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 WUCIO… Read More
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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… Read More
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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,… Read More
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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… Read More
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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 pr… Read More
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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 compo… Read More
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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… Read More
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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 wron… Read More
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Introduction to Governing Documents for Community Associations

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 communit… Read More
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