RCW 64.90.545: Washington's HOA Reserve Study Requirement

Quick answer: RCW 64.90.545 requires a Washington condominium or HOA to prepare a reserve study and update it every year, with a professional site-visit update at least every third year, unless the association fits one of four narrow exemptions. Through RCW 64.90.365, the requirement already reaches most communities created before July 1, 2018, not just newer WUCIOA communities.

If your board has been putting off a reserve study because it sounds like a condo requirement, or because your community was formed under the old HOA act, this post is for you. Below is what the statute requires, who is exempt, how often the study must be updated, what it has to contain, and how it feeds the budget you send owners.

What RCW 64.90.545 requires

The core rule is one sentence:

(1) Unless exempt under subsection (2) of this section, an association must prepare and update a reserve study in accordance with this chapter.

(RCW 64.90.545(1))

The statute then sets up three tiers of work:

On timing, the statute is direct:

An updated reserve study must be prepared annually. An updated reserve study must be prepared at least every third year by a reserve study professional and based upon a visual site inspection conducted by the reserve study professional.

(RCW 64.90.545(1))

In practice, most boards hire a professional for a site-visit study (Level II) every third year and have the professional or their manager roll the numbers forward in the two years between (a Level III update with no site visit). The levels come from RCW 64.90.550, covered below.

Does it apply to older Washington HOAs?

Yes, in most cases. The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA, chapter 64.90 RCW) doesn't fully govern pre-2018 communities until January 1, 2028. But a short list of WUCIOA sections already applies to communities created before July 1, 2018, and RCW 64.90.545 is on that list (RCW 64.90.365(1)(h); this section was formerly numbered RCW 64.90.080). The budget section, RCW 64.90.525, is on the same list.

A few things to know about that list:

• Small plat and miscellaneous communities are carved out of the early-application list. RCW 64.90.365(1) excludes the small, low-assessment plat and miscellaneous communities described in RCW 64.90.360(4) (generally 50 or fewer units with a capped average assessment written into the declaration). Those communities will still pick up RCW 64.90.545 when the limited-application rules take over in 2028, because RCW 64.90.360(4) lists it among the sections that apply to them. Confirm with the statute / your attorney whether your community qualifies.
• It applies going forward. Under RCW 64.90.365(2), the early-application sections apply to events and circumstances on or after July 1, 2018.
• 2025 and 2026 amendments. ESSB 5129 (2025 c 119) amended RCW 64.90.365, and RCW 64.90.545 itself was most recently amended by 2026 c 96. Check the current version on app.leg.wa.gov before relying on older summaries. (Avoid third-party statute mirrors that stop at 2022.)

For the bigger picture on 2028, see our WUCIOA 2028 deadline guide and the complete Washington WUCIOA guide.

Who is exempt

Unless your governing documents require a study anyway, RCW 64.90.545(2) exempts four situations:

The cost exemption reads:

(d) When the cost of the reserve study or update exceeds 10 percent of the association's annual budget.

(RCW 64.90.545(2)(d))

Two cautions. First, "nominal reserve costs" isn't defined with a dollar figure in RCW 64.90.545, so a community with private roads, a clubhouse, a pool, fencing, or stormwater ponds should assume it does not qualify. Confirm with your attorney before relying on it. Second, the 10 percent test is measured per study or update. A small association might be exempt from a $4,000 site-visit study one year but not from a $600 annual update the next. And subsection (3) lets your governing documents impose stricter requirements, so read your declaration too.

What the reserve study must contain

RCW 64.90.550 lists the required contents. It starts by making clear the study sits alongside your operating budget:

(1) Any reserve study is supplemental to the association's operating and maintenance budget.

(RCW 64.90.550(1))

The required items, summarized:

The study must also carry a required disclosure paragraph. It begins:

This reserve study should be reviewed carefully. It may not include all common and limited common element components that will require major maintenance, repair, or replacement in future years, and may not include regular contributions to a reserve account for the cost of such maintenance, repair, or replacement.

(RCW 64.90.550(3))

The per-unit deficit figure in item (l) is the one owners notice. It's the gap between your fully funded balance and your actual reserve balance, spread across units by their common-expense allocation.

How the study feeds your budget

The reserve study isn't a shelf document. Washington's budget statute, RCW 64.90.525, requires the budget summary sent to owners to include reserve information drawn from the study, such as the current reserve balance, the percent funded, and the recommended contribution. Confirm the exact list with the statute / your attorney. A board that skips the study can't fill in those lines honestly, and that gap tends to surface at resale or when a lender reviews the budget.

We cover the budget disclosures in a separate post on RCW 64.90.525. For running the owner meeting where the budget is ratified (notice, the vote, and minutes), see HOA Board Minutes' guide to ratifying the HOA budget in Washington.

To build the budget itself, our HOA master budget guide walks through how reserve contributions fit alongside operating lines. Keep the reserve cash separate from operating cash, too: see how much cash to keep in the operating account.

A practical 3-year cycle

Time the study so it's finished before the board adopts the budget. For a calendar-year association, that usually means a summer or early-fall delivery.

What to do this budget season

1. Find your last study. Note its date and level. If the last site visit was more than three years ago, schedule one.
2. Check the exemptions honestly. Write down which exemption you rely on, if any, and why, and keep it in the association's records.
3. Compare the study to your budget. The recommended contribution and the per-unit deficit should match what goes into the budget summary.
4. Plan for 2028. If you're a pre-2018 community, the rest of WUCIOA arrives January 1, 2028.

Dynamite Management prepares budgets and reserve-funding schedules for Washington associations and works alongside your reserve study professional. Talk to us about backend financial management.

This is not legal advice. Confirm how RCW 64.90.545 applies to your community with the current statute and your association's attorney.

FAQ

Does every Washington HOA need a reserve study? Most do. RCW 64.90.545 requires one unless the community fits an exemption in subsection (2), and RCW 64.90.365 applies it to most pre-2018 communities.

How often must a Washington reserve study be updated? Every year, with a reserve study professional's site-visit update at least every third year (RCW 64.90.545(1)).

Can the board prepare the annual update itself? The statute requires a professional for the initial study and the every-third-year site-visit update. The in-between annual updates aren't required to be done by a professional, but many boards still use one.

What if a reserve study costs more than 10 percent of our budget? RCW 64.90.545(2)(d) exempts the study or update in that case, unless your governing documents require it anyway.

Where does the reserve study show up for owners? In the budget summary under RCW 64.90.525 and in the study's own disclosures under RCW 64.90.550.

Cover: Photo by JOHN CALLERY on Pexels