Board power in Washington runs through meetings the statute controls in real detail. RCW 64.90.445 requires an annual meeting, and lets owners force a special meeting on any matter by petition: the association's president, a majority of the board, or unit owners holding just 20 percent of the votes (or a lower percentage your documents set) can require the secretary to call one. If the board doesn't send notice within 30 days of that request, the owners who asked for it can send the notice themselves. Every meeting notice has to go out 14 to 50 days ahead, and if the agenda includes a proposed amendment to the declaration or a proposal to remove a board member or officer, the full text of that proposal has to be in the notice; the board can't spring a recall or a bylaw change on owners who weren't warned.
Board meetings are presumptively open to owners, with only a short list of reasons for an executive session: consulting the association's attorney, discussing active or potential litigation, personnel matters, sensitive contract negotiations, or protecting someone's privacy, and no final vote can happen behind that closed door. Owners get real floor time too: RCW 64.90.445 requires at least 15 minutes at the start of every board meeting for owner comment, with a minimum of 90 seconds per owner unless more than 10 people want to speak. Board meeting notice has to go out 14 days ahead, 7 days for a genuine emergency, and board members themselves can't vote by proxy or absentee ballot.
You have 90 days to challenge a board action that skipped the rules
RCW 64.90.445 also sets a real deadline: an action the board took without following the statute is still valid unless a court sets it aside, and you have to bring that challenge within 90 days of the minutes being approved or the record of the action being distributed to owners, whichever is later. That's a short window, so if a vote happened without proper notice, without the agenda disclosing what was really being decided, or with an improper proxy vote by a board member, don't sit on it. If your community is still governed by the legacy Homeowners' Associations Act (formed before July 1, 2018), know that RCW 64.38.020 doesn't spell out the same meeting mechanics; your meeting and voting rules mostly live in your bylaws, adopted under the association's general power to adopt and amend bylaws, rules, and regulations, so read those closely rather than assuming RCW 64.90.445's specifics apply.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
RCW 64.90.445
Requires annual and properly noticed special meetings, a 20 percent owner petition right, open board meetings with narrow executive-session limits, real comment time, and a 90-day deadline to challenge a noncompliant board action.
RCW 64.38.020
For legacy HOAs formed before July 1, 2018, meeting and voting mechanics generally come from the bylaws adopted under the association's general powers, since this chapter doesn't set its own detailed meeting statute.
RCW 64.90.495
Requires the association to retain ballots and proxies for a year after the vote, letting owners verify how an election or vote actually went.
Step by step
How to assert your meeting and voting rights in Washington
The notice, petition, and comment rights RCW 64.90.445 gives owners to hold a Washington association accountable.
- 01
Confirm which act and rulebook governs
Check whether RCW 64.90.445 applies directly, or whether your legacy HOA's meeting rules live in the bylaws under RCW 64.38.020's general powers.
- 02
Check the notice and the agenda
Confirm the notice went out 14 to 50 days ahead (14 days, or 7 for an emergency, for board meetings) and that any amendment or removal proposal was fully disclosed in it, not sprung on the floor.
- 03
Use the 20 percent petition right
Gather signatures from owners holding at least 20 percent of the vote (or your documents' lower threshold) and submit a written request that the secretary call a special meeting.
- 04
Show up and use your comment time
Insist on the 15 minutes of comment time at the start of a board meeting and the 90-second-per-owner minimum RCW 64.90.445 guarantees.
- 05
Watch the 90-day clock
If a vote or board action skipped the statute's requirements, raise it and, if needed, prepare to challenge it within 90 days of the minutes being approved or distributed.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can owners force the board to hold a special meeting?
Yes. RCW 64.90.445 lets unit owners holding 20 percent of the votes, or a lower percentage your documents set, require the secretary to call one, and lets the requesting owners send the notice themselves if the board sits on it for 30 days.
Can the board meet in secret?
Only in a narrow executive session for specific reasons like attorney consultation, active litigation, personnel matters, sensitive negotiations, or privacy, and RCW 64.90.445 bars any final vote from happening there.
How long do I have to challenge a board vote that broke the rules?
90 days from when the minutes of that meeting were approved or the record of the action was distributed to owners, whichever is later, under RCW 64.90.445.
My HOA formed before 2018. Do the same meeting rules apply?
Not automatically. RCW 64.38.020, the legacy HOA statute, doesn't set out the same detailed meeting mechanics as RCW 64.90.445; your meeting and voting rules mostly come from your bylaws, adopted under the association's general powers.