Washington condo and HOA law: an authority guide

Board duties and conflicts - RCW 64.90.410 and applicable corporate law

For communities governed by RCW 64.90.410, officers and board members must exercise the degree of care and loyalty required of corporate officers and directors and are subject to director and officer conflict-of-interest rules, regardless of how the association is organized. Corporate statutes, governing documents, and policies can add important detail.

RCW 64.90.365 does not list Section 64.90.410 among the WUCIOA provisions generally extended to pre-July 2018 communities. Boards should have Washington counsel identify the applicable common-interest and corporate statutes before using any disclosure, recusal, quorum, voting, or transaction-approval procedure.

• Northland: Washington HOA and condo board conflict-of-interest checklist

Unit owner and board meetings - RCW 64.90.445

RCW 64.90.445 is the WUCIOA meeting reference boards should check before setting board meeting dates, agendas, owner comment periods, remote access, and minutes. The statute addresses unit owner meetings and board meetings, so boards should read it with their declaration, bylaws, and counsel before relying on it for a specific community.

Operationally, the board should treat meeting notice, agenda detail, board materials, owner comment, voting method, and minutes as one workflow. That reduces last-minute disputes and gives owners a clearer record of what the board did and why.

• Northland: Washington condo board meeting notice and agenda checklist
• Northland: Washington condo and HOA annual meeting voting checklist

Quorum, owner voting, and election notice - RCW 64.90.450, .455, and .518

For communities governed by these sections, RCW 64.90.450 supplies default unit-owner and board quorum rules; RCW 64.90.455 addresses meeting votes, proxies, absentee ballots, votes without a meeting, remote identity verification, and secret ballots for specified actions; and RCW 64.90.518 requires pre-election notice of open board positions, candidate qualifications, and the nomination process and deadline.

Applicability must be resolved first. RCW 64.90.365 extends Section 64.90.445 to many pre-July 2018 communities but does not put Sections .450, .455, or .518 on that general list. Older associations should have counsel identify the governing act, documents, and any election into WUCIOA before using the newer quorum or voting procedure.

• Northland: Washington condo and HOA annual meeting voting checklist

Budget ratification — RCW 64.90.525

Within 30 days of the board adopting a proposed budget, it must go to every owner, along with a meeting date for ratification set between 14 and 50 days out. Unless owners holding a majority of the association's votes (or a higher threshold in the declaration) reject the budget at that meeting, it's ratified automatically — even without a quorum. If the budget is rejected or the notice requirement is missed, the last ratified budget carries forward.

The budget itself must show projected income and expenses by category, per-unit assessment amounts and due dates, current reserve contributions, a statement of whether the association has a compliant reserve study and how the budget compares to it, and the current reserve surplus or deficiency per unit. Special assessments follow the same ratification procedure.

• Northland: Washington condo budget ratification checklist for boards
• Northland: Washington condo and HOA budget planning before ratification

Financial statements and association funds - RCW 64.90.530 and .535

For communities governed by RCW 64.90.530, the association must prepare at least an annual accrual-basis financial statement. The section also addresses annual audits, an owner waiver below the current adjusted assessment threshold, association-titled accounts, noncommingling, and prompt deposit of association funds received by a managing agent.

RCW 64.90.535 addresses reserve-account custody, permitted holdings, board control, authorized signers, and documentation for reserve disbursements. Sections .530 and .535 are not among the provisions RCW 64.90.365 generally extends to communities created before July 1, 2018, so older associations should have counsel identify the controlling statute and documents.

• Northland: Washington condo and HOA financial statement checklist
• Northland: Washington association reserve account and disbursement checklist

Emergency board authority - RCW 64.90.502

RCW 64.90.502 defines an emergency by imminent threats to health or safety, unit habitability, or substantial association economic loss. During a covered emergency, it permits practical notice for owner and board meetings, an emergency board meeting without a quorum, and board action by vote without a meeting after practical notice. It also addresses reasonable protective action, emergency special assessments, use of association funds including reserves, and prompt owner notice after action.

RCW 64.90.365 lists Section .502 among the provisions that apply to many communities created before July 1, 2018, subject to its exceptions and timing rules. Boards should still have counsel confirm coverage, document the facts and reasonableness of each emergency action, restrict assessment proceeds to the approved purpose, and move response work into a controlled recovery record.

• Northland: Washington association emergency board action checklist

Reserve studies — RCW 64.90.545

Most associations must prepare a reserve study — an initial study from a reserve study professional based on a site inspection (or plan review for unbuilt improvements), updated annually, with a full professional site-inspection update at least every three years. Narrow exemptions exist: nonresidential-only communities, communities with only nominal reserve costs, certain middle-housing developments, or where the study would cost more than 10% of the annual budget.

• Northland: How condo boards should talk about reserve studies with owners
• Northland: Washington reserve study planning — connecting reserves to operations
• Northland: Washington condo reserve study update checklist

Association records — RCW 64.90.495

Associations must keep specified records — budgets, minutes, owner lists, governing documents, financial statements, contracts, and insurance policies among them — open to owner and mortgage-holder inspection, with narrow redactions for things like personnel matters, privileged legal advice, and ballot secrecy. Associations generally have 10 days' notice to make records available (longer only if reasonably required, never more than 21 days), and a managing agent must produce electronic records within 5 business days and written records within 10 business days of a board's request. Applicability note: unlike the meeting, budget, and reserve-study sections above, 64.90.495 is not among the provisions RCW 64.90.365 extends to communities created before July 1, 2018 — for those it applies only by election into the chapter.

• Northland: Washington condo records checklist for boards and managers

Association insurance — RCW 64.90.470

For communities governed by WUCIOA, RCW 64.90.470 addresses property, commercial general liability, fidelity, and declaration-required insurance, along with attached-unit coverage, policy provisions, certificates, insurance proceeds, and repair after a covered loss. The section is not among the provisions RCW 64.90.365 applies generally to pre-July 2018 communities, so older condominiums should also review RCW 64.34.352 and their governing documents with counsel.

Operationally, boards should begin renewal work early enough to compare the declaration and policy, update property and valuation information, review deductibles and exclusions, document the decision, and explain the master-policy boundary to owners without promising coverage.

• Northland: Washington condo insurance renewal checklist

Association rules — RCW 64.90.505 and 64.90.510

For communities governed by these WUCIOA sections, the board generally gives all owners advance notice of an intention to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule, including the proposed text and the date the board will act after considering owner comments. After action, the association gives owners notice of the decision and a copy of any new or revised rule. Every rule must be reasonable.

RCW 64.90.510 also limits rulemaking authority and preserves specified rights, while allowing reasonable time, place, manner, or placement rules in certain areas. The board should review the declaration, applicable statute, and counsel advice before treating a desired operating practice as an enforceable owner rule. Sections 64.90.505 and .510 are not among the provisions RCW 64.90.365 generally applies to pre-July 2018 communities, so older associations must confirm the governing act and any election into WUCIOA.

• Northland: Washington HOA and condo rule adoption checklist

Electric vehicle charging requests — RCW 64.90.513

RCW 64.90.513 limits unreasonable restrictions on an owner's installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in a parking space designated for the owner's exclusive use. The section preserves reasonable architectural standards and addresses approval timing, costs, electricity, permits, insurance, registration, maintenance, removal, and disclosures. An application can be deemed approved if the association does not approve or deny it in writing within 60 days, except for delay caused by a reasonable request for additional information.

RCW 64.90.365 extends Section 64.90.513 to many communities created before July 1, 2018. Boards should still have counsel confirm statutory coverage, governing documents, parking rights, and the proposed work, then use a dated application log and objective technical checklist.

• Northland: Washington HOA and condo EV charging request checklist

Drought, pollinator, and wildfire landscaping — RCW 64.38.057 and 64.90.512

RCW 64.38.057 protects specified drought-resistant landscaping, pollinator habitat, wildfire ignition-resistant landscaping, and wildfire ignition-resistant roofs in homeowners' associations while preserving reasonable aesthetic and placement rules. It also restricts fines or assessments for reducing or eliminating watering during a qualifying state- or local-government-declared drought condition.

RCW 64.90.512 addresses similar subjects for associations governed by that section, but its first subsection excludes condominiums and the section is not among those RCW 64.90.365 generally extends to older communities. Boards should confirm which statute applies before revising architectural standards or enforcement procedures.

• Northland: Washington HOA drought, pollinator, and wildfire landscaping checklist

Heat pump applications — RCW 64.90.580

RCW 64.90.580 prevents an association from effectively prohibiting or unreasonably restricting a compliant heat pump for an owner's personal use within the unit boundaries. Reasonable restrictions remain possible, and work on or in common elements requires board approval that may not be unreasonably withheld.

If approval is required, the association uses the architectural-modification process, gives a written decision, and manages a 60-day decision period subject to reasonable requests for additional information. RCW 64.90.365 lists Section .580 among the WUCIOA sections that apply to many pre-July 2018 communities, subject to that section's exceptions and limits.

• Northland: Washington condo and HOA heat pump request checklist

Fire-hardened building materials — RCW 64.90.582

RCW 64.90.582 says governing documents may not prohibit qualifying fire-hardened building materials that meet applicable health and safety standards and permitting requirements. Reasonable design, dimension, placement, and exterior-appearance rules are permitted only if they do not prohibit or make the material infeasible and allow reasonable qualifying options without significant added cost.

The section applies retroactively to governing documents in effect on June 11, 2026, and makes inconsistent provisions void and unenforceable. It does not create a right to build on another person's property, leased property without permission, or a common element, so boards must resolve ownership and common-element authority before reviewing an owner proposal.

• Northland: Washington HOA fire-hardened building materials checklist

Occupancy limits — RCW 64.90.575

RCW 64.90.575 says an association may not adopt or enforce a restriction that regulates or limits the number of unrelated persons who may occupy a unit. The section preserves occupancy limits for short-term rentals as defined in RCW 64.37.010 and lawful occupant-load-per-square-foot standards or other generally applicable health and safety provisions established by applicable building code or city or county ordinance.

Section .575 is not among the WUCIOA provisions RCW 64.90.365 generally extends to communities created before July 1, 2018. An older condominium or HOA should have Washington counsel determine the governing statute, governing documents, fair-housing obligations, and local code before adopting, enforcing, or removing an occupancy rule.

• Northland: Washington HOA and condo occupancy limit rule checklist

Licensed child care and adult family homes — RCW 64.90.570 and .585

For communities governed by RCW 64.90.570, an association may not effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict a licensed family home child care or licensed child day care center. RCW 64.90.585 provides similar protection for licensed adult family homes. Both sections preserve specified reasonable rules and allow defined license, indemnity, waiver, insurance, direct-access, and cost conditions.

Neither Section .570 nor .585 appears on the list RCW 64.90.365 generally extends to pre-July 2018 communities. Boards should confirm statutory coverage and coordinate counsel, licensing agencies, insurance professionals, accessibility advisers, fire and building officials, and qualified property professionals before acting on an application or complaint.

• Northland: Washington association licensed child care and adult family home checklist