Washington & Oregon Construction Defect Lawyer & Attorney : Barker Martin Law Firm : HOA's, Condos : Seattle, Portland

Friday, March 7 was the last day to consider opposite house bills in the legislature, so any bills that have been voted on by both houses will not pass this year.  Of the numerous condo and HOA-related legislation introduced this year, only two bills passed both houses and now await signature by the governor.  The governor has five days, excluding Sundays, to take action on bills passed by the Legislature unless adjournment occurs within those five days, in which case the governor has 20 days to sign or veto (excluding Sundays.)

HB 2014, relating to protection of tenants of conversion condos, passed both houses and awaits signature.  HB 2014 was revived from last session, but amended with a substitute bill in the Senate on January 18.  The bill passed both the senate and the house in this form. 

The second bill to pass this year is SB 6215 relating to reserve accounts for condominium associations.  After passing the senate, SB 6215 was amended by the House Committee on Judiciary to include a few clarifying terms and to require disclosure of the lack of reserve study if none has been undertaken.

The bill creating a cause of action for negligent construction, SSB 6385, amended in the Senate committee to exclude condominiums, passed the senate in that form and was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on February 28.  On February 29, it was passed to Rules for a second reading, but never made it to the House floor. 

ESB 6745, which was the bill recommended by the HOA task force, was substantially amended on the floor of the senate, including amendments to make its application retroactive, to add numerous clarifying definitions, to remove the “open meetings” provision for board meetings, and to reduce the quorum requirement for association meetings.  Another amendment disallowed the use of liens against a person’s homes for failure to pay fines as opposed to assessments.  The engrossed bill passed the Senate unanimously.  It was then referred to the House Judiciary Committee on February 20, but inexplicably never made it out of committee.

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There are very few volunteer homeowner association boards that do not communicate via electronic mail. Although most board members know not to take any board action via email, the line between casual communication and official board action easily can be blurred. As general counsel for homeowner associations, I routinely advise boards that to the highest degree possible, they should reduce email communication. However, practically speaking, I understand board members are like just about every other member of American business culture who rely upon email as a valued communication tool and timesaving mechanism. The reason email between board members should be reduced or eliminated altogether is because association board action must be conducted in an official meeting and not conducted “off the cuff” outside the presence of association members.

• Notice: Homeowner association board meetings must be properly noticed and open to all association members (with limited exceptions for emergency and executive sessions) (RCW 24.03.120; ORS 65.214).  Oregon law allows for notice of meetings to be sent electronically, while Washington requires notice via U.S. Mail for condominium associations and as noted in the bylaws (including electronic notice, if prescribed) for PUD homeowner associations.
• Meetings via Consent (Oregon only): Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, action to be taken at an association board meeting may be taken without a meeting if the action is taken by all the members entitled to vote on the action. The action must be evidenced by one or more written consents describing the action taken, signed by all the members entitled to vote on the action, and delivered to the association for inclusion in the minutes or filing with the corporate records. Action taken under this Oregon Nonprofit Corporations Act section (ORS 65.211) is effective when the last member signs the consent, unless the consent specifies an earlier or later effective date.
• Alternative Meeting Methodology: Except as otherwise restricted by an Association’s articles of incorporation or bylaws, board members may participate in a meeting by conference telephone or similar communications equipment so that all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other at the same time. Participation by this method constitutes presence in person at a meeting.

It isn’t email, but if HOA board members have to conduct board action and they cannot convene together, I recommend that a conference call be conducted with provisions for association members to listen in.

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SHB 2014, providing additional protections to tenants of condominium conversions, having passed the House on January 18, has been tentatively set for public hearing before the Senate Consumer Protection and Housing Committee on February 5, 2008 at 1:30. Having worked out some of the kinks last year, this bill seems fast-tracked for enactment this year. See our prior article re this bill here.

SB 6215, regarding reserve studies and accounts, was passed out of the Senate committee on January 18 and has been in Rules since January 25. See the original article regarding this bill here. 

SB 6745, the HOA Act Committee bill was set for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection and Housing on February 1, 2008. See the original article on this bill here. 

Two new bills propose to create task forces to study condominium issues this year. SB 6875, sponsored by Senator Rodney Tom, would create a task force to study condominium governance issues and would be staffed by condominium board members, homeowners and attorneys. In contrast, SB 6724 would be staffed with developer entities and no homeowner representatives. While this bill purports to create a task force to review condominium liability in the insurance context, it is expected that unless limited, the task force may attempt to make recommendations for amendment of the condo act to reduce builder liability. 

SSB 6385, creating a cause of action for negligent construction for single family homes, was amended in committee and passed the house on February 1, 2008. It has now been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for review.

Find info on these bills and others by checking out the legislative website bill finder. Also, a good overview of the legislative process can be found on the Washington State Legislature website here.

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The HOA Committee's recommendations to amend Washington's Homeowner Association Act have been compiled into Senate Bill 6745, which was introduced today.  The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection and Housing and is currently scheduled for public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 24. 

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In 2006, the Washington legislature established a committee to study the problems facing owners in non-condo HOAs and to come up with recommendations on revisions to the Homeowners’ Associations Act. The Homeowners Act Committee was charged with reviewing the Act, the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act and considering specific problems faced by Washington HOAs such as disclosures to buyers in an HOA, alternative dispute resolution for HOA/owner disputes and methods for amending CC&Rs, among other issues. 

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At Barker Martin, P.S., education is paramount—education of our clients and continuing education of our attorneys. For over a decade, Barker Martin attorneys have presented at dozens of industry seminars, such as Community Association Institute, Oregon & Washington Community Association Manager events and Washington and Oregon Continuing Legal Education seminars. In addition, in 2006 and 2007 alone, we teamed with other service professionals to provide over fifty free educational seminars to HOA and COA board members and association managers.

This education effort has resulted in Barker Martin providing industry and legal education to several thousand board members and association managers. In order to reach a wider audience throughout Oregon, Washington and Hawaii (states where we practice), we needed to expand our effort through the Internet.   We designed this blog site as a space where HOA and COA board members, association managers, attorneys and other individuals interested in homeowner association and condominium association law and topics could find fresh tips and commentary on this fluid, ever-changing industry and area of law.

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