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Your rights · Washington
Washington runs three different statutes depending on your community's age and type, and the newest one is the strictest on your board. Whichever act controls your HOA or condo, before your association can fine you, foreclose on your home, or shut you out of a meeting, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act sets real procedures it can't skip, and it tells the board directly it can't enforce the rules in an arbitrary or capricious way.
Guides in this state
Controlling law: Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW ch. 64.90) & legacy Condominium Act (RCW ch. 64.34) / Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW ch. 64.38)
Last reviewed July 5, 2026· Citations link to the statute text
Which statute governs your community depends on when it was created. If your condominium was created between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2018, the legacy Washington Condominium Act (RCW ch. 64.34) is your primary law. If your HOA or other plat community formed before July 1, 2018, the legacy Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW ch. 64.38) governs. Everything created on or after July 1, 2018, condos, plat communities, and cooperatives alike, falls under the newer Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW ch. 64.90, WUCIOA). And under SB 5796, both legacy acts are set to be repealed effective January 1, 2028, at which point WUCIOA becomes the single statute governing every common interest community in the state, no matter how old.
That matters because WUCIOA is meaningfully more detailed than either legacy act, especially on meetings, records, and the run-up to a foreclosure. All three sit above your declaration and bylaws: a governing document can't waive the statutory floor, whichever chapter applies to you.
Before an association can fine you, RCW 64.90.405 (or, for legacy HOAs, the nearly identical RCW 64.38.020) requires notice, an opportunity to be heard, and a fine schedule the board adopted and gave owners in advance. WUCIOA goes further than most states' fine statutes: it tells the board in plain words that once it decides to enforce a rule, its 'enforcement action' may not be 'arbitrary or capricious,' the direct statutory hook for a selective-enforcement argument, not a borrowed equity doctrine. Meetings get similar detail. RCW 64.90.445 guarantees an annual meeting, lets owners holding 20 percent of the vote force a special meeting, requires board meetings to be open except for a short list of executive-session reasons, and gives owners real floor time to speak before the board votes.
On money, an association can lien and foreclose over unpaid assessments under RCW 64.90.485 (or RCW 64.34.364 for legacy condos), but only after a defined sequence: a first notice of delinquency, a 15-day freeze on further collection costs, a minimum debt of three months of assessments or $2,000 before the association can even file, a referral to the state's foreclosure mediation program, and a specific board vote approving the foreclosure. And records access is broad: RCW 64.90.495 requires the association to keep, and let owners examine, everything from the budget to the file behind an architectural denial or an enforcement decision. None of this is a favor from the board. It's the statutory floor, whichever of the three acts applies to your community.
The local twist
RCW 64.34 (legacy condo, created 1990–2018), RCW 64.38 (legacy HOA/plat community, formed before July 1, 2018), and RCW 64.90 (WUCIOA, everything since) currently run in parallel. Under SB 5796, the two legacy chapters are repealed effective January 1, 2028, when WUCIOA becomes the single statute for every common interest community in Washington.
RCW 64.90.485 requires a first notice within 30 days of delinquency (with a 15-day freeze on added collection costs), a second notice after 90 days past due, a minimum debt of three months of assessments or $2,000, a referral to Washington's foreclosure mediation program, and a specific board vote before the association can even file to foreclose.
RCW 64.90.405 tells the board directly that its enforcement decisions 'may not be arbitrary or capricious.' And RCW 64.90.485 bars every board member, their immediate family, and their business affiliates from bidding on a unit at the association's own foreclosure sale.
Owner guides
Each guide explains your rights from the owner’s side, cites the controlling statute, walks the steps, and answers the questions boards hope you won’t ask.
Notice, hearing, and cure rights before a fine can stick.
When unpaid dues become a lien, and what limits foreclosure of your home.
The books and records you can inspect, how to ask, and the clock the board is on.
Quorum, ballots, proxies, recalls, and open-meeting rights that check board power.
ARC timelines, approvals, and the laws that protect solar, flags, and antennas.
Fined when a neighbor wasn't? How the docs and statute frame the defense.
Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW ch. 64.90) & legacy Condominium Act (RCW ch. 64.34) / Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW ch. 64.38), full text, section by section — the primary source behind every guide above.
The HOA and condo legislation we track in Washington, with plain-English notes on what each bill means for homeowners.
The violation-letter analyzer reads your fine or notice and points you at the Washington rights that apply.
Browse Washington associations — homeowner reviews, ratings, and the public records behind each community.