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State Summary
Got a Washington HOA fine? RCW 64.38.020 / 64.90.405 require notice and a hearing before any fine, and no statutory cap applies. Free defense guide.
Governing Law: RCW 64.38 (pre-2018 HOAs) & RCW 64.90 — WUCIOA (post-7/1/2018 HOAs; all communities by 1/1/2028)
Researched by Brandon Sorensen
The single most important question in Washington is which statute governs your HOA — and the answer turns entirely on your community's creation date. HOAs created on or after July 1, 2018 are governed by the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA, chapter RCW 64.90) (RCW 64.90.360). HOAs created before that date currently fall under the older Washington Homeowners' Association Act (chapter RCW 64.38). This split is the most common Washington gotcha: two neighbors a mile apart can have meaningfully different records, reserve, and enforcement rights purely because of when their plat was recorded. Check the recording date on your declaration to know which set of rules applies to you.
That divide is closing fast. Under the 2024 reform ESSB 5796 (chapter 321, Laws of 2024), WUCIOA will govern all Washington common interest communities beginning January 1, 2028, when chapters RCW 64.38, 64.34, and 64.32 are repealed. As an interim step, a specific list of WUCIOA sections already applies to older (pre-2018) communities as of January 1, 2026 under RCW 64.90.365 — most notably the electric-vehicle-charging right in RCW 64.90.513 — we break these down in our guide to the 2026 Washington WUCIOA changes. Important nuance: the full WUCIOA fining and solar/flag provisions (RCW 64.90.405(2)(l), RCW 64.90.510) are not on that 2026 list, so until 2028 older HOAs still fine under RCW 64.38.020(11) and protect solar under RCW 64.38.055. Similar reforms are reshaping neighboring Oregon, California, and Nevada.
On fines, Washington takes the no-cap-but-reasonable approach. There is no statewide dollar limit, but under both statutes a fine is valid only if it is "reasonable," imposed after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and levied "in accordance with a previously established schedule" of fines the board adopted and furnished to owners — RCW 64.38.020(11) for older HOAs and RCW 64.90.405(2)(l) for WUCIOA HOAs. If your board never adopted and circulated a fine schedule, that is a direct statutory defect you can raise. Compare states on our HOA fine limits by state comparison.
Washington HOA at a glance
This guide covers how to fight violations under RCW 64.38.020(11) (older HOAs) and RCW 64.90.405(2)(l) (WUCIOA), your records and protected-activity rights, the lien and foreclosure rules including the super-priority, and how Washington's "reasonable" standard works against excessive fines. You can also review our guide on how to respond to HOA violation notices for actionable steps.
Max Fine
No statewide cap — "reasonable" only
Aggregate Cap
Per governing documents
Notice Period
Notice + opportunity to be heard before any fine
Hearing
Yes — RCW 64.38.020(11) / RCW 64.90.405(2)(l)
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Force the notice-and-hearing process under RCW 64.38.020 / 64.90.405, challenge unreasonable fines, prove selective enforcement, and use the 90-day foreclosure window.
Read Guide →Records access, protected activities like solar and EV charging, board duties before fining, and how WUCIOA phases in through 2028.
Read Guide →How Washington's reasonableness standard works, when your CC&R caps apply, and seven defenses to an excessive or selectively-imposed fine.
Read Guide →A plain-English map of Washington's two HOA statutes: the older RCW 64.38 for communities created before July 1, 2018, and WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) for those created on or after. Covers record-access rights under RCW 64.90.495 (10 days' notice, no later than 21 days, no proper purpose), protected activities the board cannot ban — solar, EV charging (RCW 64.90.513), and U.S./state flags — board duties before fining, and how WUCIOA phases in through 2028.
Read the full Washington HOA laws guide →Washington sets no statewide dollar cap on HOA fines — the limit is "reasonableness." This guide shows how Washington courts judge whether a fine is reasonable (proportionate to the violation, tied to actual remediation cost, consistent across residents, remedial not punitive), how your CC&Rs can set their own enforceable caps, and seven defenses to an excessive fine, from procedural failures to selective enforcement and retaliation.
Read the full Washington HOA fine-limits guide →Washington requires written notice and an opportunity to be heard before any fine — RCW 64.38.020(11) for older HOAs, RCW 64.90.405(2)(l) for WUCIOA communities — and the fine must be "reasonable" and levied on a previously established, furnished fine schedule. This guide walks the notice-and-hearing process, how to prove selective enforcement, the 90-day-past-due foreclosure threshold under RCW 64.90.485, and when to bring in an attorney.
Read the full Washington dispute guide →No statewide dollar cap. Neither RCW 64.38 nor WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) sets a maximum fine amount. Instead, a fine is enforceable only if it is "reasonable," imposed after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and levied "in accordance with a previously established schedule" of fines the board adopted and furnished to owners — RCW 64.38.020(11) for older HOAs, RCW 64.90.405(2)(l) for WUCIOA HOAs. Your CC&Rs may also set their own dollar limits, which are enforceable. If the board never adopted and circulated a fine schedule, the fine has a statutory defect.
It depends entirely on your community's creation date. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) governs common interest communities created on or after July 1, 2018 (RCW 64.90.360). If yours was created before that date, it currently falls under the older RCW 64.38 — though as of January 1, 2026, a specific list of WUCIOA sections (RCW 64.90.365), most notably the EV-charging right in RCW 64.90.513, already applies to older communities too. Under the 2024 reform ESSB 5796 (chapter 321, Laws of 2024), WUCIOA will govern ALL Washington communities beginning January 1, 2028, when RCW 64.38 is repealed. Check the recording date on your declaration.
Yes. The HOA must give you notice of the alleged violation and an opportunity to be heard before imposing a fine — RCW 64.38.020(11) for older HOAs, RCW 64.90.405(2)(l) for WUCIOA HOAs. The hearing can be conducted by the board or its designated representative. You have the right to respond to the allegations and present evidence. Skipping this step is one of the most common procedural defects you can use to challenge a fine.
For WUCIOA communities, the association has a lien for unpaid assessments (RCW 64.90.485). A limited portion of that lien — common-expense assessments that would have come due in the six months before the foreclosure action, plus capped costs/fees — takes "super-priority" over a first mortgage under RCW 64.90.485(3)(a). Practically, this means even a first lender can be affected by a small slice of HOA debt. But foreclosure cannot begin until assessments are at least 90 days past due (and the debt meets a minimum threshold), and preforeclosure notices are required first — giving you a real window to cure, negotiate, or contest. Foreclosure may be judicial (ch. 61.12 RCW) or, if the declaration grants a power of sale, nonjudicial (ch. 61.24 RCW).
Yes, for money disputes within the limit. Washington small claims court has jurisdiction up to $10,000 for a claim brought by an individual (a natural person), and $5,000 for other claimants, under RCW 12.40.010. That covers many wrongful-fine or improperly-withheld-records disputes. Washington has no statute requiring mediation or arbitration before HOA litigation, so you are not forced to mediate first — though you and the HOA can agree to mediate voluntarily, and your governing documents may include a dispute-resolution clause.
No. Solar panels cannot be prohibited (RCW 64.38.055 for older HOAs; RCW 64.90.510(3) for WUCIOA HOAs). EV charging stations cannot be prohibited (RCW 64.90.513, which as of January 1, 2026 applies to older pre-2018 communities too under RCW 64.90.365; the old RCW 64.38.062 was repealed that same date). Under WUCIOA, an HOA also cannot ban display of the U.S. or Washington state flag or a flagpole for them (RCW 64.90.510(1)), or political/campaign signs (RCW 64.90.510(2)). And a distinctive Washington rule: governing documents may not prohibit drought-resistant landscaping, pollinator habitat (including code-compliant beehives), or wildfire-ignition-resistant landscaping (RCW 64.38.057). In each case the HOA may still impose reasonable aesthetic or placement conditions, but cannot ban outright.
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Every state has different HOA rules. Compare Washington's with these high-traffic state guides, or see all 50 in the Max HOA Fine in Every State master table.
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Primary government sources, so you can read the law yourself rather than take our summary for it. Links checked 2026-08-12.