2026-09-10 · Louisiana · Legislation

What happened. Two sections of Louisiana's Planned Community Act changed the balance of power between owners and boards, and they took effect for pre-2025 communities on January 1, 2026. One sets who may sit on the board. The other lets the owners take them off it.

The removal power, and it is expressly stronger than the documents

“A. Notwithstanding any provision of the community documents to the contrary, lot owners at any meeting of the association at which a quorum is present and for which notice of removal was given may by majority vote remove any director of the board of directors and any officer of the association elected by the lot owners, with or without cause. However, a director appointed by the declarant may not be removed during the period of declarant control.
B. At any meeting at which a vote to remove a director or an officer is to be taken, the director or officer being considered for removal shall have a reasonable opportunity to speak before the vote.”

“Notwithstanding any provision of the community documents to the contrary” is unusual in this Act, which mostly defers to recorded documents. Here it does the opposite: a declaration requiring cause, or a two-thirds vote, or removal only at an annual meeting, gives way.¹

Note what “majority vote” means in this Act: more than fifty percent of the voting interest present at a duly called meeting, provided a quorum is there. That is a far lower bar than the supermajority the same Act demands to tighten a use restriction. Two limits ride with it — notice of removal must have been given, and a declarant-appointed director is untouchable during declarant control.

Who may serve

“A. The board of directors shall consist of at least three natural persons, each of whom shall be a lot owner or a representative of a lot owner if the lot is owned by a juridical person. If the planned community consists of fewer than three lots, the board of directors shall consist of the same number of persons as there are lots.”

Louisiana had no statutory director-qualification rule for homeowners associations before this. It now has one, and it excludes non-owners — with an express accommodation for a lot held by a company, trust or other juridical person, whose representative may serve.

1. La. R.S. 9:1141.39 — Removal of directors and officers ↩
2. La. R.S. 9:1141.21 — Board of directors and officers ↩
3. Horton v. Savannah Place Homeowners’ Ass’n, No. 56,945-CA (La. App. 2 Cir. July 15, 2026) — slip opinion ↩
4. La. R.S. 9:1141.28 — Voting; proxies; ballots ↩
5. Act No. 158, 2024 Regular Session (SB 23) — enrolled Act text, Louisiana Legislature ↩