Management Trust explains how new Washington HOA rules change collections, meeting rules in Lacey

Management Trust presenters told a City of Lacey neighborhood meeting that recent Washington law changes reshape how homeowners associations collect assessments and make board decisions.

"Assessments are always due on the first of the month," said Navi Holmes, executive community association manager with Management Trust, explaining that a homeowner is technically delinquent once the due date passes unless the association's governing documents grant a grace period. Holmes said the law requires associations to send a notice that lists the amount owed, account details, next steps and contact information, and that the notice must be mailed; if the owner has given an email address, the notice must also be emailed.

Teresa Hammer, a project manager with Management Trust, and Holmes walked attendees through a statutory sequence they said associations now must follow before enforcement: obligation creation, lien attachment, notice, an opportunity to cure, dispute resolution/mediation and then enforcement. Holmes told the meeting that, after an initial delinquency notice, associations must wait at least 15 days before pursuing additional collection actions and that homeowners may request a meet-and-confer—but that formal meet-and-confer requests must come through an attorney or a housing counselor.

The presenters highlighted several operational limits and caps spelled out in the new rules as described at the meeting: administrative mailing costs must be demonstrable, a small administrative fee cannot exceed $10 during a specified waiting period, and late fees are bounded (Holmes said associations may use either a fee up to $50 or about 5% of the unpaid amount as a statutory cap). They also urged boards to adopt clear, written collection policies and to budget for higher up-front legal and administrative costs.

"You cannot meet in an email as a board of directors and make decisions," said Teresa Hammer, summarizing a major change attendees heard: board decisions generally must be made at duly noticed meetings. Presenters said the new notice rules discussed at the meeting require ordinary meeting notices to be mailed 14 days in advance, with a seven-day window for emergency meetings, unless owners have consented to electronic notices.

Panelists and attendees discussed practical workarounds for time-sensitive matters, such as scheduling standing short meetings (for example, monthly ARC review meetings) or delegating preapproved authority to specific board members—but they said any delegation must be formally recorded in meeting minutes to be valid under the new rules. The presenters acknowledged confusion about which actions, if any, remain "ministerial" and therefore potentially subject to unanimous-consent shortcuts; they described that definition as vague and said attorneys have offered different interpretations.

Attendees asked for templates and resources; presenters said they would distribute the slides and sample language after the meeting and pointed to Thurston County dispute-resolution services and statewide housing counseling resources mentioned during the Q&A. Jenny Bowersfeld of Lacey's communications department told participants the meeting slides and links would be sent to attendees.

The meeting included substantial audience Q&A but no formal motions or votes. Presenters closed by urging consistent enforcement, timely communication with homeowners and review of governing documents to ensure compliance under the new state requirements.