HOA board meetings and elections: how owners can take part

The board of directors makes most decisions in an HOA: the budget, contracts, rules, and enforcement. Owners elect the board and, in most states, have a right to attend its meetings. Taking part is the most effective way to influence your community.

How the board is chosen

The bylaws set the number of directors, their terms, and how elections work. Directors are usually owners who volunteer. Elections typically happen at the annual meeting or by mailed or electronic ballot. State laws often add requirements for notice, ballots, and vote counting, and some, like California's Davis-Stirling Act, regulate election procedures in detail. Check your bylaws and your state's statute.

Open meetings

Many states require board meetings to be open to owners, with advance notice and a chance for owners to speak, while allowing closed (executive) sessions for sensitive topics such as legal advice, personnel, delinquencies, and disciplinary hearings. The details, including how much notice and where it's posted, come from state law and the bylaws. California's § 5855, for example, lets an owner facing discipline ask that the hearing be held in executive session.

Getting the most out of a meeting

• Read the agenda and any posted materials in advance.
• Use the owner comment period. Keep comments short and specific.
• Put requests in writing before the meeting if you want an item considered. Ask the board or manager how to get something on the agenda.
• Read the minutes afterward. They're the official record, and owners can usually get them through a records request.

Running for the board

If you're frustrated with how things are run, the most direct remedy is to serve. Read the bylaws for eligibility and nomination deadlines. Before you run, read the budget, reserve study, and recent minutes, and understand that directors owe duties to the association as a whole. Many community association groups and state offices offer training for new directors.

Committees

Architectural review, landscaping, finance, and social committees are good ways to get involved without joining the board. Committees usually advise the board, though some have decision-making power under the governing documents.

Removing directors

Most bylaws and state laws allow owners to remove directors by a vote, often with a petition and special meeting. The process is technical, so follow the bylaws and statute exactly, or ask a lawyer.

When meetings get heated

Most boards are volunteers doing their best. Focus on issues rather than people, bring facts, and propose solutions. If you believe the board is breaking the law or the governing documents, document it and see resolving HOA disputes.

Reading an agenda like a pro

Most states that regulate HOA meetings require the association to post or send an agenda before regular board meetings. The agenda limits what the board may act on. In many states, the board can only take action on items listed on the agenda, with narrow exceptions for emergencies. When an item is described vaguely, for example "landscaping," ask before the meeting what decision is expected. If the board makes a major decision on something that was never put on the agenda, write down the date and the vote. That gives you grounds to ask the board to reconsider, and in some states, to challenge the action.

Watch for these items:

• Budget adoption and assessment changes. Ask for the draft budget ahead of time.
• Contracts. Ask how many bids were received and whether any director has a relationship with the vendor.
• Rule changes. Many states require notice and a comment period before a new rule takes effect.
• Executive session reports. Boards usually meet privately for litigation, personnel, member discipline, and delinquent accounts. Most states expect the general nature of what was discussed to be noted in the open-session minutes.

Minutes are the official record

The minutes, not anyone's memory, are what count later. Minutes normally record motions and votes, not the discussion. If something important was said, such as a promise to fix a drainage problem by spring, ask that it be written into the minutes or send your own follow-up email that same day summarizing it. Owners in most states have a right to inspect or copy approved minutes. Draft minutes are often available on request too.

How HOA elections usually work

The details depend on your state statute and your bylaws, but most elections follow the same pattern:

1. Call for candidates. The association announces how many seats are open and the deadline for nominations.
2. Ballots. Ballots go out with candidate statements. Many states now use secret ballots or a double-envelope system for director elections.
3. Quorum. A minimum share of owners must vote or attend for the election to count. Associations that keep failing to reach quorum often adopt rules that lower it for adjourned meetings.
4. Counting. In some states, ballots must be counted in public by a neutral inspector of elections.
5. Results are announced and recorded in the minutes.

Proxies are allowed in many associations, but they are often limited for director elections. Read the proxy form carefully. A "general proxy" can hand someone your vote on everything.

If you think an election was mishandled

Act quickly, because the deadlines to challenge an election are often short. Ask in writing for the election materials you are entitled to see, such as ballots, envelopes, sign-in sheets, and the candidate list. Many states require associations to keep these for a set period. Write down specific problems: owners who never got ballots, a nomination deadline that kept changing, a count done in private. Then use your association's internal dispute process before you think about a state agency or court. A calm, well-documented request gets results more often than a heated owners' meeting does.

Being an effective director

New directors are often surprised by how much of the job is fiduciary duty: acting in good faith, with reasonable care, and in the best interest of the association as a whole. In practice, that means reading the documents, following the agenda and notice rules, getting more than one bid, declaring conflicts of interest, and relying on qualified professionals for reserves, legal questions, and engineering. Some states require new directors to complete education or certify that they have read the governing documents. Even where it isn't required, an hour with your state's homeowner resources is time well spent.

A concrete example: Florida's notice rules

Florida's HOA statute (720.303) shows the kind of detail these laws can include:

• Board meetings must be open to members, except meetings with the association's attorney about proposed or pending litigation, and meetings about personnel matters.
• Notice of a board meeting must be posted in a conspicuous place in the community at least 48 hours ahead, except in an emergency. If notice isn't posted, it must be mailed or delivered to each member at least 7 days before the meeting.
• The board can't levy an assessment at a meeting unless the notice says assessments will be considered and describes what they are.
• When special assessments or changes to rules about how parcels can be used are on the agenda, written notice must go out, and be posted, at least 14 days before the meeting.
• Directors can't vote by email. They also can't vote by proxy or secret ballot at board meetings, except that a secret ballot may be used to elect officers.

If your association is in another state, look for similar provisions in your state's statute and bylaws.