Washington HOA Laws

Washington HOA laws depend on the community’s creation date, property type, and governing documents. The HOA laws in Washington are transitioning toward a broader common framework, with important requirements already applying to older associations.

Laws Governing HOAs in Washington

Washington homeowners association laws distinguish older HOAs from condominiums and newer communities. Check applicability before using any provision below.

Main Statutes and Older Communities

• RCW 64.38: Governs qualifying older homeowners associations until they elect into RCW 64.90 or the statutory transition occurs.
• RCW 64.32; RCW 64.34.010: Generally distinguish condominiums created before July 1, 1990, from later condominiums, with selected newer provisions applying retroactively.
• RCW 64.90.360: Generally applies RCW 64.90 to communities created from July 1, 2018, and elects older communities, expanding coverage January 1, 2028.
• RCW 64.90.365: Already extends specified meeting, budget, reserve-study, heat-pump, and EV-charging provisions to older communities, subject to exceptions.
• RCW 64.90.360(4); RCW 64.90.100: Establish limited-application rules for qualifying small, low-assessment, middle-housing, nonresidential, and mixed-use communities.
• RCW 64.90.370–.375: Address voluntary elections into the newer framework and treatment of inconsistent governing documents.

Chapters 64.32, 64.34, and 64.38 are scheduled for repeal January 1, 2028; this does not make every RCW 64.90 provision universally applicable today.

Corporate Requirements

• RCW 64.90.400: Requires covered associations to be organized as specified legal entities before the first conveyance to a purchaser.
• RCW 24.03A; RCW 24.06: Supplement association requirements according to corporate form, including director duties, corporate records, and dissolution.

HOA Governance and Board Responsibilities

Washington HOA regulations govern board authority and owner participation. Older communities must also account for the cross-applicable provisions identified above.

Boards, Elections, and Turnover

• RCW 64.38.025–.030: Address older HOA board duties, removal, and bylaws governing director qualifications, terms, and election procedures.
• RCW 64.90.410: Establishes board duties, conflict rules, owner-reserved powers, and generally a majority-owner board after transition.
• RCW 64.90.518: Requires election notices describing vacancies, qualifications, nominations, and procedures for challenging candidate disqualification.
• RCW 64.90.520: Governs removal votes, notice, hearing opportunities, and limited board removal authority.
• RCW 64.90.415–.420: Establishes phased owner representation, developer-control termination deadlines, transition meetings, and transfer of association property and records.

Meetings, Notice, and Voting

• RCW 64.90.445(1): Requires annual owner meetings, generally 14–50 days’ notice, and special meetings requested by owners holding 20% of votes or a lower authorized percentage.
• RCW 64.90.445(2): Requires open board meetings, limited executive sessions, owner comment opportunities, and generally 14 days’ notice unless previously scheduled or an exception applies.
• RCW 64.90.450; RCW 64.38.040: Set respective default owner-meeting quorums of 20% and 34%, subject to governing-document provisions.
• RCW 64.90.455; RCW 64.38.120: Regulate owner voting, proxies, absentee ballots, and permitted electronic procedures under the applicable framework.

HOA Financial Requirements

Budgets and collection procedures must follow the applicable statute. No universal annual percentage cap limits HOA assessment increases.

Budgets, Reserves, and Audits

• RCW 64.90.525: Requires budget delivery within 30 days of adoption and a ratification meeting 14–50 days after delivery, with similar procedures for special assessments.
• RCW 64.90.525(1): Ratifies budgets unless a majority of all allocated votes, or a larger declaration percentage, rejects them, regardless of quorum.
• RCW 64.90.480: Governs assessment allocation, working-capital contributions, and authorized allocation of particular expenses.
• RCW 64.90.545: Requires annual reserve-study updates and professional site inspections at least every third year, subject to listed exemptions.
• RCW 64.90.535–.550: Address reserve accounts, withdrawals, repayment plans, and study contents.
• RCW 64.38.045(2): Requires annual financial statements and audits at $50,000 or more in annual assessments, subject to an annual 67% waiver vote at a quorum meeting.
• RCW 64.90.530: Requires annual accrual-based statements and audits, with owner waiver available only for associations below the applicable statutory assessment threshold.

Collections and Foreclosure

• RCW 64.90.485; RCW 64.38.100: Require delinquency notices within 30 days and restrict collection action and charges during the initial 15-day notice period.
• RCW 64.90.485(21); RCW 64.38.100(1): Limit the initial permitted late fee to the lesser of $50 or 5% of the triggering unpaid assessment.
• RCW 64.90.485: Establishes statutory assessment liens, priority, interest, collection costs, and enforcement procedures.
• RCW 64.38.100(2); RCW 64.90.485(22): Require at least the greater of $2,000 or three months’ assessments, prescribed waiting periods, a second notice, applicable mediation completion, and board approval before foreclosure.

Fines, interest, late charges, and collection costs do not count toward those foreclosure thresholds; older HOA lien authority must come from governing documents.

HOA Rules and Enforcement

Boards must act within their statutory and governing-document authority. Architectural restrictions remain subject to protected property uses.

• RCW 64.90.285: Governs declaration amendments, voting thresholds, recording, and changes requiring special consent.
• RCW 64.90.505: Requires reasonable rules, applicable advance notice and owner comments, and procedures for authorized architectural review.
• RCW 64.38.020(11); RCW 64.90.405(2)(l): Permit reasonable violation fines only after notice and an opportunity to be heard under a previously established, furnished fine schedule.
• RCW 64.90.510(10): Limits rules affecting residential-unit use, occupancy, behavior, and leasing.

HOA Maintenance and Insurance

Responsibility depends on property boundaries, the declaration, and the governing statute. Reserve inspections do not replace required building-safety work.

• RCW 64.90.440: Generally assigns common-element upkeep to the association and unit upkeep to owners, with reasonable repair and inspection access.
• RCW 64.38.020; RCW 64.34.328: Address older association common-property authority and condominium maintenance responsibilities.
• RCW 64.90.470: Requires reasonably available property, liability, fidelity, and declaration-required insurance, with procedures for insured losses and restoration.
• RCW 64.34.352: Establishes insurance and casualty-repair requirements for covered older condominiums.

Homeowner Rights and Protections

State and federal protections limit the association’s ability to impose restrictions. Installation rights remain subject to applicable safety, approval, and owner-responsibility conditions.

Records and Fair Housing

• RCW 64.38.045; RCW 64.90.495: Protect access to retained association records, subject to confidentiality, redaction, and copying rules.
• RCW 49.60.222: Prohibits housing discrimination and requires qualifying disability accommodations and modifications.
• 42 U.S.C. § 3604: Provides federal housing-discrimination and disability protections.

Protected Property Uses

• RCW 64.90.510: Protects qualifying flags, political signs, solar panels, waste-container storage, and peaceful owner assemblies.
• RCW 64.38.033–.034; RCW 64.38.055: Protect qualifying U.S. flag displays, political yard signs, and solar installations in older HOAs.
• RCW 64.90.512; RCW 64.38.057: Protect specified landscaping and drought-related watering reductions, with condominium exceptions.
• RCW 64.90.513; RCW 64.90.580: Restrict unreasonable barriers to qualifying EV chargers and heat pumps.
• RCW 64.90.582; RCW 64.38.175: Protect qualifying fire-hardened building materials against association prohibitions.
• RCW 64.90.565–.585: Limit tenant-screening demands and protect qualifying child care, unrelated-person occupancy, and adult family homes.
• RCW 64.38.130–.170: Provide older-HOA protections involving tenant screening, child care, occupancy, and qualifying new-community density and accessory dwellings.

HOA Disclosures and Property Transfers

Resale requirements vary by community type. Older planned-community HOAs do not automatically follow condominium certificate rules.

• RCW 64.90.640: Requires covered resale certificates within 10 days of request, caps preparation at $275, and provides conditional five-business-day buyer cancellation rights.
• RCW 64.34.425: Requires covered older-condominium certificates within 10 days, with a $275 cap and cancellation until five days after delivery or conveyance, whichever occurs first.
• RCW 64.90.405(2)(j): Allows reasonable title-transfer charges only to the extent provided in the declaration.
• RCW 64.06.020–.030: Establishes separate seller disclosures and conditional three-business-day rescission rights for covered residential transfers.

HOA Disputes and Complaints

Owners can use association procedures, negotiated resolution, or court remedies. The Washington Attorney General does not oversee ordinary HOA disputes; housing-discrimination complaints may go to the Washington State Human Rights Commission.

• RCW 64.38.185: Generally requires responses within 30 days to qualifying certified-mail owner inquiries, with specified extensions and prevailing-party fee rights.
• RCW 64.38.050: Authorizes remedies for violations and discretionary prevailing-party attorney’s fees.
• RCW 64.90.685: Allows enforcement actions, discretionary attorney’s fees, and agreed binding or nonbinding alternative dispute resolution.

Other Laws Affecting Washington Associations

Additional obligations can arise from development activity or federal requirements.

• RCW 64.50.020: Requires pre-suit notice and response procedures for covered construction-defect claims.
• 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000: Limits restrictions on qualifying antennas in areas under an owner’s or tenant’s exclusive use or control.
• 26 U.S.C. § 528: Provides elective federal tax treatment for qualifying homeowners associations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Washington HOA Laws

Is HOA membership mandatory in Washington?

Generally, membership follows ownership when a property is subject to a valid mandatory association declaration.

Can a Washington HOA be dissolved?

Potentially, but corporate dissolution does not automatically terminate covenants or common-property obligations. Where applicable, RCW 64.90.290 generally requires 80% approval, including 80% of nondeveloper votes, plus required documentation and other approvals to terminate the community.

Can a Washington HOA be self-managed?

Yes. RCW 64.38.020 and RCW 64.90.405 authorize hiring managers without requiring every association to do so; self-managed boards remain responsible for compliance.