The Limited Effect of a Board's Failure to Comply with Meeting Requirements

As previously discussed on this blog, the state law that governs common interest associations in Washington state requires those associations to comply with numerous requirements relating to meetings. However, it also limits the consequences associated with a board's failure to comply with those requirements. The law first states that actions of a board that do not comply with meeting-related requirements are valid unless set aside by a court. It goes on to state that an action seeking relief for a board's failure to comply with those requirements may not be brought more than 90 days after the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken are approved or the record of that action is distributed to unit owners, whichever is later.

My Next Legal Presentation for the Secretary of State Occurs on May 29

My next free virtual presentation about WUCIOA and other laws affecting community associations for the Washington Secretary of State will take place from 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29. It will describe those associations' duties and the state laws that apply to them. If you want to attend, then you should contact Melissa Harris at melissa.harris@sos.wa.gov. 

Legislature Approves New Law Regarding Owner Inquiries and Responses

The Washington State Legislature recently approved a new law regarding inquiries from owners in common interest communities and associations' responses to such inquiries. The full text of the new law is as follows:  

"(1) When a unit owner or the unit owner's authorized agent files a written inquiry by certified mail with the Association regarding one or more topics related to either Association governance or operations, or both, the Association must respond, in the form of a record, to the unit owner or the unit owner's authorized agent within 30 days after receipt of the inquiry. The Association must either give a substantive response to the inquirer or notify the inquirer that additional time is reasonably necessary to respond, such as when a legal opinion or other third-party professional opinion has been requested. For the purposes of this Section, a “substantive response” includes, but is not limited to, a factual explanation, reference to governing documents, statement of current Association practices, or other responsive information reasonably available to the Association. The  Association is not required to obtain a legal opinion or other third-party professional opinion in order to provide a substantive response unless reasonably necessary to address the inquiry.

(2) In any action or proceeding arising out of an inquiry subject to this Section including, but not limited to, any litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings, the prevailing party is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

(3) The Association may adopt reasonable rules and regulations regarding the frequency and manner of responding to inquiries, one of which may be that the Association is only obligated to respond to one written inquiry per unit in any 30-day period. In such a case, the Association must respond to any additional inquiry or inquiries in the subsequent 30-day period, or periods, as applicable. Nothing in this Section precludes a unit owner from asking more than one question as part of a single inquiry."

This new law takes effect on June 11. If your association's board of directors has any questions about it, then it should consider contacting my office.

WUCIOA Permits Governing Documents to Vary Some Provisions

RCW 64.90 ("WUCIOA") is a comprehensive law that will apply to all Washington community associations on January 1, 2028. Associations' governing documents may not vary most of WUCIOA, but there are exceptions to that rule. RCW 64.90.015 below contains the following list of those exceptions: 

(a) RCW 64.90.020(1), concerning classification of a cooperative unit as real estate or personal property;

(b) RCW 64.90.030 (2) and (3), concerning reallocation of allocated interests and allocation of proceeds after a taking by eminent domain;

(c) RCW 64.90.360(4), 64.90.370, and 64.90.100, concerning elections regarding applicability of this chapter;

(d) RCW 64.90.100 (1), (2), and (3), concerning communities restricted to nonresidential uses;

(e) RCW 64.90.200(3) (a) and (b), concerning the timing of the conveyance of common elements to the association, and the vesting of real estate owned by the association on termination;

(f) RCW 64.90.210, concerning boundaries between units and common elements;

(g) RCW 64.90.240 (2) and (3), concerning reallocation of limited common elements;

(h) RCW 64.90.245(11), concerning horizontal boundaries of units;

(i) RCW 64.90.255, concerning alterations of units and common elements made by unit owners;

(j) RCW 64.90.260 (1) and (2), concerning relocation of boundaries between units;

(k) RCW 64.90.265 (1) and (2), concerning subdivision and combination of units;

(l) RCW 64.90.275, concerning sales offices, management offices, models, and signs maintained by a declarant;

(m) RCW 64.90.280 (1) and (3), concerning easements through, and rights to use, common elements;

(n) RCW 64.90.285 (1) and (8), concerning the percentage of votes and consents required to amend the declaration;

(o) RCW 64.90.290 (1) and (8), concerning the percentage of votes required to terminate a common interest community and priority of creditors of a cooperative;

(p) RCW 64.90.360(4)(a), concerning small communities;

(q) RCW 64.90.405 (4)(c) and (5)(c), concerning an association's assignment of rights to future income, the number of votes required to reject a proposal to borrow funds, and the right to terminate a lease or evict a tenant;

(r) RCW 64.90.410 (1) and (2), concerning the board acting on behalf of the association and the election of officers by the board;

(s) RCW 64.90.420(2), concerning costs of audits;

(t) RCW 64.90.435(1)(b), concerning election of officers by unit owners;

(u) RCW 64.90.440 (1) and (4), concerning responsibility for maintenance, repair, and replacement of units and common elements and treatment of income or proceeds from real estate subject to development rights;

(v) RCW 64.90.445 (1)(b) and (2)(i), concerning meetings;

(w) RCW 64.90.450, concerning quorum requirements for meetings;

(x) RCW 64.90.455 (3), (4), (5), and (8), concerning unit owner voting;

(y) RCW 64.90.465 (1), (2), and (7), concerning the percentage of votes required to convey or encumber common elements and the effect of conveyance or encumbrance of common elements;

(z) RCW 64.90.470 (2) and (11), concerning insurance where the units are attached, and insurance for a nonresidential common interest community;

(aa) RCW 64.90.475(2), concerning payment of surplus funds of the association;

(bb) RCW 64.90.485 (7) and (20), concerning priority and foreclosure of liens held by two or more associations;

(cc) RCW 64.90.505 (1) and (3), concerning the adoption of rules;

(dd) RCW 64.90.513(8), concerning responsibility for electric vehicle charging stations;

(ee) RCW 64.90.520(4), concerning the board's ability to remove an officer elected by the board;

(ff) RCW 64.90.525(1), concerning the percentage of votes required to reject a budget;

(gg) RCW 64.90.545(2), concerning applicability of reserve study requirements to certain types of common interest communities; and

(hh) RCW 64.90.580(7), concerning responsibility for heat pumps.

An Overview of Recent WUCIOA Revisions and Expansion

Several sections of RCW 64.90 ("WUCIOA") will become applicable to all common interest communities in Washington state on January 1, 2026. The full list of WUCIOA sections that will apply to all such communities on that date is:

(a) RCW 64.90.370 (election of preexisting communities) 

(b) RCW 64.90.405(1) (b) and (c) (association powers);

(c) RCW 64.90.445 (meetings);

(d) RCW 64.90.480(10) (assessments and capital contributions);

(e) RCW 64.90.502 (emergency);

(f) RCW 64.90.513 (electric vehicle charging stations);

(g) RCW 64.90.525 (budgets);

(h) RCW 64.90.545 (reserve studies);

(i) RCW 64.90.580 (heat pumps); and

(j) RCW 64.90.010 (definitions relating to above sections).

There have been a number of other revisions and additions to other sections of WUCIOA this year. Association boards should consider seeking legal advice regarding WUCIOA compliance in 2026 and beyond. The most important recent changes are:

1) Board meetings must begin with an owner comment period that is at least 15 minutes long. Owners may be limited to 90 seconds and further limited if more than 10 owners want to speak.

2) Meetings may be held via telephone, video, or electronic conference.

3) Meetings only require 7 days notice via electronic communication during emergencies.

4) Owners are entitled to review materials provided to Board members.

5) Meeting notice and recordkeeping requirements are further revised to promote transparency.

6) Decisions of committees to which the Board has delegated important authority must be approved by the Board as well.

7) Election ballots must include a space for write-in candidates.

8) Certain votes must be conducted via secret ballot, including elections, board member removals, and amendments. The results of those ballots must be recorded in the minutes. Persons may not access or count ballots in which they have an interest.

9) Associations must provide resale certificates in connection with sales of units.

10) Associations must offer a free assessment payment method.

11) Associations may not invest more than 50% of the reserve funds.

12) Associations must disclose more information about reserve studies, investments, and financial reports to owners.

13) Board approval may not be required for an owner to install an electric vehicle charging station unless it affects a common element or connects to shared electrical infrastructure.

14) Boards may not unreasonably withhold approval for installing heat pump systems in common areas.

15) Plat and miscellaneous communities containing 50 or fewer units with an annual average assessment of $1,000 or less are only subject to a few sections of WUCIOA.