Terry Leahy, a retired attorney and local homeowner, told attendees at a Greater Lacey homeowners association quarterly meeting that WashingtonUniform Common Interest Ownership Act (the act) imposes new meeting and procedural requirements beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and that the statute will apply broadly to existing associations by Jan. 1, 2028.

Leahy said the act reframes association governance from a purely corporate decision model toward a partnership model that emphasizes "listen first then decide," a change he said was intended to reduce instances where owners are blindsided by consequential board decisions. He described the 2026 measures as mandatory "phase 1" requirements and the 2028 provisions as the full statutory migration.

Why it matters: Leahy said the immediate practical effects for many homeowner associations will be procedural. Notable phase 1 items he highlighted include a meeting-notice regime (14 days' notice unless a published meeting schedule covers that meeting), a mandated owner-comment opportunity at the start of meetings for agenda items (the speaker summarized this as roughly the first 15 minutes), a prohibition on substantive decisions by unanimous written/email consent, and a limit on procedural challenges to board actions: noncompliance can be waived unless an action is brought within 90 days of release of minutes (described repeatedly in the presentation as a "fish or cut bait" provision).

Leahy also said the session-level changes intersect with a new mandatory collections process described in Senate Bill 5686 (as referenced in the presentation); he summarized that a delinquency reaching roughly 30 days past due will trigger a required statutory notice and mediation/collection steps and advised boards to consult their collections attorney for compliance.

Options for associations: Leahy laid out five ways to address the statute-document mismatch he called the "invisible-ink" problem: 1) adopt board resolutions or policies to clarify that the board will follow the law; 2) use narrow amendments (patches) to fix specific conflicts; 3) perform a retrofit that revises multiple provisions; 4) swap out certain provisions wholesale; or 5) replace the governing documents entirely. He said homeowners associations often can resolve phase 1 issues with policies and practice changes or limited amendments, while condominiums more frequently require new declarations because of operational detail embedded in their documents.

Costs and process: Leahy said full document replacement can be costly (he cited conference examples ranging from about $7,000 to $25,000 or more), and recommended using a volunteer "steward" to manage the project and reduce attorney time and expense. He described a common approval path: make the least controversial fixes first (bylaws to align process) and table contentious use-restriction changes for later.

Other topics and uncertainties: The presenter noted several statutory terms are not defined in the act (he used "ministerial action" as an example), so associations and attorneys will be interpreting some language. He listed other phase 1 areas attendees might need to study further, including emergency powers, electric vehicle-charging provisions, budgeting/reserve-study expectations and heat-pump provisions; he said he did not cover full statutory details for EV/heat-pump items in the session.

Q&A takeaways: During questions, Leahy confirmed the law applies to condominiums and homeowner associations but that the scope and typical fixes differ. He said small-association exemptions were narrowed in recent sessions and urged caution: opting into the act early is possible (by specified voting procedures) but can expose an association to the act's full set of "must" requirements before the community has implemented compliance practices. He advised boards to publish a meeting schedule to avoid repeated 14-day notices, make nonconfidential board materials reasonably available on request rather than mailing full packets automatically, and consult counsel or the Washington chapter of the Community Association Institute (wscai.org) for guidance and template materials.

Ending: Leahy closed by urging associations to focus on culture and community norms that encourage owner participation and respectful behavior, saying a contribution culture reduces conflict and litigation risk. The presenter offered to send the slides to attendees after the meeting and answered multiple audience questions about loan options for major repairs, quorum workarounds for amendment votes and practical steps to gather owner approvals.