Open Meeting Law Compliance for HOAs: What Every Property Manager Needs to Know

When property managers think about open meeting laws, they usually think about government — city councils, school boards, state legislatures. But in many states, HOA and condominium association board meetings are subject to similar transparency requirements.

Understanding these laws isn't optional. It's part of the job.

Open Meeting Laws: A 50-State Landscape

The specifics vary by state, but the general principles are consistent:

• Homeowners have the right to attend open board meetings. Most states require that regular board meetings be open to association members, with limited exceptions for executive sessions.
• Notice must be provided. Boards typically must give advance notice of meetings, including the agenda.
• Minutes must be kept. Nearly every state requires that minutes be taken and made available to homeowners upon request.
• Executive session is limited. Boards can only go into closed session for specific topics — usually litigation, personnel, or individual homeowner disciplinary matters.

In California, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act lays this out in detail. In Florida, Chapter 720 governs HOA meetings with similar transparency requirements. Colorado, Texas, Virginia, and dozens of other states have their own versions.

Where Managers Get Into Trouble

The compliance issues we see most often aren't about failing to hold meetings or provide notice. They're about documentation.

Specifically:

1. Not producing minutes at all. Some boards — especially smaller ones — simply don't create minutes. This is a clear violation in virtually every state and exposes the association to legal challenges on any decision made at that meeting.

2. Minutes that are too detailed. This might sound counterintuitive, but minutes that read like a transcript can create problems. If your minutes capture who said what during a heated discussion about a homeowner's violation, you've created a document that can be used against the association in litigation.

3. Creating records beyond what's required. This is the recording and transcription problem. If you record a meeting, you may have created a record that homeowners can request — and that opposing counsel can subpoena. The minute you create it, you may be obligated to keep it.

What Good Minutes Look Like

Professional board meeting minutes should include:

• Date, time, and location of the meeting
• Board members present and absent (quorum confirmation)
• Motions made, who made them, who seconded, and the vote result
• Key action items and responsible parties
• Time of adjournment

They should not include:

• Verbatim quotes from board members
• Summaries of debate or discussion (unless a board member specifically requests their dissent be noted)
• Personal opinions or editorial commentary
• Anything discussed in executive session beyond the fact that executive session occurred

Scaling Compliance Across Your Portfolio

If you manage 10 communities, keeping up with minutes is manageable. If you manage 100 or 200, it's a completely different challenge. Each community has its own board, its own meeting schedule, and its own quirks. The manager assigned to each community may or may not be diligent about minutes.

This is where systematizing your minutes process pays off. Rather than relying on individual managers to draft minutes from scratch — with inconsistent quality and formatting — a standardized workflow ensures every community gets professional minutes, every time.

BoardBreeze was built for exactly this scenario. Your managers upload their notes and the meeting agenda after the meeting. BoardBreeze produces formatted, consistent minutes that meet the legal standard — without creating recordings or transcripts that could become compliance headaches.

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BoardBreeze® is a proud CACM Industry Partner. CACM (California Association of Community Managers) is the leading professional organization for community association management professionals in California.