include a statutory first preforeclosure notice directing the owner to contact a housing counselor or an attorney licensed in Washington, and alerting the owner that the process initiated by the notice could result in the loss of the home. A second preforeclosure notice follows, but it cannot be mailed any sooner than 60 days after the first one went out.

The HOA cannot begin a foreclosure action unless the owner owes at least the greater of three months of assessments or $2,000 (in either case not counting fines, late charges, interest, attorney’s fees, or collection costs), at least 90 days have passed since that amount accrued, any required mediation referral has concluded, and the board has specifically approved foreclosure against that lot. Every aspect of a collection, foreclosure, sale, or conveyance process must be commercially reasonable.

What it means for HOAs: Foreclosing on an HOA lien in Washington is a process that, by design, requires several months and several notices, and skipping any mandated part of that process can effectively end it. HOA financial tools can reduce the amount of work required to remain compliant with the law.

Homeowners have the right to install a solar energy panel as long as it meets applicable health and safety standards. Associations also cannot prohibit owners from installing drought-resistant or wildfire-ignition-resistant landscaping, though they can enforce reasonable placement and aesthetic rules. Additionally, the governing documents cannot include any restriction that effectively prohibits the installation of an electric vehicle charging station for an owner’s personal, non-commercial use in their designated parking space, though architectural standards may apply.

What it means for HOAs: Boards can’t dictate whether owners use solar energy panels, specialized landscaping, or electric vehicle charging stations, though they can have a say on how and where those elements are installed. HOA architectural review tools enable owners to submit requests, and board members to review requests, online.

Washington HOA laws mandate that a resale certificate must be furnished to a buyer before the purchase contract is signed, and it must include a list of any assessments, reserves, finances, insurance, or pending litigation that concerns the property. This certificate must be delivered within 10 days of a written request, and the buyer is allowed five business days to cancel the purchase after receiving it. However, if the certificate is delivered more than five business days before signing, that cancellation right does not apply. The preparation fee is capped at $275 for the initial certificate and at $100 for an update within six months.

The resale requirements instituted by WUCIOA apply to communities already governed by WUCIOA that were created on or after July 1, 2018, or that have opted in. HOAs established prior to 2018 will become subject to these laws on January 1, 2028, or earlier if they have opted in.

What it means for HOAs: Soon, all boards must follow a standardized disclosure process for resale certificates. HOA resale documents automate the process to align with WUCIOA.

An owner vote is not required for the board to remove unlawful or discriminatory provisions from the HOA’s governing documents. Under WUCIOA, once the board receives a request, it has 90 days to determine whether the provision is unlawful and, if it is, another 90 days to amend the governing document to remove it.

What it means for HOAs: Boards are empowered to remove or amend discriminatory provisions (such as racially insensitive policies) from the CC&Rs without holding a member vote.