HOAs, Condos, and Bears, Oh My! Recent Changes to HOA and Condominium Laws in Washington State

“I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU LAWYERS ARE DOING ABOUT THE BEARS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!” I had to hold the phone away from my ear, as the middle-aged woman on the other end of the line screamed at me. For many, it would be a dream come true to live in her beautifully landscaped neighborhood of million-dollar homes with trees, trails, and mountain views. Unfortunately, for some, community rules seem like a bad nightmare.

For nearly a decade, my clients were exclusively community associations (condominium associations and HOAs). An association attorney’s role is complex – at the best of times, I helped resolve contentious and divisive disputes, and protected community stability and neighborhood amenities. Yet, a growing number of HOA and condo residents view their HOA as public enemy number one impinging on individual freedoms. HOAs are not just going away. Over 77 million people in the U.S.A. live in HOA communities. I’m of the view that the law can be a vehicle for positive change, and here I highlight several recent changes to Washington’s HOA laws, many which will improve life for HOA residents.

WUCIOA: The New “Umbrella” Law

Giving Owners a Voice: Transparency & Meetings

Many residents in HOA communities do not feel like they know what their HOA does for them, especially when it comes to the annual budget, and owners want to feel like they have a voice. ESSB 5129 requires HOA communities to give at least 14 days’ notice of board and committee meetings to owners, including the date, time, and place of the meeting, and the agenda. A meeting schedule provided to owners satisfies this requirement. At least one annual meeting must be held, and meetings must be open to all owners. To ensure owners have a voice in association business, a public comment period of at least 15 minutes total is required at the beginning of each board meeting.

Owners cannot monopolize the meeting, as the board can set reasonable time restrictions. Each owner must be provided at least 90 seconds to comment. WUCIOA now Virtual meetings are specifically allowed, so long as the meeting notice provides information on how to participate in the meeting, including a “call in” option for the less technically savvy community members.

These recent updates to WUCIOA will improve transparency, requiring HOAs to maintain minutes for all owner and board meetings, including executive sessions. HOA “organizational amnesia” is not allowed, as all voting decisions must now be recorded in the minutes. I work with clients considering buying a home in an HOA community, and this requirement will hopefully improve the amount of information available to prospective purchasers. Also, WUCIOA now requires any materials distributed to the board before the meeting be made available to owners, although this does not include unapproved minutes or executive session materials.

Specific Updates: Heat Pumps, EVs, and Emergencies

Several of the new changes to ESSB 5129 are related to an association’s finances, and many relate to assessments and collection. ESSB 5129 requires association to provide at least one method of payment at no charge, clarifying that owners cannot be forced to incur third party payment processor fees.

New Protections Against Foreclosure

Assessments are the lifeblood of a community association, and when one owner does not pay, all other owners bear the burden. All common interest communities are now required to send a notice of delinquency to the unit address and to any other address provided by owners “no later than 30 days after an assessment becomes past due.” A fifteen (15) day “wait” period after the 30 day delinquency notice requires associations to wait before taking any other action, and limits delinquency-related assessments for late fees, charges, and costs. As many HOA residents do not know that unpaid assessments can result in foreclosure, associations are now required to include certain preforeclosure information must be in the notice, including housing counseling and legal help information. Associations are prohibited from starting the legal process of foreclosure unless the unpaid regular assessments (excluding fines, late charges, and attorney fees) are $2,000 or 3 months’ worth, whichever is more. A second delinquency notice must be sent after assessments are 90 days past-due.

One new and significant change is that community associations are now subject to the Foreclosure Fairness Act, a foreclosure prevention law that I wrote about in another blog post https://navigatelawgroup.com/washingtons-foreclosure-fairness-and-foreclosure/. There are new restrictions preventing community associations from charging the owner legal fees from the time an owner requests a “meet and confer” and the time the “meet and confer” is actually held. Community associations must treat any attorney fees for the “meet and confer” as a common expense, and cannot assess those to the unit or the owner.

Final Thoughts