Make Sure Your HOA Rules In Washington State Are Enforceable!

In Washington State, condominium and homeowners’ associations have governing documents that consist of a multitude of documents, most importantly, the CC&Rs, Bylaws, and rules and regulations. Community associations often adopt rules and regulations to address the regularly occurring and ongoing issues that owners face as part of living in a community. Unlike CC&Rs, the association’s board of directors (typically) can adopt the rules and regulations without the need of a vote of the entire association, and the rules and regulations are rarely recorded. There are exceptions, however, where some associations have essentially combined their rules and regulations into their recorded CC&Rs, which can create a number of challenges.

Nonetheless, Rules and regulations must be consistent with the CC&Rs. The board must also adopt reasonable rules and regulations, and indeed, state, and federal legislatures have created statutory parameters over certain rules and regulations including, but not limited to:

• Prohibiting rules that restrict flag display or political yard signs, though an association may place reasonable provisions regarding placement and display;

• Permitting only reasonable restrictions pertaining to satellite dishes under one meter in size and TV antenna;

• Mandated allowance of solar energy systems and panels subject to reasonable specific criteria, such as meeting building codes, and not impacting common areas;

• Promoting a public policy of having Electric Vehicle charging stations, subject to reasonable installation requirements, such as architectural standards and requiring licensed electrical contractors for installation; and

• Permitting adult family homes and day cares.

The above only constitute a subset of such statutory requirements that a community association’s CC&Rs and rules and regulations cannot override.

Once an association has adopted rules and regulations, often through board action (though be careful, some association governing documents make it more difficult to adopt rules and regulations), the board must disseminate those rules to the owners. After this, the association can enforce reasonable rules. Most importantly, since enforcement of rules and regulations often takes the form of levying fines for failure to comply, the association will need to adopt and publish a fine schedule for all the owners in advance of assessing any finds.

An association may only levy reasonable fines. Excessive fines can be invalid, though there is no bright line for reasonableness. Moreover, the association must enforce the rules and regulations consistently and must afford due process to the homeowners by providing: (1) notice of the fine with an explanation of the applicable violation (including the cited rule); and (2) an opportunity to correct the issue and be heard regarding the violation. Homeowners have the right to seek redress in the courts in the event they feel the association has violated their rights. Many associations have smartly established detailed mechanisms for this process and even establish separate committees to hear the allegations and responses. The hearings must be fair, and the association must provide evidence of the violation.

A well-crafted set of rules of regulations can help an association to establish more harmonious community living. On the other hand, poorly drafted rules are a landmine for conflict and litigation. The lawyers at Beresford Booth have significant experience representing homeowners’ associations and individual owners, including with the preparation, enforcement, and defense of governing documents including CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules and regulations. If you have any questions or need assistance with any community association issues, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@beresfordlaw.com or by phone (425) 776-4100.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.