WUCOIA to Govern Most Common Interest Communities Starting on January 1, 2028
In 2018, Washington State passed RCW 64.90, known as the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA), which took effect on July 1st of that same year. WUCOIA applies to all common interest communities, with a few exceptions, created after July 1, 2018. WUCOIA also gives the option to older community associations to opt into its provisions, as it has some significant differences from previously existing statutes that some associations may find useful. For some additional information on WUCOIA and some of the (non-exhaustive) significant changes, you can read my colleague, William Kessler’s blog post here.
Despite this legislation, the Homeowners’ Association Act (RCW 64.38) continued to govern most homeowners’ associations formed prior to July 1, 2018, while the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32) governed condominiums formed prior to July 1, 1990, and the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) governed condominiums formed on or after July 1, 1990, but prior to July 1, 2018. In other words, as it currently stands, one of four different statutes may govern a community association depending on the type of residential community at issue, and the time of the formation of that community, and indeed, most community associations are still not governed by WUCOIA.
To add additional confusion, specific WUCOIA provisions retroactively apply to all community associations, even if those community associations are otherwise governed by a different statutory scheme. For example, some of the WUCOIA provisions on the powers and duties of the association, budgets and assessments, and reserve studies, apply retroactively and often even override CC&Rs to the contrary, even if the condominium association or homeowners’ association at issue was formed long before 2018. Having said that, most of WUCOIA has no bearing on any previously existing community associations, unless a given association expressly opts into the entire statutory scheme through its CC&Rs.
This is about to completely change. Soon, the legislation governing community associations will streamline dramatically, with 64.32, RCW 64.34, or RCW 64.38 all being effectively repealed. On January 1, 2028, WUCOIA will apply to all homeowners’ associations and condominiums, regardless of their date of formation, and again with just a few often irrelevant exceptions. The exceptions are generally enumerated in RCW 64.90.360, RCW 64.90.365, and RCW 64.90.375, and include: (1) non-residential communities; (2) some mixed-use communities; and (3) communities with more than 12 units, and whose declarations provide that annual assessments do not exceed $300. These types of communities, of course, collectively represent only a small minority of common interest communities, which means that WUCOIA will soon supplant the other community association statutes and will almost exclusively govern residential common interest communities in Washington State.
Given the breadth and depth of WUCOIA, this blog post will not attempt to enumerate and explain the numerous changes that the widespread adoption of this statute will bring to community associations. Among other things, WUCOIA impacts the powers of an association, the process of adopting a budget, the securing of reserve studies, the way an association must respond to records requests, and the power to levy assessments and enforce payment of the same. Fundamentally, WUCOIA provides greater detail and guidance to community associations when compared to prior statutes, and its differences may be a benefit to most, but sometimes a drawback to some, depending on the circumstances.
If you have questions about your CC&Rs, WUCOIA, or any other matters that have to do with community association issues and laws, please feel free to reach out to the lawyers at Beresford Booth for assistance at info@beresfordlaw.com or by phone at (425) 776-4100. We remain prepared and available to assist you.
