How do we run an owner vote to amend our HOA declaration?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 4, 2026

How an HOA board runs a vote to amend the declaration: real thresholds, ballots, tracking every lot, lender consent and recording, with TX, FL and CO rules.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Amending the declaration is a campaign, not an agenda item. The board drafts the exact text, works out the vote state law and the declaration actually require, sends every owner a ballot or consent form, tracks returns lot by lot until it clears the number, and then records a certificate of amendment with the county. Nothing binds anyone until that recording. Most drives fail after one mailing. Plan on three to five months and three rounds of follow-up. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice. Have the association's attorney review the final text before it goes to owners.

Find your real threshold before you draft

Read the amendment article in the declaration, then check it against state law, which can override it. Texas. Property Code section 209.0041(h) requires 67 percent of the total votes allocated to owners entitled to vote. Under (h-1) a lower number in the declaration controls, and under (h-2) a declaration silent on amendment votes takes owners of 67 percent of the lots. Subsection (f) supersedes contrary documents, so a declaration demanding 75 or 90 percent is held to 67. The section does not apply during a development period or to an amendment affecting a portion zoned for or containing commercial, apartment or condominium use. Florida. Section 720.306(1)(b) sets two-thirds of the voting interests of the association only where the governing documents or other law do not say otherwise, so your declaration's own number usually controls. Section 720.306(1)(c) bars changing a parcel's voting interest or share of common expenses unless that owner and its lienholders join in signing. Under 720.306(1)(h), most rental amendments adopted after July 1, 2021 bind only later buyers and owners who consent. Colorado. C.R.S. 38-33.3-217(1)(a)(I) requires more than 50 percent of the votes, or a higher figure the declaration sets up to 67 percent. Anything higher is void and read as 67. Section 38-33.3-117(1.5)(d) applies this to communities created before July 1, 1992. Changing permitted uses or allocated interests takes at least 67 percent under 217(4) and (4.5). Turn the percentage into a count of lots. A 120-lot Texas community whose declaration says 75 percent needs 67 percent of 120, which is 80.4, so 81 yes votes. The base is all votes, so an unreturned ballot is a no. Write 81 at the top of the tracking sheet.

Draft the text and a one-page explanation

Write the amendment as replacement text for whole sections, not "strike the third sentence of 7.4." Florida section 720.306(1)(e) requires the full text of the provision, new language underlined and deleted language struck through, or the note "Substantial rewording. See governing documents for current text." Put each change on the ballot as its own question. A popular fix to the leasing article should not die because it shared a ballot with a fence rule. Add a one-page explanation: what changes, why, and what happens if it fails. If the topic is contested, hold an owner meeting before ballots go out; our guide on holding an HOA town hall before an owner vote covers it.

Pick the voting method and send proper notice

Texas. Section 209.0058(a)(3) requires votes on amending a dedicatory instrument to be in writing and signed, and 209.0058(b) counts electronic ballots under 209.00592 as written and signed. Section 209.00592(a-1) requires offering owners at least one of absentee ballot, proxy or electronic ballot. For a vote at a meeting, give notice 10 to 60 days ahead under 209.0056(a). For a vote outside a meeting, give notice at least 20 days before the last day ballots count under 209.0056(a-1). Absentee ballots must carry the statement quoted in 209.00592(c). A vote outside a meeting with a 60-day ballot window suits a campaign. Florida. Section 720.306(5) requires at least 14 days' notice of a member meeting, mailed, delivered or emailed to owners who consented, with an affidavit from the person who sent it. Under 720.306(8)(a) a proxy covers one meeting and its adjournments and expires 90 days after the meeting, so a drive that runs past one meeting needs fresh proxies. Whether you can collect written consents with no meeting depends on your articles and bylaws. Colorado. Section 217(1)(a)(I) counts the "affirmative vote or agreement" of owners, so signed consent forms work where your documents allow them. Follow the bylaws for notice. Sample motion: "I move that the board approve the attached amendment to Article VII of the declaration for an owner vote, set the ballot deadline at 5 p.m. on March 31, appoint [name], who is not a director, as tabulator, and authorize the president to sign and record a certificate of amendment if the required votes are received."

Run the campaign and track every lot

Build a sheet with one row per lot: record owners, address, email, date sent, date returned and three follow-up columns. Co-owned lots usually share one vote; check who may cast it. Week 1, mail and email the packet. Week 3, remind owners how many lots are still needed. Weeks 5 to 8, volunteers knock on doors with spare ballots. In the last two weeks, call every blank row. Post the number of ballots returned each week, never how anyone voted. In Texas, section 209.00594 limits access to ballots to the tabulator and bars the tabulator from disclosing how an individual voted, so have the tabulator report which lots have returned a ballot and nothing more. Cover letter paragraph to copy: "The board asks you to vote on one change to our declaration: replacing Section 7.4 on leasing with the text enclosed. The change needs 81 yes votes out of 120 lots, and a ballot that is not returned counts the same as a no. Please return your signed ballot by March 31 by mail, by email to the address below, or to any board member. One page explaining the change is enclosed."

Get lender consent if the declaration requires it

Older declarations often require mortgage lenders to approve amendments. Florida section 720.306(1)(d) makes that requirement enforceable for mortgages recorded on or after July 1, 2013 only when the amendment harms the lender's lien priority or foreclosure rights or otherwise materially affects lenders; for older mortgages the requirement stands. Send notice to the lender addresses in the public records by a method that proves delivery; a lender that does not respond within 60 days is deemed to consent, and the association records an affidavit showing it. In Colorado, if the declaration requires first mortgagee consent but gives no procedure, section 217(1)(b) lets the association send dated notice and the amendment by certified mail to each first mortgagee at the address on the recorded deed of trust, and publish the notice twice, at least a week apart, in a county newspaper. A lender that sends no negative response within 60 days is deemed to approve. Texas chapter 209 has no lender procedure, so follow the declaration and ask the attorney.

Record it and tell the owners

Once the count clears, the tabulator certifies the result in writing and the designated officer signs a certificate of amendment attaching the text and stating the votes required and received. The attorney will know the format your county clerk accepts. Texas. Under Property Code section 202.006 a dedicatory instrument has no effect until filed in the real property records of each county where the property sits. Any owner may demand a recount within 15 days after the meeting or the announcement of results, whichever is later, under 209.0057(b), so record after that window closes. Keep the recorded amendment permanently under 209.005(m)(1). Florida. The amendment takes effect when recorded under 720.306(1)(e). Within 30 days after recording, 720.306(1)(b) requires sending owners a copy, or, if the text did not change from what they voted on, a notice giving the book and page or instrument number and offering a free copy on request. Keep ballots and voting records at least 1 year under 720.303(4)(a)12. Colorado. Section 217(3) makes the amendment effective only on recording in every county the community touches, indexed under the community, the association and each signer. Section 217(5) has the designated officer, or the president, prepare, sign, record and certify it, and 217(6) puts the cost on the association. A challenge must be brought within one year after recording under 217(2). Keep ballots one year under 38-33.3-317(1)(n). If a typo slips into the recorded copy, see our guide on fixing an error in recorded HOA documents.

When you come up short

Colorado gives boards a court route. Under section 217(7), the board may petition the district court if the association sent notice of the amendment to owners twice, discussed it at an owner meeting, and owners holding more than half of the votes needed to pass it voted yes. In an 80-unit community at 67 percent, passing takes 54 votes, so the petition needs at least 28. The hearing is set 45 to 60 days after filing, and the court grants the petition unless, among other grounds, more than 33 percent of the owners entitled to vote file written objections. California Civil Code section 4275 is similar: where the declaration requires more than 50 percent, the association or any owner may petition the superior court, which may reduce the threshold if more than 50 percent voted yes after a reasonably diligent effort to let every owner vote. Elsewhere, narrow the amendment to what owners clearly support and try again.

Mistakes boards make

Counting yes votes against ballots returned instead of all lots. Bundling five changes into one yes or no question. Letting a director who wants the change badly keep the ballots. Amending the motion from the floor, which in Texas means absentee and electronic ballots on that question cannot be counted under 209.00592(b)(3). Relying on Florida proxies after they expire, 90 days past the meeting they were given for. Never recording the amendment. Shredding ballots before the recount and retention periods run.

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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