HOA rules in Washington

Washington does not have one HOA chapter for every community. If your common interest community was created on or after July 1, 2018, or if an older community amended its documents to elect in under RCW 64.90.370, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA), chapter 64.90 RCW, is the main statute. Older homeowners' associations that have not elected in still live under chapter 64.38 RCW (Homeowners' Associations). Even those older associations already pick up several WUCIOA sections (including meetings and budgets) under RCW 64.38.095, and that overlay is written as effective until January 1, 2028. Confirm which chapter covers your community, then confirm the current text on the Washington Legislature RCW site and in your recorded declaration, bylaws, and rules. This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes and documents change.

Under WUCIOA, the association may enforce the governing documents and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, impose reasonable fines from a previously established schedule that was furnished to owners under the rule-notice process in RCW 64.90.505 (RCW 64.90.405(2)(l)). The statute does not set a Florida-style dollar cap or a numbered hearing-day count. Do not invent one. The board also has discretion not to chase a violation when the legal position is weak, the rule looks inconsistent with law, or enforcement is not in the association's best interests, so long as it is not arbitrary or capricious (RCW 64.90.405(7)–(9)).

Association records listed in RCW 64.90.495 must be available for examination and copying on 10 days' notice, and not later than 21 days without a court order. Personnel files, pending litigation, attorney-client material, executive-session records, and other owners' unit files are among the items that must be redacted or withheld.

Unpaid assessments are a statutory lien from the time they are due (RCW 64.90.485). Washington uses a limited six-month super-priority over earlier mortgages, with a $2,000 cap on priority attorneys' fees, and it requires two preforeclosure notices before a foreclosure action. The association may not start foreclosure unless the owner owes at least the greater of three months of assessments or $2,000 (excluding fines, late charges, interest, and collection costs), at least 90 days have passed from that minimum, the second notice has gone out, and the board has approved the action against that unit. Washington has no statewide HOA ombudsman.

This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state's law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.