What do Idaho's 2024-2026 HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 27, 2026

Idaho HOA law for boards: one owner per lot on the board, the 50% proxy cap, the 2026 ADU covenant ban, 30-day fine notices and free account statements.

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

The short answer

Idaho's Homeowner's Association Act, Idaho Code Title 55, chapter 32, dates from 2022 and has been amended every session since. Three recent bills change what a board does day to day. HB 361 (2025, session law chapter 204), signed March 28, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, added section 55-3204B: only one owner per lot may sit on the board, no one may hold proxies for more than half the total votes, and two people from the same household may not serve together. It also added section 55-3204A on developer turnover for associations formed after July 1, 2025. SB 1354 (2026, chapter 265), signed March 31, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, rewrote section 55-3212. An association may no longer add, amend or enforce a covenant that limits or prohibits accessory dwelling units, whether internal, attached or detached, unless the affected owner agrees in writing. The board keeps the power to adopt reasonable rules on design, size, height, setbacks, open space, parking and bedrooms. HB 621 (2024, chapter 214), signed March 28, 2024, requires directors to declare conflicts with service contractors at the annual meeting. The fine, lien and disclosure rules from 2022 still trip boards up, so this guide covers them too. Rules vary with your declaration and bylaws, and this is education, not legal advice. Have an Idaho association attorney review any amendment or new policy.

Which rules reach your association

Start with three questions, because the sections apply to different groups. When was the association formed? Section 55-3204A, the turnover schedule, covers only associations formed after July 1, 2025. If your community is older, your declaration still controls when the developer hands over the board. How many residences? The proxy cap and the same-household rule in section 55-3204B(2) do not apply to an association with fewer than 20 residences, or while the declarant still controls the board. The one-owner-per-lot rule in 55-3204B(1) has no size limit and applies once declarant control ends. Who acts for the association? Section 55-3203 defines a homeowner's association to include a community manager under contract and any agent acting for it. If a manager sends your fine letters or payoff statements, the statute's deadlines apply to the manager's work, and the board answers for it. Write the answers on the first page of your board binder. They decide which of the steps below you need.

Board seats and proxies under HB 361

Check the current board against section 55-3204B before the next election, not after. One owner per lot. If a married couple co-owns a lot and both serve, one has to step down when declarant control ends. The household rule goes further in associations of 20 or more residences: two people who live in the same primary residence may not both serve, even if only one is on the deed. A director who has moved in with another director is caught by it. The 50 percent proxy cap. No single owner may hold proxies representing more than half of the association's total votes. In a 120-lot community with one vote per lot, the most any owner may carry is 60 votes, counting proxies. The limit runs against total votes in the association, not the votes present at the meeting. Add a line to the proxy form and the inspector's checklist: 'Proxies are counted under Idaho Code section 55-3204B. The inspector of elections will not accept proxies that would give one owner more than 50 percent of the association's total votes, and will return any excess proxies to the owners who signed them.' For associations formed after July 1, 2025, section 55-3204A requires the developer to offer at least one-third of board seats to owners within 180 days after 75 percent of lots are conveyed to buyers, not counting builders who bought lots to build homes for sale. Once 95 percent of the development is built and occupied, the developer must begin full turnover and finish it within 12 months. An owner may seek an injunction 30 days after giving the developer written notice. Our guide on what a new HOA board should do after developer turnover covers the first months after the handover.

Fines: the 30-day notice and the board vote

Section 55-3206 is short, and boards that skip a step lose the fine. 1. The declaration itself must give the association the power to fine. A rule adopted by the board is not enough. 2. A majority vote of the board must impose each fine. A manager or committee cannot do it alone. 3. The owner must receive written notice at least 30 days before the meeting where the board will vote, by personal service or certified mail. Regular mail and email do not count. 4. If the owner starts fixing the violation before that meeting, no fine may be imposed while the owner keeps working on it in good faith. 5. Attorney fees may not accrue until the association has followed these steps and the owner has failed to fix the violation. No part of a fine may go toward paying a director or agent. A sample timeline: - April 1: courtesy letter, if your documents call for one. - April 20: board decides to consider a fine. Secretary sends certified mail notice setting the June 3 meeting. - June 3: open meeting. The board votes; the minutes record the vote and that notice went out April 20. - June 4: written notice of the result to the owner. Notice wording to adapt: 'The board will consider a fine for the violation described above at its meeting on June 3 at 7 p.m. at the clubhouse. If you begin correcting the violation before that meeting and continue in good faith until it is resolved, no fine will be imposed.' Our guide on how to write an HOA fine schedule covers setting the amounts.

Account statements, transfer fees and liens

Section 55-3205 sets deadlines a treasurer should keep on a calendar. - Account statement: within 5 business days of a written request from an owner or the owner's agent, such as a title company. It must list every assessment, fee, late charge and interest owed, plus any transfer fee. The association is bound by the amounts it states, and it may not charge for the statement. Charging one violates the Idaho Consumer Protection Act. - Transfer fee: only if the declaration expressly allows it. Only the association may collect it, and no part may go to a manager, director or other third party. - Fee disclosure: by January 1 each year, send owners the list of fees the association will charge. Next year's fees may not exceed that list. - Financial disclosure: within 10 business days of an owner's request, and a reconciled year-end disclosure to all owners within 60 days after the fiscal year closes. For liens, section 55-3207 requires a verified claim recorded in the county, stating the amount owed after credits, the owner's name, the association's name and a legal description. Within 5 business days after recording, serve a copy of the recorded lien on the owner by personal delivery or certified mail. Later unpaid assessments add to the recorded claim without a new filing.

Meetings, minutes and conflicts of interest

Section 55-3204 governs how the board meets. Board meetings are open to members and to anyone a member designates in a signed writing. The board may go into executive session by majority vote only for personnel, hiring, bid review or contract negotiation; records exempt from inspection; legal advice from the association's attorney; pending or possible litigation; and a single owner's violation or delinquent account. Having the attorney in the room is not itself a reason to close the meeting. The association must hold a membership meeting every calendar year. It may meet electronically or in a hybrid format only with the approval of a simple majority of the members. Minutes of every board and membership meeting must be kept for at least 10 years. Under HB 621, at each annual meeting directors must declare any conflict of interest or family relationship with a person or company that has a service contract with the association or is seeking one. Put it on the agenda as a standing item and record each director's answer, including 'none.' Two more limits: the board may not use its power to make common area rules to expand the covenants on owners' own lots, and an owner who sues and wins over a violation of the chapter is entitled to reasonable attorney fees.

ADUs, rentals and daycare homes

Three sections now block covenants many older Idaho declarations still contain. Accessory dwelling units. Before July 1, 2026, section 55-3212 protected only internal units inside an owner-occupied homestead or its garage. As amended by SB 1354, it covers accessory dwelling units as defined in section 67-6541: a self-contained unit with its own cooking, sleeping and sanitation on the same lot as a single-family home, whether internal, attached or detached. Motorhomes, campers, RVs and tiny homes on wheels are excluded. The association may not add, amend or enforce a covenant that limits or prohibits these units unless the owner agrees in writing. What the board can still do is adopt reasonable rules on architectural design consistent with the main house, size, height, setbacks, open space, parking and bedrooms. Short-term rentals defined in section 63-1803(4) fall outside this section. Rentals. Section 55-3211, from 2022, bars adding or enforcing a rental restriction against an owner who did not agree to it in writing when it was adopted. Family daycare homes. HB 543 (2024) added section 55-3213: since July 1, 2024, an association may not add or enforce a covenant that prohibits a family daycare home. Restrictions already in effect before that date are not affected. The board may require the home to hold the state license. If an owner asks to build a unit, follow our guide on how to review an owner request to build an ADU or casita, and judge the plans against design rules rather than the use.

Checklist for the next board meeting

1. Record the association's formation date and residence count in the board binder. 2. Check that no two directors share a lot or, at 20 or more residences, a household. 3. Add the 50 percent proxy limit to the proxy form and inspector instructions. 4. Rewrite the fine procedure: certified mail or personal service, 30 days before the vote, and a board vote on each fine. 5. Confirm the declaration authorizes any transfer fee, and send the annual fee disclosure by January 1. 6. Set the 5-business-day statement deadline with your manager or title contact, at no charge. 7. Add the conflict declaration to the annual meeting agenda. 8. Have counsel review any ADU limit in the declaration, and draft design rules the board can enforce. A sample motion: 'Move that the board refer the declaration's accessory dwelling unit provisions to the association's attorney for review under Idaho Code section 55-3212 as amended July 1, 2026, and direct the architectural committee to present draft design, size, setback and parking standards for accessory dwelling units at the next meeting.'

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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