Washington HOA Solutions

HOA Management Software for Washington Communities

WUCIOA raised the bar on reserve studies, budgets and disclosure. HOAware is how a volunteer board clears it without hiring staff.

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Why Washington Boards Outgrow Spreadsheets First

Washington asks more of a community association board than most states, and it asks it in writing. The Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act brought reserve studies, budget ratification, records access and resale certificates into one chapter with real deadlines attached, and the legislature has kept extending its reach to older communities. A board in Bellevue or Spokane that was running on a shared spreadsheet and an annual potluck usually discovers the gap at the first resale certificate request. HOAware closes it.

7.9M
Washington Residents
4.0M
Seattle Metro Population
39
Counties Statewide
2018
WUCIOA Effective Year

Washington HOA & Condo Laws

Washington has been consolidating four decades of community association law into a single chapter, and which version applies to you depends on when your community was created and whether it has opted in. This is general information for boards and managers, not legal advice; check the current text of RCW 64.90 with counsel before relying on it.

The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW 64.90), effective July 1, 2018, governs common interest communities created on or after that date. Communities created earlier remain governed by the statute they were formed under, typically the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32), the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) or the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38), with specified sections of RCW 64.90 extended to them. The legislature has repeatedly widened that list, so an older association should not assume it sits outside the chapter.

A community created before July 1, 2018 can bring itself fully under the chapter by amending its declaration. The board may propose the amendment on its own initiative, and must propose one if owners holding 20 percent or more of the association's votes request it in writing. Owners get written notice of the proposed amendment and at least 30 days' notice of a meeting to discuss it, then a ballot. It passes if owners holding at least 30 percent of the association's votes participate and at least 67 percent of the votes cast are in favor, notwithstanding any contrary amendment procedure in the governing documents.

RCW 64.90.545 through 64.90.560 set out the reserve study itself, what it must contain, how an owner can demand one, and the disclosure and liability that follow. Reserve accounts are addressed separately at RCW 64.90.535 and 64.90.540, covering where the money is held and how it may be withdrawn. Narrow exemptions exist, including for communities whose reserve costs are nominal as defined in the chapter. In practice this is the provision that turns reserve planning from a good habit into a documented, dated, recurring duty.

Budgets and assessments, including special assessments, are governed by RCW 64.90.525, with financial statements and the handling of association funds at RCW 64.90.530. The budget process is a ratification process rather than a simple board vote, which means the distribution, the dates and the record of what owners received all matter.

Meetings are governed by RCW 64.90.445 and association records by RCW 64.90.495. Owners have defined inspection rights with defined limits, and the association has defined response obligations. As elsewhere, the common failure is not refusal but a board that cannot retrieve a four-year-old minute set inside the response window.

RCW 64.90.640 requires a resale certificate on the sale of a unit, assembled from the association's own financial, insurance, assessment and litigation records. Because a closing waits on it, the certificate is where disorganized record-keeping becomes an immediate, visible problem for a seller, their agent and the board.

General information for board members and managers, current as of publication and not legal advice. Statutes are amended often; confirm anything you intend to rely on with your association's attorney.

Features for Washington HOAs

Tools designed to help Washington communities thrive.

Reserve Study on a Clock

Record the study, its components and its date once, and HOAware tracks when the next one is due and what has to go to owners in the meantime.

Resale Certificates Without the Scramble

Assessments, insurance, budget and litigation status live in one place, so a certificate request is a lookup rather than three days of email.

Ratification You Can Prove

Budget distributions, notice dates and owner responses are recorded as they happen, which is what a challenged ratification turns on.

Serving Communities Across Washington

HOAware serves HOAs statewide. Explore local resources for communities in these Washington cities.

Seattle, WA

Bring Your Washington Association Up to WUCIOA Standard

See how HOAware handles reserve studies, budget ratification and resale certificates for Washington boards.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HOA management in Washington.

Partly, and the answer has been moving. RCW 64.90 governs communities created on or after July 1, 2018, but specified sections apply to older communities as well, and the legislature has repeatedly expanded that list. A pre-2018 community can also opt in fully under RCW 64.90.370. Check the current text of the applicability and exception sections rather than relying on the original 2018 position.

By amending the declaration under RCW 64.90.370. The board can propose it, and must propose it if owners holding 20 percent or more of the votes ask in writing. Owners receive the proposed amendment and at least 30 days' notice of a meeting, then a ballot. It passes if at least 30 percent of the association's votes participate and at least 67 percent of votes cast are in favor.

No. A reserve study is prepared by a qualified provider who inspects the components. What HOAware does is hold the result, surface it to owners as required, track the recurring due date, and keep the disclosure trail that RCW 64.90.545 through 64.90.560 expect, so the study you paid for is not sitting in one board member's inbox.

Yes, and it is one of the first things Washington boards notice. Because assessment ledgers, insurance details, the current budget and any litigation status are already in the system, the information a certificate needs can be pulled together in one pass instead of reconstructed from several people's records.

Self-managed associations are exactly where the documentation burden lands hardest, because there is no management company absorbing it. Small Washington associations use HOAware to meet the notice, records and reserve obligations with the board they already have, rather than adding a professional manager to satisfy paperwork.

Bring Your Washington Association Up to WUCIOA Standard

See how HOAware handles reserve studies, budget ratification and resale certificates for Washington boards.

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