WUCIOA Explained: What Every Washington State HOA and Condo Board Member Needs to Know

What is WUCIOA and when does it apply to my Washington HOA?

WUCIOA, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW 64.90), is the 2018 statute that governs all Washington common interest communities. It applies to your HOA either from formation (if created on or after July 1, 2018), through statutory phase-in for pre-existing communities (open meeting rules effective January 1, 2026; full applicability by January 1, 2028), or through formal opt-in by member vote under RCW 64.90.080. WUCIOA replaces RCW 64.38 for new and opted-in HOAs and progressively supplants RCW 64.34 for condominium associations created between 1990 and 2018.

If you serve on the board of a homeowners association or condominium community in Washington State, one law is changing virtually everything about how your community operates: the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, widely known as WUCIOA (RCW 64.90).

Whether your community was built in 1975 or 2022, WUCIOA applies to you, or will apply by January 1, 2028 at the latest. At AmLo Community Management, we help boards across Washington State stay ahead of every legislative change. This guide covers what WUCIOA is, why it matters, what it specifically requires, and what your board needs to do today.

What is WUCIOA (RCW 64.90 Explained)

WUCIOA (the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, codified as RCW 64.90) is Washington State’s single, comprehensive statute governing all common interest communities. That means condominiums, planned unit developments (PUDs), and HOAs all fall under the same law.

Before WUCIOA, Washington communities were governed by three separate and inconsistent statutes, depending on when and how they were formed:

• RCW 64.32 – The Horizontal Regimes Act (1963), for older condominiums
• RCW 64.34 – The Condominium Act (1989), for newer condos
• RCW 64.38 – The Homeowners’ Associations Act (1995), for HOAs

Each of these statutes was limited (less than 40,000 words combined) and left enormous gaps in governance standards. WUCIOA, first adopted in 2018 via SB6175, contains more than 65,000 words of precise, prescriptive requirements covering elections, reserve funds, open meetings, insurance, enforcement procedures, and much more.

Two major amendments have followed: SB5796 (2024) added over a dozen new sections, and SB5129 (2025) further expanded and refined the law. As of early 2026, WUCIOA is over 67,000 words and 120 sections, and it continues to grow.

Does WUCIOA apply to my HOA or Condo Association?

Almost certainly yes, if your community includes residential units. Here is how applicability breaks down under current law (as updated by SB5129 in 2025):

• All residential condominiums are subject to WUCIOA, regardless of when they were formed.
• HOAs with more than 50 homes are fully subject to WUCIOA.
• HOAs with 50 or fewer homes assessed more than ~$1,000/year per home are fully subject to WUCIOA.
• HOAs with 50 or fewer homes assessed less than ~$1,000/year per home may only be subject to certain portions of WUCIOA. (SB5129 raised this threshold from the previous 12-unit/$300 limit.)
• Commercial-only condominiums are generally exempt from most provisions.

If you are unsure whether your association qualifies for any exception, the safest course is to assume full WUCIOA applicability and consult with a Washington State community association attorney.

What are the key WUCIOA requirements every board member must understand?

WUCIOA is far more detailed and prescriptive than any prior Washington community association law. Below are the areas that most directly affect how your board operates day to day.

1. Open Meeting Requirements (Effective January 1, 2026)

• All board meetings must be open to unit owners.
• Owners have the right to speak at every meeting, before board discussion or votes.
• Executive (closed) sessions are permitted but must occur within an open meeting and may only address a short list of confidential topics: pending litigation, personnel matters, delinquency collections, contracts under negotiation, and a few others.
• Meetings must be noticed at least 14 days in advance, or on a formally published annual schedule.
• All materials provided to directors before a meeting must also be made available to owners before that meeting.
• Electronic meetings (Zoom, Teams, etc.) are allowed but must include a telephone dial-in option.
• Persons who disrupt a meeting may be warned and removed.

2. Election and Voting Standards

WUCIOA’s election requirements are among its most significant departures from prior law, and the 2024 SB5796 amendments made them even more specific:

• Secret ballots are mandatory for board elections and for votes on amendments to governing documents.
• Incumbent board members and candidates are prohibited from accessing ballots at any point before they are opened, counted, and recorded at the meeting.
• Ballots must be counted at the meeting called for that purpose, with the tally recorded in the minutes.
• Associations must take reasonable measures to verify voter identity for electronic participation and to confirm ballot/proxy authenticity.
• Voting rights cannot be suspended under any circumstances.
• Votes allocated to units owned by the association must be cast proportionally to the outcome. They cannot change the result.
• Election notices must disclose the number of positions open, qualification requirements, and the nomination process.

3. Board Composition Rules

• Boards must have at least three directors.
• No more than one-third of board positions may be appointed at any time. At least two-thirds must be elected by unit owners.
• Conflict of interest and indemnification standards from RCW 24.06 apply to all board members.
• A director who becomes delinquent in assessments may be removed, but owners have the right to immediately elect a successor.
• Enforcement must not be arbitrary or capricious. Consistent standards must be applied.

4. Reserve Funds and Reserve Studies

WUCIOA codifies reserve fund governance in precise terms that go well beyond what most older governing documents require:

• The board must maintain direct control over all reserve funds.
• Reserve studies must be updated annually.
• Studies must include all components whose replacement cost exceeds 1% of the annual budget.
• Studies must express reserve surplus or deficit on a per-unit basis.
• Transfers out of reserve accounts require two signatures and detailed supporting documentation.
• Reserve funds may now be invested, subject to specific statutory criteria.
• Budgets must disclose any planned reserve borrowing.

5. Accounting and Audit Requirements

• All community associations must use accrual-based accounting.
• Annual audits are required and cannot be waived by member vote, except for associations with annual budgets under $50,000.
• All dollar thresholds in the statute adjust with inflation over time.

6. Rules, Fines, and Enforcement

• Creating, amending, or repealing any rule requires two separate advance notices to owners.
• A formal fine schedule must exist and be properly noticed before any fines can be imposed.
• Creating or changing a fine schedule requires the same double-notice process as rule changes.
• The board has explicit discretion to stay (pause) enforcement, but enforcement must remain consistent.

7. Owner Rights and Records Access

• Records disclosures must be provided within 10 days (21 days maximum) of an owner’s written request.
• Owners may opt their email addresses out of records disclosures.
• Political signs may not be banned. Only reasonable rules on size and placement are permissible.
• Flagpoles in limited common elements and units cannot be unreasonably prohibited.
• Storage of compost, recycling, and garbage receptacles cannot be unreasonably prohibited.
• Owners may formally request that the board evaluate and remove unlawful restrictions from governing documents.
• Associations must accept at least one form of assessment payment at no charge to the owner.

8. Insurance Requirements

Under WUCIOA, master property insurance must cover units, and unless the declaration explicitly states otherwise, must also cover all improvements and betterments made to units by owners. This is a meaningful departure from prior law that may require many communities to update their insurance policies before the 2028 deadline.

Why do most Washington HOA and condo governing documents need a restatement?

One of the most consequential (and often overlooked) implications of WUCIOA is its effect on your existing governing documents. Most communities formed before 2018 have declarations and bylaws written under prior law. When your governing documents conflict with WUCIOA, the statute wins. Automatically.

A governing document restatement (formally called an amendment and restatement) produces a single, updated version of your declaration and bylaws that is consistent with RCW 64.90 and reflects your community’s current reality. Adopting RCW 64.90 through a restatement requires a 67% affirmative vote of members.

The benefits of completing a restatement before the 2028 deadline include:

• Eliminating conflicts between outdated provisions and current Washington law
• Incorporating governance best practices refined over years of community association experience
• Cleaning up decades of amendments that have produced contradictory or unenforceable language
• Codifying community-specific provisions that reflect how your neighborhood actually operates
• Reducing board liability by establishing clear, legally sound procedures

Important: Restatements are not DIY projects. They require professional guidance, legal review, and meaningful owner participation, including volunteers willing to review substantial documentation. Starting early is not optional. A 67% supermajority vote is difficult to achieve on a compressed timeline.

What WUCIOA compliance deadlines must your board not miss?

WUCIOA has two compliance deadlines every Washington board must track: January 1, 2026 for open meeting and member-rights provisions, and January 1, 2028 for full applicability of governance, financial reporting, and reserve requirements to all pre-existing communities.

January 1, 2026: Open Meeting Requirements (ALREADY IN EFFECT)

Open meeting standards under RCW 64.90.445 now apply to all Washington community associations. If your board has not yet implemented compliant open meeting practices, you are already operating outside the law. This is not a future deadline. It has passed.

January 1, 2028: Full WUCIOA Compliance Required

All residential community associations in Washington State must be in full compliance with RCW 64.90 by this date. Pre-existing communities governed by RCW 64.32, 64.34, or 64.38 must transition entirely to WUCIOA standards.

2028 may feel distant, but governing document restatements that require a 67% member vote take significant time to plan, draft, notice, and execute. Boards that begin in 2027 will likely run out of time. The window to act is now.

WUCIOA Reference: Applicability, Comparison, and Legislative Timeline

Most board questions about WUCIOA ultimately reduce to one of three structural questions: does it apply to my community, how does it differ from the statute we used before, and what amendments have changed since the original 2018 adoption. The reference sections and tables below answer the long-tail WUCIOA questions Washington board members search most often.

When does WUCIOA apply to my Washington community?

WUCIOA applies automatically to every common interest community formed in Washington on or after July 1, 2018, and applies in part to most pre-2018 communities through the statutory provisions phased in by the 2026 and 2028 effective dates or through formal opt-in.

The decision table below summarizes WUCIOA applicability by community type and formation date.

The opt-in mechanism in RCW 64.90.080 allows a pre-2018 community to bring itself fully under WUCIOA by member vote. Many communities adopting governing-document restatements between 2024 and 2027 have used the restatement process to formalize the opt-in.

What is the WUCIOA implementation timeline?

WUCIOA is the fourth statute in a sixty-year evolution of Washington common interest community law, beginning with the Horizontal Property Regimes Act in 1963 and culminating in the staged 2026 and 2028 effective dates that bring most pre-existing communities under WUCIOA’s procedural rules.

How does WUCIOA differ from RCW 64.38?

WUCIOA is the modern uniform statute that has been replacing RCW 64.38 for new and opted-in Washington HOAs since 2018. The two statutes differ on scope, member rights, financial disclosure, board duties, and enforcement procedure.

The comparison table below covers the operational differences boards encounter most often. For a deeper policy-level comparison, see the dedicated RCW 64.38 vs WUCIOA guide.

What Washington bills have amended or interact with WUCIOA?

Since WUCIOA’s 2018 adoption, the Washington legislature has refined the statute through successive amendments addressing election procedure, foreclosure mediation, board governance, and effective-date clarifications. The current set of bills boards should know is summarized below.

Bill statuses and effective dates change as the legislature acts. Confirm the current text of any cited bill on app.leg.wa.gov before relying on it for policy. For the broader California parallel and a comparable practitioner-level statute walkthrough, see the Davis-Stirling Act guide.

Does WUCIOA apply to pre-1990 condominium projects?

WUCIOA applies only partially to condominium projects originally created under the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32, projects created before July 1, 1990), and most procedural obligations turn on whether the community has opted into WUCIOA or remains under its original statute.

The 1963-era RCW 64.32 communities are the most insulated from WUCIOA. The original statute, the recorded declaration, and the bylaws continue to govern most operational questions. WUCIOA’s open meeting and member-rights provisions effective January 1, 2026 apply selectively to RCW 64.32 communities. Boards in those communities should obtain a statutory analysis from counsel before changing meeting procedure or assessment collection in reliance on WUCIOA.

Can a Washington community opt into WUCIOA early?

Yes. RCW 64.90.080 permits a pre-2018 community to opt into WUCIOA by amending its governing documents through the statutory vote required for amendment. Most communities preparing for the 2028 deadline use the opt-in to start applying WUCIOA procedure on a fixed schedule rather than waiting for the statutory deadline.

The practical benefit of an early opt-in is procedural certainty. A community that opts in during 2026 has eighteen to twenty-four months to align bylaws, rules, reserve studies, and financial reporting with WUCIOA before the 2028 deadline triggers full applicability across all pre-existing communities. Communities that wait until 2027 to begin restatement run the risk of missing the 2028 deadline because the amendment process itself, including notice, member ballot, and recording, typically takes six to twelve months.

What is the difference between WUCIOA and the Washington Condominium Act (RCW 64.34)?

RCW 64.34, the Washington Condominium Act of 1989, governs condominium projects created in Washington between July 1, 1990 and July 1, 2018. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) is the successor statute covering all common interest communities created on or after July 1, 2018 and applies in part to pre-existing RCW 64.34 condominiums through the 2026 and 2028 phase-in dates.

For a condo board operating a 1995-vintage building, the practical reality through 2025 was that RCW 64.34 controlled day-to-day operations: declaration interpretation, assessment authority, board powers, and unit-owner remedies. Beginning January 1, 2026, WUCIOA’s open meeting and member-rights provisions apply to that same building, even though the underlying declaration is still recorded under RCW 64.34. By January 1, 2028, most of WUCIOA’s governance, financial, and reserve provisions apply, and the board faces a choice: restate the governing documents to fully integrate WUCIOA, or operate under a layered framework in which RCW 64.34 remains the original statute and WUCIOA’s procedural overlay applies on top.

Additional WUCIOA questions: meetings, finances, and 2028 compliance

What does WUCIOA require for board meetings?

WUCIOA requires advance notice to members, member observation rights, and limits on executive session use under RCW 64.90.445 and related provisions. Boards must give a minimum statutory notice for annual meetings, allow members to observe open-session deliberations, and restrict closed-session topics to pending or potential litigation, personnel matters, contract negotiation, member discipline, and assessment delinquency. The pre-2018 RCW 64.38 framework left most of these requirements to governing documents; WUCIOA establishes statutory minimums that apply uniformly.

How does WUCIOA affect HOA finances?

WUCIOA imposes statutory minimums on budget preparation, financial reporting, reserve studies, and audit thresholds under RCW 64.90.525 through 64.90.550. Covered communities must maintain an annual budget summary, prepare or update a reserve study annually, and produce financial statements that meet WUCIOA’s disclosure standards. Boards facing reserve gaps before 2028 should review the reserve fund 101 guide and the special assessments guide for the procedural rules that apply when a community needs to close the gap.

Does WUCIOA replace RCW 64.38?

Yes for new and opted-in communities; partially for pre-existing communities. RCW 64.38 continues to apply to single-family HOAs formed before July 1, 2018 until WUCIOA’s staged effective dates take over (open meeting rules January 1, 2026; full applicability January 1, 2028). After 2028, RCW 64.38 functionally applies only where governing documents are not displaced by WUCIOA. See the dedicated RCW 64.38 vs WUCIOA guide for the head-to-head decision framework.

What happens if my board doesn’t comply with WUCIOA by 2028?

After January 1, 2028, governing-document provisions that conflict with WUCIOA become unenforceable. Boards operating under non-compliant bylaws or CC&Rs face procedural challenges to votes, fines, and member-rights decisions made under those documents. Most communities address this by completing a governing-document restatement before 2028 to bring the recorded documents into alignment with the statute. The Davis-Stirling Act guide covers the parallel California compliance framework for boards operating across state lines.

How AmLo Community Management Keeps Your Board WUCIOA-Compliant

WUCIOA compliance is not a one-time task. It is a continuous operational standard that shapes every meeting, every vote, every financial decision, and every communication with owners. AmLo Community Management was built to help Washington State HOA and condo boards navigate exactly this kind of complex regulatory environment.

Our WUCIOA compliance services include:

• Board meeting management: Proper notice, open meeting procedures, executive session compliance, and legally accurate minutes.
• Election administration: Secret ballot elections, voter verification, ballot custody procedures, and results documentation.
• Reserve fund oversight: Reserve study coordination, transfer documentation, and board-controlled reserve account management.
• Financial management: Accrual-based accounting, audit coordination, compliant budget preparation and disclosure.
• Rules and enforcement: Compliant fine schedule drafting, double-notice rule procedures, and consistent enforcement policies.
• Owner communications: Records disclosures, resale certificates, and disclosure documents handled correctly and on time.
• Governing document guidance: Assessing whether a restatement is needed and supporting the board through the process.

We stay current with every change to RCW 64.90, including SB5796, SB5129, and whatever the legislature passes next. When WUCIOA changes, our clients find out immediately and understand exactly what it means for their operations.

Frequently Asked Questions About WUCIOA (RCW 64.90)

Q: When does WUCIOA apply to my HOA or condo?

WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) already applies to all condominiums created on or after July 1, 2018, and open meeting requirements (RCW 64.90.445) now apply to all Washington community associations as of January 1, 2026. Full WUCIOA compliance for all pre-existing residential associations is required by January 1, 2028.

Q: What is the difference between WUCIOA and RCW 64.38?

RCW 64.38, the older Homeowners’ Associations Act, is a shorter, less prescriptive statute that governed HOAs formed before WUCIOA. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) is significantly more detailed, covering elections, reserve studies, open meetings, financial reporting, enforcement procedures, and more, and will supersede RCW 64.38 for all residential HOAs by 2028.

Q: Do we need to restate our governing documents before 2028?

Most pre-existing communities should strongly consider a restatement. While WUCIOA will automatically override conflicting provisions in your existing documents, a restatement produces a single, clean, legally consistent set of governing documents. This eliminates ambiguity, reduces board liability, and makes governance far more straightforward for current and future board members.

Q: Can our board vote by email under WUCIOA?

No. As of January 1, 2026, board meetings must be open and conducted in a manner that allows owner observation. Email voting on board business outside of a properly noticed meeting is not compliant with WUCIOA’s open meeting requirements.

Q: Can we suspend an owner’s voting rights for non-payment of assessments?

No. WUCIOA explicitly prohibits the suspension of voting rights under any circumstances. Associations may suspend other privileges (access to recreational facilities, for example) under specific conditions, but voting rights are protected.

Q: What happens if our association is not WUCIOA-compliant by 2028?

Non-compliant provisions in your governing documents become legally unenforceable once WUCIOA applies to your community. Additionally, board members who knowingly act contrary to WUCIOA requirements can face personal liability. Working with an experienced Washington State community association management company helps ensure your board stays protected.

Ready to Get Your Community WUCIOA-Ready?

WUCIOA represents the most sweeping transformation of community association law in Washington State’s history. Whether you are a new board member trying to understand your obligations or a seasoned director preparing for the 2028 deadline, the time to act is now.

AmLo Management serves HOA and condominium communities across Washington State with professional management and deep expertise in WUCIOA compliance. Contact us today to discuss how we can help your community meet its legal obligations, protect its board members from liability, and serve homeowners well.

Contact AmLo Management today to learn how we can keep your community on track and compliant with WUCIOA.​

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Disclaimer: This blog post is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Community associations should consult with qualified legal counsel regarding their specific circumstances and compliance obligations under WUCIOA (RCW 64.90). Information reflects the law as understood in early 2026; subsequent legislative changes may affect accuracy.

Loren Kosloske

CMCA · AMS · Founder, AmLo Management

Loren manages HOA and COA communities across Washington and California. He holds CMCA and AMS certifications, serves on the Duvall City Council and Planning Commission, and is a former HOA Board President. He writes practical guidance for board members navigating the real challenges of community management.