What do the 2023-2026 Arizona HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 23, 2026

Arizona HOA law changes for boards: open-session voting, meeting recordings, new foreclosure thresholds, fines off the lien, shade structures, resale disclosures.

Part of the HOA board handbook: new state laws for boards.

What changed and when

Arizona's Planned Communities Act, A.R.S. 33-1801 and following, picked up a steady run of amendments from 2023 through 2026. Arizona bills take effect on the general effective date, the 91st day after the session ends, unless the bill says otherwise. Those dates were October 30, 2023, September 14, 2024, September 26, 2025, and September 12, 2026. The changes that most affect a self-managed board are these. HB2648 (2024, chapter 151) took fines off the assessment lien. HB2662 (2024, chapter 180) requires board agendas to go out with the meeting notice. SB1039 (2025, chapter 13) set rules for keeping recordings of open meetings. SB1494 (2025, chapter 71) raised the foreclosure threshold. In 2026, SB1290 (chapter 222) required every board vote to happen in open session, HB4011 (chapter 125) added a statutory duty to act reasonably, HB2342 (chapter 90) protected backyard shade structures, and HB2397 (chapter 249) rewrote resale disclosures. Several flag bills passed along the way. The 2026 changes took effect September 12, 2026, so many boards are only now catching up.

Meetings and voting

SB1290 amended section 33-1804(A) so that a closed session is limited to consideration of the permitted topics without action. Any vote, including a vote on something discussed in executive session such as a delinquency or a legal matter, now has to be taken in an open meeting. HB2662 kept the existing 48-hour notice for board meetings but requires the agenda to go out with it, by hand delivery, mail, the association website, email or other electronic means, or posting at a community center. SB1039 says that if the board records an open meeting, it must keep the recording for at least six months and give an unedited copy to any member who asks, under the records access rules in section 33-1805. HB2607 (2023, chapter 111) added a deadline for removal petitions. If the board receives a valid petition to remove directors and does not call, notice, and hold the special meeting within 30 days, the directors named in the petition are deemed removed.

Liens, fines, and foreclosure

HB2648 narrowed what the association's lien secures under section 33-1807. The lien now covers assessments, late charges on assessments if the declaration authorizes them, reasonable collection fees, and attorney fees a court awards. Fines, penalties, and similar charges cannot be enforced through the lien. The association has to sue and get a judgment to collect them. Before filing a foreclosure, the board must make reasonable efforts to communicate with the owner and offer a reasonable payment plan, and the association may not sell or transfer the debt. SB1494 then raised the foreclosure threshold. The association cannot foreclose its lien until the owner is 18 months delinquent or owes $10,000 or more, whichever comes first. The old threshold was one year or $1,200. SB1246 (2026, chapter 162) added that for a special assessment with an initial value of $10,000 or more, only the 18-month test applies.

Use restrictions and resale

HB2342 created section 33-1816.01. An association cannot ban a commercially or professionally made shade structure in a backyard, including an umbrella, awning, shade sail, gazebo, pergola, or canopy. It may still regulate size, placement, and appearance, as long as the rules do not prevent installation, impair the structure's function, restrict its use, or unreasonably raise its cost, and are no stricter than the city's height and setback zoning for a single-family home. HB4011 added section 33-1821, which requires the association to use its discretionary powers reasonably, meaning neutrally, fairly, without favoritism, and not arbitrarily. On flags, the 2023 SB1049 protects historic versions of the American flag, the 2024 SB1016 lets an association limit an owner to two wall-mounted flagpole holders, the 2025 SB1378 brings flags under the political sign protections during election windows, and in 2026 SB1184 and SB1808 protect military division flags and the flag of Israel. HB2397 rewrote the resale disclosure in section 33-1806. In communities with 50 or more properties, the selling owner must send the association written notice of the accepted offer with the buyer's name, email, and mailing address, and the association then has 10 days to deliver the disclosure, on paper or electronically. In smaller communities the owner delivers it. The disclosure now includes items such as minutes of the last three open board meetings, the final plat, assessment payment schedules, special assessments approved but not yet levied, and open violations. The $400 aggregate fee cap and $100 rush fee carry over, and the $50 update fee now applies only when the owner asks for an update 30 or more days after the original.

The board's to-do list

Stop voting in executive session. Put every action item, including collections and legal decisions, on the open meeting agenda and vote there. Send the agenda with every 48-hour notice. If you record meetings, set up a retention folder that keeps each recording for six months and a way to hand out unedited copies. Strip fines out of any lien filings, demand letters, and payoff templates, and collect unpaid fines only through a lawsuit and judgment. Before any foreclosure discussion, confirm the account meets the 18-month or $10,000 threshold and document your payment plan offer and outreach. Review architectural guidelines for shade structures and the flag rules, and delete anything that is now a flat ban. Update your resale disclosure template and fee schedule to match HB2397, and brief whoever answers title company requests on the 10-day clock. Read your enforcement practices against the new reasonableness duty in section 33-1821, since treating similar violations differently is now easier to challenge.

What did not change and common misreadings

Nothing passed from 2023 through 2026 on the violation notice and hearing process, solar, short-term rentals, trees, electronic voting, or records request deadlines. HB2928 (2025), the accessory dwelling unit law, regulates cities and counties and states that private restrictive covenants on ADUs remain valid, so HOA casita rules still apply. SB1378 protects flags only as political signs inside the election window, not every flag at all times. The 48-hour board notice predates HB2662, which added only the agenda requirement. Bill titles in the legislature's status data can show a bill's original subject after a strike-everything amendment, so HB2648 and SB1290 may be listed under unrelated titles. HB2298 (2023) gave associations recorded before 2015 until June 30, 2025 to vote to keep authority over public roads. That deadline has passed, and associations that did not hold the vote lost their parking and speed rules on those roads. Several 2026 bills, including HB2128 on unanimous written consent and HB2185 on lawns in drought, did not become law.

Where to read the law

The Arizona Legislature posts each chaptered law with added text in capitals and deleted text struck through, which makes it easy to see exactly what changed. The current statutes are on the same site: read sections 33-1804 for meetings, 33-1806 for resale, 33-1807 for liens and foreclosure, 33-1808 for flags and signs, 33-1816.01 for shade structures, and 33-1821 for the reasonableness duty. Condominiums have parallel sections in chapter 9 of Title 33 that were often amended at the same time. Check with an attorney licensed in Arizona before relying on this for a lien, foreclosure, or enforcement decision.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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