RCW 64.90.525 Budget Ratification: A 2026 Guide for Pre-2018 HOAs

Quick answer: Under RCW 64.90.525, a Washington HOA or condo board must send the proposed budget to every owner within 30 days after the board adopts it, and set an owner meeting 14 to 50 days after sending it. The budget is ratified unless owners holding a majority of the association's votes (or a larger percentage your declaration requires) vote to reject it, and that holds whether or not a quorum is present. If owners reject it, or the board skips the notice, the last ratified budget stays in place. Special assessments go through the same ratification process.

If you sit on the board of an older Washington community (one created before July 1, 2018), fall 2026 is a good time to check your budget process against the statute. ESSB 5129 (2025 c 119) amended RCW 64.90.525 and pulled more of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) onto pre-2018 communities starting January 1, 2026. The full switch to WUCIOA still comes January 1, 2028. This post lays out the 2027 budget cycle as a dated checklist.

Does RCW 64.90.525 apply to a pre-2018 community?

Yes. RCW 64.90.080 lists a short set of WUCIOA sections that apply to communities created before July 1, 2018, and RCW 64.90.525 is one of them. Under that section, the budget rules override conflicting language in your old governing documents and in the older statutes (chapters 64.32, 64.34 and 64.38 RCW) for events on or after July 1, 2018.

Many older associations still follow ratification steps written into their bylaws in the 1990s: a different notice window, a vote to approve the budget, or a quorum requirement. If yours does any of that, the RCW 64.90.525 process controls. How ESSB 5129 changed the section's exact wording, and how it interacts with your documents, is something to confirm with the statute or your association's attorney.

For the bigger picture on what applied in 2026 and what arrives in 2028, see our complete WUCIOA guide and the WUCIOA 2028 deadline checklist.

The ratification timeline, step by step

The statute sets two clocks. The first starts when the board adopts the proposed budget. The second starts when the budget is provided to owners.

Timing tips:

• Work backward from January 1. If the meeting falls in the second half of December, you're competing with holidays, and any rejection leaves you with almost no time to re-propose.
• Count from the day you actually send it, not the day the board voted. If the packet goes out late, the 14-to-50-day window moves.
• Owner-meeting notice has its own rules under RCW 64.90.445, so send the budget and the meeting notice together.

What the budget must include

RCW 64.90.525 lists the items the budget has to contain. Paraphrased:

1. Projected income to the association, by category.
2. Projected common expenses, by category.
3. The assessment per unit and the date assessments are due.
4. The current regular assessment amount budgeted for the reserve account.
5. A reserve study statement: whether the association has a reserve study that meets RCW 64.90.550, and if so, how far the budget meets or departs from that study's recommendations.
6. The current reserve deficiency or surplus, expressed per unit.

Items 5 and 6 are where older communities usually slip. A one-line "reserves: $12,000" doesn't meet the requirement. The statute asks the board to tell owners how closely it is following the reserve study and how far behind (or ahead) reserves are per unit. If you don't have a current reserve study, the budget has to say so. The reserve study requirements are a separate topic, and you should plan for them now.

For building the numbers themselves, see The HOA Master Budget guide and HOA Fiscal's 2027 HOA budget template. And check whether your operating account can carry the association through the months before new assessments arrive: how much cash your HOA should keep in operating.

How the vote works

It's a veto, not an approval vote. The budget is ratified unless owners holding a majority of all votes in the association (or a higher percentage in your declaration) reject it, and that holds whether or not a quorum is present. For running the meeting itself — the notice, the agenda, and how to record the result — see HOA Board Minutes' guide to the Washington budget ratification meeting.

What happens if owners reject the budget

If owners reject the proposed budget, or the board didn't give the required notice, the last budget owners ratified stays in effect until owners ratify a new one proposed by the board. Nothing lapses, and assessments continue at the old level.

For a community facing insurance and utility increases, being stuck on last year's numbers can hurt. The fix is to re-propose (often with changes that answer the owners' objections) and run the full 30-day / 14-to-50-day process again. Build that possibility into your calendar.

Special assessments follow the same process

The board may propose a special assessment at any time, but it takes effect only if the board follows the same ratification steps described above and owners don't reject it. The board can let owners pay it in installments over whatever period it chooses and can offer a discount for paying early.

That means an emergency roof repair can't be billed next week. Ratification takes at least 14 days after owners receive the proposal, and usually closer to a month. If you're short on cash in the meantime, look at reserves and borrowing options with your attorney, and document the decision.

2026 checklist for pre-2018 boards

• [ ] Confirm your fiscal year end and count back to set the adoption, send and meeting dates
• [ ] Pull the reserve study: is it current, and does it meet RCW 64.90.550?
• [ ] Calculate the per-unit reserve deficiency or surplus
• [ ] Add all six required items to the budget package
• [ ] Send the budget and meeting notice together, to every owner, the same way you normally send notices
• [ ] Hold the meeting 14 to 50 days after sending, and record the vote in the minutes
• [ ] If rejected, keep billing under the last ratified budget and re-propose
• [ ] Put any special assessment through the same steps

If assessments go unpaid after the new budget takes effect, Washington's delinquency rules changed in 2026 too. See RCW 64.90.485 after SB 5686.

Need help with budget season?

Dynamite Management handles the financial side for Washington associations: budgets, reserve disclosures, ratification packets, assessment billing and the association's tax return. If your board is volunteer-run and budget season is stressful, talk to us about financial management.

This is not legal advice. Statutes change and your governing documents matter, so confirm specifics with the current RCW text or your association's attorney.

FAQ

Does RCW 64.90.525 require owners to vote to approve the budget? No. The budget is ratified unless owners holding a majority of all votes (or a higher percentage in your declaration) reject it.

Does the ratification meeting need a quorum? No. The statute says the budget is ratified whether or not a quorum is present.

What if we sent the budget late? If the required notice wasn't given, the last ratified budget stays in effect. Re-send it and hold a new meeting within the 14-to-50-day window.

Can the board approve a special assessment on its own? No. A special assessment takes effect only after the same ratification process and only if owners don't reject it.

Does this apply to HOAs created before 2018? Yes. RCW 64.90.080 applies RCW 64.90.525 to pre-2018 communities and overrides conflicting governing documents. Confirm the details for your community with your attorney.

Cover: Photo by Brent Singleton on Pexels