HB 1501 and How Community Associations Should Be Prepared to Respond to Written Inquiries

As the result of a recent change in law, all community associations in Washington must now comply with new requirements for responding to inquiries from unit owners. 

House Bill 1501, which went into effect on June 11, 2026, added a new section detailing these requirements to each of the four statutory regimes governing common interest communities: the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32), the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), the HOA Act (RCW 64.38), and the Washington Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW 64.90).  

Under this new law, associations are essentially required to provide a detailed, written response to inquiries made by owners within 30 days. Fortunately for associations, the Legislature has placed limitations on the types of inquiries that are subject to this 30-day response period and provided associations, in certain circumstances, additional time to respond. Additionally, associations may adopt reasonable rules and regulations regarding the frequency and manner of responding to inquiries, including limiting responses to one written inquiry per unit within a 30-day period. 

For the requirements of these provisions to apply, the inquiry must: (1) be sent by an owner or an owner’s authorized agent, (2) be in writing and sent by certified mail, and (3) relate to either the association’s governance, operations, or both. To the extent an inquiry is received by the association that does not meet all three of these requirements and no other requirements apply (e.g., an association’s obligation to make association records available), the association is not legally obligated to respond under the new law (though there may be instances where it is advisable to do so anyway).  

If the inquiry is properly sent, then the new provision requires the association to provide a “substantive response,” which includes “a factual explanation, reference to governing documents, reference to association records already available for inspection by owners, statement of current association practices, or other responsive information reasonably available to the association,” within 30 days of receiving the inquiry. This deadline may be extended (a) for the inquiry to be reviewed by the board at the next scheduled board meeting, so long as meetings of the board are scheduled at least monthly, (b) to respond to a complex inquiry, to which the association has an additional 30 days, or (c) to provide the board time to seek legal or other third-party opinion necessary to provide an adequate response.  

The practical challenges of these new requirements for associations are twofold. First, an association must proactively adopt rules and policies in order to take advantage of its ability to regulate the frequency and manner to which owners may submit inquiries. If not, the association may be at risk of receiving a large volume of inquiries from owners, which may be both difficult and costly for the association to respond to. Additionally, these new requirements do not allow associations to assess the inquiring owner for the costs associated with obtaining a legal or other professional opinion necessary to respond to an inquiry, which could lead to a substantial increase in the associations’ common expenses to cover these costs if the number of inquiries is not limited. 

Second, as of Jan. 1, 2026, RCW 64.90.445, also referred to as the meetings provision of the Washington Common Interest Ownership Act, became applicable to all common interest communities. This provision implemented new notice requirements for scheduling board meetings and limits the ability for boards to act outside of those open meetings. Without implementing policies that delegate authority to handle initial review of these written inquiries, boards may incur additional costs and burdens by having to call special board meetings when a new inquiry is submitted. 

To combat the potential challenges of these new requirements, associations might consider adopting appropriate policies for addressing written inquiries and should consider including the following: 

1. Clarify the procedure for addressing written inquiries, limitations on submitting written inquiries, and defining what constitutes a complex inquiry. As authorized by the new law, associations should limit written inquiries to one inquiry per unit within a 30-day period. While an inquiry may contain multiple questions, this limitation reduces the number of responses that the association is obligated to provide to a single unit owner each month. An association may also benefit from defining what conditions constitute a complex inquiry, which does not require a response by the association within 30 days, and identifying routine inquiries that can be responded to in a similar or identical fashion each time they are received. A policy outlining clear guidelines and procedures for reviewing written inquiries and how those inquiries are categorized clarifies the associations’ obligations while also ensuring that owners understand the proper process before submitting an inquiry. 

2. Delegate authority to perform an initial review of the written inquiry. To comply with both RCW 64.90.445 and the new requirements for written inquiries, a board member or manager should be delegated the authority to initially review the inquiry so that, if necessary, action may be taken before the next board meeting. This allows the delegate to categorize the inquiry, determine if a response must be made in 30 days or longer, respond to common inquiries in a manner previously determined by the board, and to obtain a legal or professional opinion, if necessary, to determine how to respond to a request. Additionally, this policy should indicate that all inquiries must be submitted to the individual with the delegated authority since the new statutory requirements only require that the inquiry be sent “to the Association.” The policy should also require the delegate to record all actions taken and report it to the board at or prior to the next meeting. 

While these new requirements may be a major change for many associations, boards can take proactive measures to ensure compliance while also limiting potential costs and burdens.