For currently existing condos, co-ops, and homeowner associations, there is a process to adopt the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (“WUCIOA”). First the owners must vote to amend the declaration and choose to be governed by WUCIOA. Second, the board must vote to amend the declaration to remove provisions which directly conflict with WUCIOA….
Tag Archive: declaration
WUCIOA – What is it, and why should my community association care? Topic 4 – Open Board Meetings
WUCIOA requires all board and board committee meetings to be open to the members (But this is not legal advice for your specific association) The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) is a new law that takes effect on July 1, 2018. Most of it only applies to HOAs and Condos created after that…
WUCIOA – What is it, and why should my community association care? Topic 3 – Restrictions on Use
WUCIOA makes restrictions on use easier to adopted, like rental caps and smoking bans (But this is not legal advice for your specific association) The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) is a new law that takes effect on July 1, 2018. Most of it only applies to HOAs and Condos created after that…
Smoking: Can an Association Ban Smoking? Part Two
Methods of enacting a no-smoking rule There are three ways we have seen clients enact (or attempt to enact) a no-smoking rule: 1) Amendment to Declaration/CC&Rs: This method is likely the most difficult and costly way to enact a smoking ban, but it will be given the most deference by courts and be relatively strong…
What’s in Your Governing Documents?
Washington law contains numerous provisions containing restrictions and requirements on COAs and HOAs. In many cases, however, the law contains a minimum requirement only and defers to the more specific provisions of the governing documents. For a primer on governing documents and their interplay with the law, please read our Governing Documents post. The law…
Reserves for Mixed Use Building & Limited Common Elements
Often condo declarations state that some building components are to be paid for exclusively by one group of owners. This may include all residential owners, or all owners within a single building. This means that reserve contributions for those components must come only from the units to which the cost is allocated. We frequently see reserve…
Who Pays for Limited Common Element Maintenance?
Today I was asked again about whether the waterproof coating on a limited common element deck was the unit owner’s responsibility or the condo association’s responsibility. The answer depends on your specific condominium declaration, and depends on several factors, most of which owners and managers are confused about. First is the boundary of the limited…
What’s in a Name?
This week I was asked to review a construction contract valued at about $50,000. In addition to problems because the contract was written by the contractor with very favorable terms for the contractor, we discovered that the association used the wrong corporate name. It appears that the association has been using the wrong legal name…
Governing Documents
In the hierarchy of what laws and rules govern community associations, federal and state laws are the top dogs. However, every association, whether it’s a condo or an HOA, also has governing documents that supplement the laws about how its community is run. Following is a list of possible governing documents, in order of their…
Tag Archive: declaration
How does a Community Adopt WUCIOA?
For currently existing condos, co-ops, and homeowner associations, there is a process to adopt the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (“WUCIOA”). First the owners must vote to amend the declaration and choose to be governed by WUCIOA. Second, the board must vote to amend the declaration to remove provisions which directly conflict with WUCIOA….
WUCIOA – What is it, and why should my community association care? Topic 4 – Open Board Meetings
WUCIOA requires all board and board committee meetings to be open to the members (But this is not legal advice for your specific association) The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) is a new law that takes effect on July 1, 2018. Most of it only applies to HOAs and Condos created after that…
WUCIOA – What is it, and why should my community association care? Topic 3 – Restrictions on Use
WUCIOA makes restrictions on use easier to adopted, like rental caps and smoking bans (But this is not legal advice for your specific association) The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) is a new law that takes effect on July 1, 2018. Most of it only applies to HOAs and Condos created after that…
Smoking: Can an Association Ban Smoking? Part Two
Methods of enacting a no-smoking rule There are three ways we have seen clients enact (or attempt to enact) a no-smoking rule: 1) Amendment to Declaration/CC&Rs: This method is likely the most difficult and costly way to enact a smoking ban, but it will be given the most deference by courts and be relatively strong…
What’s in Your Governing Documents?
Washington law contains numerous provisions containing restrictions and requirements on COAs and HOAs. In many cases, however, the law contains a minimum requirement only and defers to the more specific provisions of the governing documents. For a primer on governing documents and their interplay with the law, please read our Governing Documents post. The law…
Reserves for Mixed Use Building & Limited Common Elements
Often condo declarations state that some building components are to be paid for exclusively by one group of owners. This may include all residential owners, or all owners within a single building. This means that reserve contributions for those components must come only from the units to which the cost is allocated. We frequently see reserve…
Who Pays for Limited Common Element Maintenance?
Today I was asked again about whether the waterproof coating on a limited common element deck was the unit owner’s responsibility or the condo association’s responsibility. The answer depends on your specific condominium declaration, and depends on several factors, most of which owners and managers are confused about. First is the boundary of the limited…
What’s in a Name?
This week I was asked to review a construction contract valued at about $50,000. In addition to problems because the contract was written by the contractor with very favorable terms for the contractor, we discovered that the association used the wrong corporate name. It appears that the association has been using the wrong legal name…
Governing Documents
In the hierarchy of what laws and rules govern community associations, federal and state laws are the top dogs. However, every association, whether it’s a condo or an HOA, also has governing documents that supplement the laws about how its community is run. Following is a list of possible governing documents, in order of their…