Washington Condo Board Roles & Responsibilities
What each board position actually does, how many people you need, and how to keep a volunteer board functioning as members rotate out year after year — including where board composition is actually set by state law versus your own bylaws.
Washington at a Glance
Most HOA boards have three to five members, elected by the membership for terms set in the bylaws — often one to two years, frequently staggered so the entire board doesn't turn over at once. Your specific bylaws define much of the exact structure, but in some states, part of that structure — minimum board size, owner-eligibility, or officer requirements — is actually set by statute, not left to the association to decide.
⚠ Common mistake: Assuming your bylaws alone decide how big the board is. In Washington, the minimum board size is set by a law written specifically for condominium associations.
Dillo ExplainsLet me put that in plain words…
Washington has three condo laws, and which one applies depends on when your condo was created: before July 1990, from 1990 to mid-2018, or from July 2018 on.
President
Runs board meetings, is usually the primary point of contact with homeowners and outside parties (attorneys, vendors, the county), and typically has authority to sign on the association's behalf for routine matters. The president does not unilaterally make board decisions — actions still require a board vote — but does set the agenda and keep meetings moving.
Secretary
Keeps official records: meeting minutes, the membership roll, and official correspondence. In a self-managed HOA, the secretary is often the person who ends up being the institutional memory of the association — the one who can answer "wait, when did we actually vote on that?" This role matters more than it sounds like it should, because undocumented decisions are one of the most common sources of later disputes.
Treasurer
Handles dues collection, financial reporting, and the annual budget process. Many associations require some form of annual budget, and increasingly a reserve study projecting future major expenses. The treasurer role is also the one most commonly outsourced even in an otherwise self-managed association — hiring an accountant or bookkeeper for the mechanics while the treasurer sets policy and reviews the numbers is common and often worth the cost.
Washington — Officer RequirementsHOA/condo statute
Under RCW 64.90, the board elects the officers unless the declaration or organizational documents let the owners elect them.
Minimum board size and who can serve
Whether your association has a statutory floor on board size, and whether some or all of the directors must be owners, depends on your state. Where a rule exists, it usually comes from one of two places: a law written specifically for homeowners or condominium associations, or general nonprofit corporation law, which applies only because the association is incorporated as a nonprofit. The badge on each rule below shows which one applies in Washington.
Washington — Minimum Board SizeHOA/condo statute
Under both RCW 64.90 and the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), once the developer's control ends, the owners must elect a board of at least 3 members. Under RCW 64.34, the number of directors need not exceed the number of units.
Washington — Owner/Member RequirementHOA/condo statute
Under both RCW 64.90 and the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), at least a majority of the board must be unit owners.
Washington — Other Eligibility Rules
Under RCW 64.90, a board member or officer who qualified only through a connection to an entity that owns a unit is disqualified if that connection ends. Under the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), the board may not set its own members' qualifications or terms of office.
The Dillo-DownLet me put that in plain words…
If you're on the board because you represent a company or trust that owns a unit, you lose the seat if you leave that company or trust.
Term limits
Some states cap how long a single director term can run. A cap on one term is different from a limit on how many terms in a row someone can serve: a term cap alone doesn't stop a director from being re-elected. That takes a separate consecutive-term limit. Check both rows in the reference below for Washington.
Washington — Term LimitsBylaws/documents
No statutory maximum under RCW 64.90; board members serve until their successors take office.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure
If a board member stands to personally benefit from a contract or decision the board is voting on, several states require a specific disclosure process before that vote can happen — not just a general "act in good faith" expectation. Some states wrote this rule directly into their HOA or condominium statute; others expressly import the state's general nonprofit corporation conflict-of-interest rules instead of creating a separate one.
Washington — Conflict-of-Interest RuleHOA/condo statute
Under RCW 64.90, officers and board members are subject to the conflict-of-interest rules governing directors and officers. If the association is a nonprofit corporation, a transaction in which a director has an interest can be approved in good faith by a majority of the disinterested directors. Under the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), board members and officers appointed by the developer owe the care of fiduciaries of the unit owners, and those elected by the owners owe ordinary and reasonable care; this also applies to condominiums created before July 1, 1990.
Dillo's TakeIn everyday terms…
Board members follow the same conflict-of-interest rules as corporate directors, and developer appointees owe owners a fiduciary's level of care.
⚠ Common mistake: Treating a conflict of interest casually because "everyone already knows" a board member has a stake in a vendor contract. In states with a statutory disclosure requirement, informal awareness isn't the same as a documented disclosure — skipping the formal step can make the contract itself challengeable later, regardless of whether the board's decision was actually reasonable.
Additional roles on larger boards
Associations with five or more board members sometimes add a vice president (covers for the president, sometimes chairs a specific committee like ARC) and an at-large member with no fixed portfolio, available to take on whatever the board needs — chairing a violations committee, leading a specific project, or simply providing another vote and perspective.
Can one person hold two roles?
It depends mostly on your bylaws, and in some states on the statute itself. Very small associations sometimes explicitly allow combining roles out of necessity. Others prohibit certain combinations — most commonly, keeping treasurer separate from any role with check-signing authority, as a basic financial control. Check your specific bylaws, and the state reference below, before assuming either way.
The real challenge: surviving turnover
The hardest part of running a self-managed board usually isn't any single role — it's what happens when the person who understood how everything worked rotates off the board and nobody wrote it down. A self-managed HOA has no institutional memory beyond what the current board happens to remember or document. The associations that handle this well share one habit: they write things down as they happen, not from memory afterward — meeting minutes the same day, a violation logged when it's observed, a decision recorded the moment it's made.
State-by-State Quick Reference
Select your state below for its actual board-composition rules. Every field is tagged with where the rule comes from — a statute written for HOAs or condominiums, general nonprofit corporate law that happens to apply, or your own governing documents — because those aren't the same thing, even when the resulting number looks identical.
| Scope / governing statute | Washington has three condominium laws. The Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW 64.90) covers condominiums created on or after July 1, 2018 and those that opt in, and requires the association to be a corporation or LLC; the older laws do not apply to communities created on or after that date. The Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) covers condominiums created from July 1, 1990 until then, and its board-authority and care-standard rules also apply to older condominiums; its board section is marked effective until January 1, 2028. The oldest condominiums were created under the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32). If the association is a nonprofit corporation, RCW 24.03A also applies. |
| Minimum board size HOA/condo statute | Under both RCW 64.90 and the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), once the developer's control ends, the owners must elect a board of at least 3 members. Under RCW 64.34, the number of directors need not exceed the number of units. |
| Owner/member requirement HOA/condo statute | Under both RCW 64.90 and the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), at least a majority of the board must be unit owners. |
| Other eligibility rules | Under RCW 64.90, a board member or officer who qualified only through a connection to an entity that owns a unit is disqualified if that connection ends. Under the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), the board may not set its own members' qualifications or terms of office. |
| Officer requirements HOA/condo statute | Under RCW 64.90, the board elects the officers unless the declaration or organizational documents let the owners elect them. |
| Max individual term Bylaws/documents | No statutory maximum under RCW 64.90; board members serve until their successors take office. |
| Consecutive-term limit | Neither RCW 64.90 nor the Condominium Act's board section limits consecutive terms. |
| Conflict-of-interest disclosure HOA/condo statute | Under RCW 64.90, officers and board members are subject to the conflict-of-interest rules governing directors and officers. If the association is a nonprofit corporation, a transaction in which a director has an interest can be approved in good faith by a majority of the disinterested directors. Under the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), board members and officers appointed by the developer owe the care of fiduciaries of the unit owners, and those elected by the owners owe ordinary and reasonable care; this also applies to condominiums created before July 1, 1990. |
| Citation | RCW 64.34.010; 64.90.400; 64.90.410; 24.03A.615; 64.34.308; 64.90.075 |
Read the law
What Washington's law actually says about board composition, in its own words, with links to the full text where available:
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RCW 64.34.010
- Governing Statute / Scope: “This chapter applies to all condominiums created within this state after July 1, 1990.”
- Governing Statute / Scope: “RCW 64.34.308(1) (board of directors and officers) ... apply to all condominiums created in this state before July 1, 1990”
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RCW 64.90.400
- Governing Statute / Scope: “The association must have a board and be organized as a for-profit or nonprofit corporation or limited liability company.”
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RCW 64.90.075(1)
- Governing Statute / Scope: “Chapters 58.19, 64.32, 64.34, and 64.38 RCW do not apply to common interest communities created on or after July 1, 2018.”
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RCW 64.90.410
- Minimum Board Size: “the board must be comprised of at least three members, at least a majority of whom must be unit owners.”
- Owner/Member Eligibility Requirement: “at least a majority of whom must be unit owners.”
- Additional Eligibility Rules: “Any officer or board member ... is disqualified from continuing in office if he or she ceases to have any such affiliation”
- Required Officer Positions: “Unless the declaration or organizational documents provide for the election of officers by the unit owners, the board must elect the officers.”
- Maximum Individual Term: “must serve until their successor takes office.”
- Conflict of Interest Rule: “are subject to the conflict of interest rules governing directors and officers”
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RCW 64.34.308(7)
- Minimum Board Size: “the unit owners shall elect a board of directors of at least three members, at least a majority of whom must be unit owners. The number of directors need not exceed the number of units then in the condominium.”
- Owner/Member Eligibility Requirement: “at least a majority of whom must be unit owners.”
- Additional Eligibility Rules: “or to elect members of the board of directors or determine the qualifications, powers, and duties, or terms of office of members of the board of directors”
- Consecutive Term Limit: “Such members of the board of directors and officers shall take office upon election.”
- Conflict of Interest Rule: “If appointed by the declarant, the care required of fiduciaries of the unit owners; or (b) if elected by the unit owners, ordinary and reasonable care.”
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RCW 24.03A.615
- Conflict of Interest Rule: “the board in good faith authorizes the contract or transaction by the affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested directors even though the disinterested directors are less than a quorum”
- RCW 64.34.308
Making the transition easier
Formtabulous keeps your association's records — elections, violations, ARC requests, homeowner communication — in one place that survives board turnover, instead of scattered across whoever's personal inbox happened to handle it.
See how it works →Washington — Common Questions
This article is general information about how HOA boards typically operate and is not legal advice. The specific roles, terms, and requirements for your association are set by your bylaws and, in some states, statute — consult the governing documents and, where needed, a qualified attorney for your specific situation.