What do Washington's 2025 and 2026 HOA law changes mean for volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 27, 2026

Washington HOA law changes for boards: the 15 minute owner comment rule, ballot counting, the $100,000 audit threshold, resale certificate fees and fire-hardening.

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

The short answer

Washington is moving every community association onto one statute, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA), chapter 64.90 RCW. The older laws, including the Homeowners' Association Act (chapter 64.38) and the Condominium Act (chapter 64.34), are repealed on January 1, 2028. Two sessions of bills have pulled parts of that deadline forward and changed the rules boards work under today. ESSB 5129 (chapter 119, Laws of 2025) took effect July 27, 2025, with key sections effective January 1, 2026. Three 2026 bills took effect June 11, 2026: SHB 2354 (chapter 96), ESHB 1500 (chapter 194) and SSB 6054 (chapter 180). For a board, the practical changes are a fixed owner comment period at every board meeting, new limits on who touches ballots, a higher audit threshold, a stricter resale certificate, and less room to say no to EV chargers, heat pumps and fire-resistant materials. Rules vary by community and by your governing documents, and some sections reach only WUCIOA communities until 2028. Treat this as a briefing to take to your attorney, not legal advice.

Which rules reach a pre-2018 HOA right now

If your community was created before July 1, 2018 and never opted into WUCIOA, you still mostly follow chapter 64.38 or 64.34. ESSB 5129 changed that in one important way. Since January 1, 2026, a list of WUCIOA sections applies to older communities and overrides anything inconsistent in the old acts. The list now includes RCW 64.90.445 (owner and board meetings), 64.90.480(10) (a free way to pay assessments), and the sections on emergency powers, EV charging stations and heat pumps. Other WUCIOA sections, such as the ballot counting rules in 64.90.455 and the reserve disbursement rules in 64.90.535, reach older communities only when the full switch happens in 2028. You can adopt them early as board policy. Small communities get a lighter version. ESSB 5129 raised the small plat community exemption from 12 units and $300 average annual assessments to 50 units and $1,000. SHB 2354 added that the $1,000 limit can come from an amended declaration, not just the original one. It also exempts plat or miscellaneous communities of six or fewer middle housing units, averaging $1,000 or less a year, from almost all of WUCIOA.

Board meetings: 15 minutes for owners before you vote

Amended RCW 64.90.445 says the board must give owners at least 15 minutes at the beginning of each board meeting to comment on agenda items before the board votes. You may set a time limit per owner, but not below 90 seconds per owner per unit, unless more than 10 owners want to speak, in which case you can divide the time equally. This applies to every Washington association now, including pre-2018 HOAs. For meetings by phone or video, the bylaws can no longer opt out of the statute's terms. Every board vote must be a roll call or other spoken vote, and anyone entitled to attend must have a phone option. Notice of a meeting called for something that could not have been foreseen must go out at least seven days ahead, electronically, to every owner whose email or phone number you have. Print the comment period on the agenda. A line that works: "Owner comment on agenda items (15 minutes; 2 minutes per speaker, divided equally if more than 10 owners sign up)." Record each director's spoken vote by name in the minutes.

Ballots: incumbents and candidates stay away from the count

ESSB 5129 amended RCW 64.90.455 so the association must open and count secret ballots it physically receives, or review and announce results received electronically, and record the results in the minutes. Sitting board members and every person named on the ballot may not hold the ballots, be given access to them, or take part in opening or counting them. The bill also dropped the secret ballot requirement for an owner vote approving a reallocation of common element to limited common element. If the whole board is running again, you need outside counters. Line up two volunteers who are not on the ballot, or a neutral third party such as the association's CPA or attorney, before the notice goes out. Give them the owner list and the sealed envelopes, and keep directors out of the room until the tally is signed.

Money: payment methods, reserves and the audit threshold

Since January 1, 2026, every association must offer at least one way to pay assessments that costs the owner nothing, or whose cost is paid as a common expense, under RCW 64.90.480(10). If your only online option adds a card fee, keep check by mail or add a free ACH option and say so on the statement. For WUCIOA communities, amended RCW 64.90.535 now sets rules for reserve funds. Reserves go in an interest-bearing account at a U.S.-domiciled institution regulated by FINRA or the Comptroller of the Currency, with conditions for CDs, money market funds and Treasuries. Securities are allowed only when interest-bearing reserves exceed $250,000 and the purchase does not drop them below 50 percent, unless owners holding 75 percent of the votes approve more. Every reserve disbursement, other than investments and transfers between the association's own reserve accounts, needs two signatures from officers or directors plus supporting invoices that identify the reserve components involved. SHB 2354 raised the audit threshold in RCW 64.90.530 from $50,000 to $100,000 in annual assessments, as adjusted for inflation under RCW 64.90.065. Below that line an annual CPA audit is still required, but owners holding a majority of the votes can waive it each year. Our guide on how to hire a CPA firm for an HOA review or audit explains what you get for the money if you decide to keep the audit.

Resale certificates under ESHB 1500

For WUCIOA communities, RCW 64.90.640 still gives the association 10 days after an owner's request to deliver a resale certificate, but the contents and fees changed on June 11, 2026. The certificate must now include the most recent audit report, every board policy, procedure and resolution currently in effect, and the full current reserve study rather than a summary. Any category the association cannot supply must be marked "NONE" or "RECORDS UNAVAILABLE". The fee cap stays at $275, but it must cover only the direct cost of copying and providing the information, with no extra charge for documents owners can already get on the association's website or portal. An update within six months of the owner's last request may cost up to $100. You may not make an owner open an account with a third party to pay for or receive the certificate. The risk moved too. A buyer is not liable for a violation caused by an alteration to the unit that the association should have known about with reasonable diligence but left off the certificate. A buyer has five business days to cancel after first receiving it. An owner can sue to enforce the fee, timing and preparation rules, and the court may award attorney fees to the winner. If a manager or other agent charges for the certificate, the agent is responsible for timely delivery and reasonable care. Our guide on how to answer an HOA resale certificate or estoppel request walks through the request itself.

EV chargers, heat pumps and fire-hardened materials

In associations of single-family homes, site condominiums or planned developments where units are not immediately next to each other, ESSB 5129 says the association may not require approval of an EV charging station unless it is installed on a common element or tied to a common power supply. The board may not unreasonably withhold approval of a heat pump installed on or in common elements. SHB 2354 then made the cost rule fixed: the owner who benefits pays for maintenance, repair and removal, and governing documents can no longer say otherwise. SSB 6054 added a section to each of chapters 64.38, 64.34 and 64.90. Governing documents may not prohibit installing, using or maintaining fire-hardened building materials that meet state and local permitting requirements. The board may adopt reasonable rules on design, dimensions, placement and appearance, as long as they do not make the materials infeasible and leave at least one reasonable option that meets the wildfire standard without significantly raising the cost. The law does not give an owner any right to install materials on common areas. Any conflicting provision already in your documents became void on June 11, 2026.

What the board should do this year

Take this list to the next meeting. 1. Confirm which act governs the community and whether the small community exemption fits after SHB 2354. 2. Add the 15 minute owner comment period to the agenda template and switch remote meetings to roll call votes with a phone line. 3. Name two ballot counters who are not on the ballot for the next election. 4. Confirm a no-fee payment option exists and appears on every statement. 5. Ask the treasurer to compare reserve accounts and signature rules against RCW 64.90.535, even if you are a pre-2018 HOA. 6. Check annual assessments against the $100,000 audit threshold and put a waiver vote on the annual meeting agenda if you want one. 7. Rebuild the resale certificate packet: add the policies and resolutions, the full reserve study and the latest audit, and post the documents on your website so the fee stays low. 8. Have counsel mark any architectural rule on EV chargers, heat pumps, roofing, siding, vents or fencing that conflicts with the new law, then repeal it by board resolution. A motion to start: "Moved, that the board direct the secretary to update the meeting agenda template, election procedures and resale certificate packet to comply with ESSB 5129, SHB 2354 and ESHB 1500, and ask counsel to review the architectural guidelines under SSB 6054 before 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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