In 2018, the Legislature adopted the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA).  WUCIOA applies to all residential common interest communities (CICs) created after the effective date of WUCIOA.  A CIC includes condominiums, cooperatives, leasehold CICs, miscellaneous communities, and plat communities.

CICs created prior to the effective date of WUCIOA may choose to opt-in to WUCIOA.  However, two WUCIOA sections, one governing adoption of budgets and assessments and another providing a process for an existing CIC to elect the WUCIOA, apply to all CICs, whether created before or after the effective date, and regardless of election.  Otherwise, CICs created before July 1, 2018, remain subject to the following acts:

• the Homeowners' Association Act, which provides a framework for the formation and legal administration of homeowners' associations;
• the Horizontal Property Regimes Act, which applies to residential condominiums created on or before July 1, 1990; and
• the Washington Condominium Act, which applies to condominiums created after July 1, 1990.

WUCIOA contains more detail addressing processes than any of the preceding acts.  Those acts left much of the workings of a CIC to the governing documents.  WUCIOA contains provisions addressing electronic transmissions, unit owner voting, and board and owner meetings.

Electronic Transmissions.  Electronic transmission is defined as any electronic communication not directly involving the physical transfer of a record in a tangible medium, and may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by the sender and the recipient of the communication, and may be directly reproduced in a tangible medium by a sender and recipient.  It also defines tangible medium as a writing, copy of a writing, facsimile, or a physical reproduction, each on paper or on other tangible medium.

WUCIOA addresses how notices are to be provided to the association, board members, and unit owners.  Notices may be provided by electronic transmission so long as the recipient has consented to receive notice in that manner.  A unit owner or board member may revoke consent to receive notices by electronic transmission at any time.

Meetings. Unless the organizational documents provide otherwise, the board may meet by participation of all board members by telephonic, video, or other conferencing process if unit owners are informed as to how they may participate.  Additionally, the organizational documents may allow for meetings of unit owners to be conducted by telephonic, video, or other conferencing process.

Unit Owner Voting.  Unit owners may vote at a meeting in person, by absentee ballot, or by proxy.  The act addresses acceptable methods of voting at a meeting, verification of absentee ballots, and the process for exercising proxy votes.  If the declaration or organizational documents specifically address the method of voting, the declaration or organizational documents will control.

The bill as referred to committee not considered.

PRO:  Some homeowners' associations have taken the position that people may no longer vote by proxy.  The ability to do that is not clear under the old Homeowners' Association Act.  This would clarify that ability by aligning the act with WUCIOA.  The pandemic has necessitated the need to move to online platforms.  The silver lining has been an increase in participation of owners.  These will be positive long term changes for people with disabilities, those that need to commute long distances, or those that have other barriers to participation.

OTHER:  Increased communication between owners and board members is a good thing.  Lease holders should not be able to participate.