The Act's real focus on elections is the critical moment control passes from the developer to the owners, and it's specific about it. Section 35-20-9(a) requires the declarant, within 120 days of the date members gain the right under the declaration or governing documents to elect a board of directors, to give written notice, per Section 10A-3-2.03, of a special meeting for the purpose of electing that board. Section 35-20-9(b) then layers on required content beyond the general nonprofit-corporation notice rules: the notice must state that the meeting's purpose is electing a board, must provide for nominations of candidates on the written consent of at least 10 percent of the membership (unless the governing documents set a different threshold), and must name all existing directors and identify which of them may continue to serve.
That 10 percent nomination floor and the naming requirement are real, specific checks on a declarant trying to quietly stack a transition election. Separately, § 35-20-7 lets the declaration set a period during which the declarant keeps control over electing directors and officers, along with a right to reasonably alter, amend, or modify the declaration during that window; know whether your community is still inside that declarant-control period before assuming § 35-20-9's member-election notice has even been triggered yet.
What the Act leaves to your bylaws and Title 10A
Be honest about the gap here: Chapter 20 doesn't itself set a recurring annual-meeting requirement, a quorum threshold, or proxy rules for ordinary association business. Section 35-20-5(a)-(b) makes a covered association "subject to all of the obligations, duties, and responsibilities of and... all of the rights and benefits provided in" Title 10A, Chapter 3, Alabama's general nonprofit corporation law, which is where general meeting mechanics for a nonprofit corporation typically live. But that chapter isn't itself part of the ingested statute text this guide is grounded in, so this guide doesn't quote its specific provisions. What Chapter 20 does require directly is that the association's own organizational documents provide for "[m]ethods of efficient communications with the members" and "[r]ules and regulations for the conduct of any meetings of the association" (§ 35-20-5(c)(1)-(2)). If a contested vote's quorum or proxy handling is in dispute, read your bylaws and Title 10A directly; Chapter 20's own text doesn't set the numbers.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Ala. Code § 35-20-9(a)
Requires the declarant to give written notice, within 120 days of members gaining the right to elect a board, of a special meeting for that election.
Ala. Code § 35-20-9(b)
Requires the notice to state the election purpose, provide a nomination process on 10 percent member consent (absent a different governing-document threshold), and name existing directors and which may continue serving.
Ala. Code § 35-20-7
Lets the declaration set a period of declarant control over director and officer elections, plus a right to reasonably amend the declaration during that period.
Ala. Code § 35-20-5(a)-(b)
Subjects the association generally to Title 10A, Chapter 3's nonprofit-corporation obligations and rights (not itself ingested here).
Ala. Code § 35-20-5(c)(1)-(2)
Requires the association's own organizational documents to set methods of member communication and rules for conducting meetings.
Step by step
How to check an Alabama HOA's election notice
Steps to confirm an Alabama association followed the § 35-20-9 election-notice requirements at the declarant-to-member transition.
- 01
Confirm the Act covers your community
Check the § 35-20-3(a) applicability gate before assuming this specific election-notice statute governs your HOA.
- 02
Identify when your right to elect a board actually arose
Check your declaration or governing documents for the trigger date or condition, and whether your community is still inside a declarant-control period under § 35-20-7.
- 03
Check the 120-day clock and the notice content
Confirm the declarant's notice went out within 120 days and stated the election purpose, named the existing directors, and identified which may continue to serve, per § 35-20-9(a)-(b).
- 04
Check the nomination threshold
Confirm nominations were allowed on the written consent of at least 10 percent of the membership, unless your governing documents set a different number.
- 05
Go to your bylaws and Title 10A for quorum and proxy questions
Chapter 20 itself doesn't set quorum or proxy rules. For a contested vote's mechanics, read your bylaws and Title 10A, Chapter 3 directly.
Straight answers
Common questions
Does Alabama law require my HOA to hold an election at some point?
Yes, at the transition from declarant to member control. § 35-20-9(a) requires the declarant to notice a special election meeting within 120 days of members gaining that right under the declaration.
What's the threshold to nominate a candidate?
The written consent of at least 10 percent of the membership, under § 35-20-9(b)(2), unless your governing documents set a different percentage.
Does Alabama's HOA Act set quorum or proxy rules?
Not in Chapter 20 itself. Meeting-conduct specifics come from your association's own organizational documents (required by § 35-20-5(c)(2)) and Title 10A, Chapter 3's general nonprofit-corporation rules.
Can the declarant just keep control of the board indefinitely?
Not indefinitely as a default. § 35-20-7 lets the declaration specify a control period, but § 35-20-9 requires notice of a member election within 120 days once members' right to elect actually arises under the declaration or governing documents.