For a subdivision HOA in Montana, incorporated or not, state law touches exactly one part of your meetings: whether they can happen remotely. Section 35-2-525 says an incorporated homeowners' association, or an association of unit owners organized under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, may hold a meeting by telephone audio, teleconference, or videoconference "unless the terms of the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise"; § 35-2-550 says the same for an unincorporated HOA. That's the entire state contribution. Notice periods, quorum thresholds, proxy rules, and how often the board has to meet aren't addressed anywhere in Montana's HOA-specific statutes; they live in your bylaws alone, if they're written down there at all.
Condo owners get one structural guarantee the HOA statutes don't provide. Section 70-23-308 requires condo bylaws to actually contain a quorum rule and to address how members' meetings are called, board elections, and directors' terms, including "the percentage, if other than a majority as defined by 70-23-102, that constitutes a quorum." Montana doesn't set that percentage itself, but it forces your bylaws to set one, which is a real, if modest, floor a subdivision HOA doesn't get. Section 70-23-309 extends the same remote-meeting option to condo associations.
The board has to rotate, and changing the rules takes 75%
Section 70-23-308 also requires condo bylaws to provide that "the terms of at least one-third of the directors expire annually," a mandatory staggering rule that keeps one election from replacing the entire board at once. And amending condo bylaws isn't a simple-majority vote: § 70-23-307 requires approval by 75% of unit owners before an amendment takes effect, and the amended bylaws have to be recorded to count. That 75% threshold is unusually high, and it cuts both ways. It protects owners from a board rewriting the rules on a thin majority, but it also means a reform-minded group of owners needs real numbers to change anything. Subdivision HOAs have no equivalent statutory amendment threshold; whatever vote your declaration requires is the only number that applies to you.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
§ 35-2-525, MCA
Permits an incorporated homeowners' association or association of unit owners to hold meetings by remote means unless the articles or bylaws say otherwise.
§ 70-23-308, MCA
Requires condo bylaws to establish a quorum rule and to stagger board terms so at least one-third of directors' terms expire annually.
§ 70-23-307, MCA
Requires 75% owner approval, plus recording, before a condo bylaw amendment takes effect.
Step by step
How to check your Montana association's meeting and voting rules
Steps to confirm quorum, notice, remote-meeting rights, and amendment thresholds for a Montana HOA or condo association.
- 01
Read your bylaws for quorum and notice
State law doesn't set these numbers for either an HOA or a condo. The actual figures, and for condos, confirmation that they even exist, are in your bylaws; § 70-23-308 requires condo bylaws to have a quorum rule written in.
- 02
Confirm whether remote meetings are allowed or barred
Check whether your articles, declaration, or bylaws opt out of §§ 35-2-525 or 35-2-550 (HOA) or § 70-23-309 (condo). Absent that opt-out, remote meetings are valid by default.
- 03
Check the board's rotation
Condo owners: confirm at least one-third of the board's seats turn over every year, as § 70-23-308 requires. A board that never rotates may be out of compliance with its own bylaws.
- 04
Know the amendment threshold before any vote
Condo owners need 75% owner approval under § 70-23-307 to change the bylaws. Confirm any amendment vote actually hit that number and that the amended bylaws were recorded.
- 05
Escalate a defective vote in writing
If a meeting was noticed or run outside what your bylaws (or, for condos, § 70-23-308) require, or an amendment passed without the required 75% and recording, raise the defect in writing and preserve the record. Montana has no regulator to appeal to.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can my Montana HOA meet by phone or video call?
Yes, by default. Sections 35-2-525 (incorporated) and 35-2-550 (unincorporated) permit meetings by remote means unless the association's own articles, bylaws, or governing documents say otherwise.
Does Montana set a quorum number for HOA meetings?
No. State law doesn't set a quorum percentage for a subdivision HOA at all. For condos, § 70-23-308 requires the bylaws to contain a quorum rule, but the state leaves the actual number to the bylaws.
How hard is it to amend condo bylaws in Montana?
Harder than a simple majority. Section 70-23-307 requires 75% owner approval, and the amended bylaws must be recorded with the county before the change takes effect.
Does a condo board have to change every year?
Partially. Section 70-23-308 requires bylaws to stagger terms so at least one-third of the directors' terms expire annually, though the rest of the board can serve multi-year terms.