Section 3308 sets the baseline for condo meetings: the bylaws must require at least one meeting a year, provide for special meetings, and give 10 to 60 days' advance written notice (by mail, or electronically if you've agreed to it) stating the time, place, and agenda, including the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, a budget or assessment change, or a proposed removal of a board member or officer. An individual can participate by phone or other remote technology that lets everyone hear each other, and that counts as in-person attendance (§ 3308(c)). The board may record a meeting if it announces the recording at the start, and a recording must stay available to owners for at least six months (§ 3308(e)).
There's a sharper protection buried in the same section: if more candidates file than there are open board seats, § 3308(d) requires the association, on request of one or more candidates, to hold a special session at least seven days before the election where every candidate gets equal time to address the owners. That's a real, statutory anti-cronyism tool, and most owners never learn it exists until an election is already underway.
Ending declarant control and certifying the vote
Sections 3303 (condo) and 5303 (planned community) put a clock on how long a declarant can keep appointing the board: control must start yielding owner-elected seats once 25% of units are conveyed to outside owners, expand further at 50%, and end entirely on a formula tied to 75% conveyance (plus, for planned communities, alternate triggers when the declarant stops selling or stops adding units). Owners can remove any non-declarant-appointed board member by a two-thirds vote at a meeting with a quorum present (§ 3303(f) / § 5303(f)). And for condominiums of 500 units or more, § 3303(e)(3) requires that unit-owner votes in a board election be tallied and certified by an 'independent reviewer,' a CPA, a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney, or a vote-management system, with no ownership stake or family or financial tie to the declarant, a unit owner, or the manager; smaller condos can opt into the same safeguard by a 51% vote. Pennsylvania's own definitions section also flags quorums (§ 3309) and voting and proxies (§ 3310) as their own statutory sections worth checking against your bylaws before any contested vote, since a defective quorum or mishandled proxy is one of the more common ways a vote gets successfully challenged.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3308
Sets condo meeting-notice timing and agenda content, allows remote participation and recorded meetings, and requires a candidate forum when a board election is contested.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3303
Sets the condo declarant-control timeline and transfer-of-control election schedule, the two-thirds-vote removal process, and the independent-reviewer certified-election requirement for larger condos.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5303
The planned community (HOA) mirror of § 3303: declarant-control timeline, election schedule, and two-thirds-vote removal of board members.
Step by step
How to assert your meeting and election rights in Pennsylvania
Steps to hold a Pennsylvania condo or HOA accountable on meeting notice, candidate forums, and board elections.
- 01
Check the meeting notice against § 3308
Confirm you got 10 to 60 days' written notice stating the time, place, and full agenda, including any proposed amendment, budget change, or board-removal item.
- 02
Request the mandatory candidate forum if the election is contested
If more people are running than there are open seats, ask that the association hold the § 3308(d) special session, at least seven days before the vote, with equal time for every candidate.
- 03
Track the declarant-control conveyance thresholds
Watch the 25%, 50%, and 75% conveyance markers under § 3303 / § 5303 to know when owners are entitled to more seats, and when declarant control should end entirely.
- 04
Insist on independent certification in large condos
If your condominium has 500 or more units, confirm the election results were tallied and certified by the independent reviewer § 3303(e)(3) requires, not just self-reported by the board.
- 05
Use the removal process if a member needs to go
A two-thirds vote of those present and entitled to vote, at a meeting with a quorum, can remove any board member except one appointed by the declarant (§ 3303(f) / § 5303(f)). Notice of the intended removal must go out with the meeting notice.
Straight answers
Common questions
How much notice must a Pennsylvania condo or HOA give before a meeting?
Section 3308 requires 10 to 60 days' advance written notice stating the time, place, and agenda, including any proposed amendment, budget or assessment change, or board-removal item.
What if more people are running for the board than there are open seats?
Section 3308(d) requires the association, at any candidate's request, to hold a special candidate forum at least seven days before the election, with equal time for each candidate.
When do owners take over the board from the declarant?
Sections 3303 (condo) and 5303 (planned community) set conveyance-percentage thresholds, 25%, 50%, and 75%, that phase in owner-elected board seats and eventually end declarant control entirely.
Is there a safeguard against a rigged election?
For condominiums of 500 or more units, yes: § 3303(e)(3) requires an independent reviewer, a CPA, licensed attorney, or vote-management system with no ties to the declarant or board, to tally and certify the results. Smaller condos can opt in by a 51% vote.