Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-108 requires the association to hold a meeting of the unit owners at least once a year, with, at minimum, an election of directors whose terms have expired, a report on the association's activities and finances, and action on anything else in the notice. Owners aren't dependent on the board's goodwill to force a meeting outside that schedule, either: unless the bylaws say otherwise, a special meeting must be called by the president or secretary once a majority of the board, or owners entitled to cast at least 20 percent of the association's votes, submit a written petition for one.
Notice timing is specific, not left to the board's discretion. For an annual meeting, notice has to go out not less than 21 nor more than 30 days beforehand; for a special meeting, not less than 7 nor more than 30 days beforehand. The notice itself has to state the date, time, and place, the purposes of the meeting, and, if proxies are allowed, the procedure for appointing one. A meeting held on defective notice is vulnerable on that ground alone, separate from whatever business the board tried to conduct.
The declarant has to hand over the board, on a clock
If your community was built by a developer who initially appoints the board, Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-103 puts a hard limit on how long that can last. Declarant control ends at the earliest of: five years after the first unit is conveyed to a non-declarant owner (for a "flexible" common interest community that can add more units or real estate) or three years for any other community; the declarant's own voluntary written surrender of control; or the conveyance of 75 percent of the units the declarant is authorized to create. Once control ends, the board must call a meeting of all owners within 60 days to elect the real board, and if 50 percent of the units have already been conveyed before that termination, an earlier meeting is required to elect at least one-third of the board from owners other than the declarant.
If the board simply refuses to call the meeting it's required to call, owners other than the declarant can call it themselves under the law governing how the association was created, and the declarant is deemed present for quorum purposes whether or not it shows up. Separately, § 515B.3-103(g) makes board meetings presumptively open to unit owners; the board can close a meeting only to discuss personnel matters, pending or potential litigation, or criminal activity where privacy is a concern, nothing else.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-108
Requires an annual owner meeting with director elections and a financial report, lets 20 percent of owners petition for a special meeting, and sets notice timing and content requirements.
Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-103
Sets the hard triggers ending declarant control of the board (the 3-or-5-year clock, voluntary surrender, or 75 percent conveyance), requires a transition meeting, and makes board meetings presumptively open with only three narrow closed-session categories.
Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-102
Confirms the board's authority to set reasonable procedures for meetings and director elections, bounded by the association's own articles, bylaws, and declaration.
Step by step
How to assert meeting, election, and board-control rights in Minnesota
Steps to force accountability at annual meetings, contested elections, and a stalled declarant-controlled board under Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-103 and § 515B.3-108.
- 01
Confirm the annual meeting actually happened, on notice
Check whether notice went out 21 to 30 days ahead with the date, time, place, purpose, and proxy procedure required by § 515B.3-108. A meeting on defective notice is challengeable.
- 02
Gather signatures for a special meeting if the board won't act
Unless your bylaws say otherwise, owners holding at least 20 percent of the association's votes can petition in writing to force a special meeting under § 515B.3-108.
- 03
Track the declarant-control clock
Calculate the 3-year or 5-year trigger, the 75 percent conveyance threshold, and whether the declarant already surrendered control in writing, under § 515B.3-103(c).
- 04
Demand the transition meeting on time
If control has ended and the board hasn't called the required meeting within 60 days, invoke the self-help right in § 515B.3-103(d)(3) to call it yourselves.
- 05
Object to improperly closed board meetings
If the board closes a meeting for anything beyond personnel matters, pending or potential litigation, or criminal-activity privacy, raise § 515B.3-103(g) directly and ask that the objection be noted in the minutes.
Straight answers
Common questions
How often does my Minnesota association have to hold a meeting?
At least once a year, under Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-108, with director elections, a financial and activity report, and action on any other noticed business.
Can owners force a special meeting if the board won't call one?
Yes. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, owners entitled to cast at least 20 percent of the association's votes can submit a written petition requiring the president or secretary to call a special meeting.
How long can a developer keep control of the board?
At most five years after the first unit sale for a flexible common interest community, or three years for any other, under § 515B.3-103(c), and control can end sooner through the declarant's voluntary surrender or once 75 percent of the units are conveyed.
Are HOA board meetings open to owners in Minnesota?
Presumptively yes. Section 515B.3-103(g) requires board meetings to be open to unit owners, and allows closing a meeting only for personnel matters, pending or potential litigation, or criminal-activity privacy concerns.