Pennsylvania HOA Board Elections

Section 1: Overview — How board elections are governed in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania runs board elections through three separate uniform acts. Each one tracks a different form of common ownership, and each carries its own chapter within Title 68 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.¹ The Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act (UCA), 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 3101-3414, draws on the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act and governs condominiums.² The Uniform Planned Community Act (UPCA), 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 5101-5414, draws on the planned-community provisions of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act and governs planned communities — the form most Pennsylvania HOAs take.³ The Uniform Real Estate Cooperative Act (URECA), 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 4101-4418, governs cooperatives.⁴ The three acts use parallel internal numbering, so the executive-board provision lands at § 3303 for condominiums, § 5303 for planned communities, and § 4303 for cooperatives. They track one another closely, but they are separate statutes, and their provisions do not swap in for one another — so you have to cite the act that matches the form of ownership. Condominiums created before the UCA took effect may still answer in part to the older Unit Property Act, 68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.⁵ Pennsylvania never adopted the unified Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act as a single statute; it enacted the three component acts separately. That makes Pennsylvania a uniform-act-derived, multi-statute state rather than a single-framework jurisdiction. The sections that follow lay out the condominium framework, the planned-community and cooperative frameworks, the corporate backstop and order of precedence, and the operational election mechanics.

Section 2: The election framework

2A. The Uniform Condominium Act (Chapter 31) and condominium board elections

The Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 3101-3414, draws on the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act and applies to condominiums created on or after its effective date — 120 days after July 2, 1980 — with certain provisions reaching back to older condominiums under § 3102(a).² The executive-board provision is § 3303, which sits in Chapter 33 (Management of the Condominium). Under § 3303(e), no later than the end of any period of declarant control, the unit owners must elect an executive board of at least three members, a majority of them unit owners, except that a two-unit condominium may run a two-member board of unit owners.⁶ Section 3303(a) holds board members and officers to a fiduciary standard. Section 3303(c) sets the period of declarant control: it starts at the first conveyance of a unit to a non-declarant owner, and it may not exceed seven years for a flexible condominium that contains convertible real estate or can add real estate, or five years for any other condominium. In every case it ends no later than 180 days after 75% of the units have been conveyed to non-declarant owners.⁶ Section 3303(d) requires staged minority representation before turnover: non-declarant owners elect at least 25% of the board within 60 days of 25% conveyance, and at least 33⅓% within 60 days of 50% conveyance. The voting and meeting rules live at §§ 3308 (meetings), 3309 (quorums), and 3310 (voting; proxies).⁷ Condominiums created under the older Unit Property Act (1963) run under a "council" and a "code of regulations"; to figure out which statute governs, check the recording date of the declaration and any later election to adopt the UCA.⁵ Chapter 31 governs condominiums only — it is not a single-act UCIOA framework, and the planned-community and cooperative rules live in separate acts.

2B. The Uniform Planned Community Act (Chapter 51) and the Uniform Real Estate Cooperative Act (Chapter 41)

The Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 5101-5414, draws on the planned-community provisions of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act and governs planned communities — generally those with more than 12 units created after the Act took effect in February 1997.³ Its executive-board provision is § 5303, in Chapter 53 (Management of Planned Community). Section 5303(e) mirrors the condominium rule: a board of at least three members, a majority of them unit owners.⁸ The declarant-control rule at § 5303(d) uses different triggers from the condominium version. It ends no later than the earliest of three events: 60 days after 75% of the units that may be created have been conveyed; two years after all declarants have stopped offering units in the ordinary course of business; or other stated events.⁸ Meeting, quorum, and voting provisions sit at §§ 5308, 5309, and 5310. The Uniform Real Estate Cooperative Act, 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 4101-4418, governs cooperatives, where a corporation owns the real estate and members hold proprietary leases.⁴ Its executive-board provision is § 4303, in Chapter 43 (Management of Cooperatives): § 4303(f) sets the post-turnover election, § 4303(d) sets declarant control, and § 4303(e) sets staged minority election by proprietary lessees.⁹ These acts parallel the UCA and share internal numbering, but each one governs only its own form of ownership, and each is a separate statute. A planned-community dispute turns on Chapter 51/53 provisions, a cooperative dispute on Chapter 41/43 provisions — and the section numbers have to carry the chapter label so nobody cross-applies them.

2C. Corporate law, the bylaws, and order of precedence

Most Pennsylvania associations incorporate under the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988, 15 Pa.C.S. § 5101 et seq., which supplies the gap-fillers for director election, term, removal, and vacancy wherever the applicable uniform act and the bylaws stay silent.¹⁰ Each act expressly folds in corporate-law principles as a supplement; the cooperative act says the law governing nonprofit corporations supplements its executive-board provision where the two do not conflict. Act 115 of 2022 wired the Nonprofit Corporation Law into the acts directly, letting an association that fails to reach a quorum at two straight meetings fall back on the 15 Pa.C.S. § 5756(b) quorum.¹¹ Within each act, the order of precedence runs like this: the act's non-variable (mandatory) provisions come first; then its default provisions as modified by the recorded declaration and the bylaws; then the unmodified statutory defaults; then the Nonprofit Corporation Law gap-fillers; then board-adopted rules. The Nonprofit Corporation Law is corporate scaffolding, not an HOA election statute, and it operates only where the controlling act and governing documents leave a gap. The practical takeaway: the controlling election rule depends first on whether the community is a condominium (Chapter 31/33), a planned community (Chapter 51/53), or a cooperative (Chapter 41/43), and only then on the declaration, the bylaws, and the corporate-law defaults.

Section 3: Election mechanics

Quick-Reference Election Mechanics Table

A. Eligibility and nominations

Each act sets one mandatory floor on eligibility: the elected board must have at least three members, a majority of them unit owners, with a two-member, all-owner board allowed only in a two-unit community (§ 3303(e) for condominiums; § 5303(e) for planned communities; § 4303(f) for cooperatives).⁶ Anything more — good standing, residency — is a bylaw matter, though each act defines "unit owner in good standing" (§ 3103 condominiums; § 5103 planned communities; § 4103 cooperatives), a 2018 addition that ties good standing to staying current on assessments and fines.¹⁵ The acts say nothing about nomination method, so the bylaws control it. Act 115 of 2022 added one mandatory step: where candidates outnumber open seats, the bylaws must call a pre-election candidate session at least seven days before the election on any candidate's request, with equal time for each candidate.¹¹

B. Notice, annual meeting, and quorum

All three acts require the bylaws to call at least one association meeting a year (§ 3308(a); § 5308(a); § 4308(a)), but they leave the timing of the election within that year to the bylaws.⁷ Notice of any meeting has to go out not less than 10 nor more than 60 days ahead, and it must state the time, place, and agenda, including any proposal to remove a director (§ 3308(a); § 5308(a); § 4308(a)); since Act 115, that notice may be electronic where the owner agreed in writing or the bylaws allow it.¹³ The default quorum to act is 20% of the votes that may be cast for the election of the executive board, present in person or by proxy; the bylaws may raise or lower it, but not below 10% (§ 3309(a) condominiums; § 5309(a) planned communities; § 4309(a) cooperatives).⁷ If an association misses quorum at two straight meetings, Act 115 lets it use the Nonprofit Corporation Law fallback quorum at 15 Pa.C.S. § 5756(b) unless the governing documents say otherwise.¹¹

C. Voting methods, proxies, and ballots

Act 115 standardized how owners may vote across all three acts: a unit owner may vote in person or by proxy at a meeting, by absentee or electronic ballot, or by another method the declaration or bylaws spell out — unless those documents expressly prohibit a method (§ 3310(e); § 5310(e); § 4310(e)).⁷ Absentee and electronic ballots count toward quorum and on agenda items, but if the same owner shows up and votes in person, that vote supersedes the ballot already submitted. Cumulative voting is available only where the declaration expressly provides for it, and only for electing board members (§ 3210 condominiums; § 4207 cooperatives; the planned-community equivalent); a declarant may not use it to dodge the act's limits.¹⁴ For uncontested seats, Act 115 allows election by acclamation: unless the bylaws say otherwise, the presiding officer may declare an uncontested nominee elected after confirming there are no further nominations (§ 3310(f); § 5310(f); § 4310(f)).¹¹ Associations of at least 500 units must hand their ballots to an independent reviewer — a person who holds a Commonwealth certificate as a certified public accountant, is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, or is a vote management system — to tally and certify the results; smaller associations may opt in by a 51% vote of the votes collected from unit owners.¹¹

D. Terms, vacancies, removal, and recall

No statute fixes director term length, term limits, or staggered or classified terms; each act hands "terms of office" and the manner of electing and removing directors to the bylaws (§ 3306(a)(3); § 5306; § 4306).¹² The board may fill a mid-term vacancy for the unexpired part of the term — a default power each act grants in its executive-board provision, and one the declaration or bylaws may vary (§ 3303(b); § 5303(b); § 4303(b)).⁶ Removal is mandatory and uniform: no matter what the declaration or bylaws say to the contrary, owners may remove a board member, with or without cause, by a two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote at a meeting where a quorum is present, excluding any declarant-appointed member — provided the meeting notice gave advance notice of the intent to remove (§ 3303(g) condominiums, added by Act 115; § 5303(f) planned communities, which carried the rule before Act 115; § 4303(g) cooperatives).^6,8 The vote threshold to elect — plurality or majority — is bylaw-set in all three forms.

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent legislation

Research through the verification date turned up no later enacted bill within the strict 24-month window that further amends the board-election, director-removal, or voting provisions of the three acts. Act 115 remains the operative recent statute, and it earns a place here because associations are still working its provisions into their governing documents.

B. Recent appellate rulings

No published Pennsylvania appellate decision in the review window squarely decides a contested board election, a declarant-control turnover, or a proxy-counting dispute under the three acts. The decisions that come closest address board authority and standing, and Act 115's election machinery (effective May 2023) is recent enough that no appellate court has construed it yet.

C. Active legislative debates

As of the verification date, legislative tracking shows no pending bill that has advanced to amend the election, removal, or voting provisions of the Uniform Condominium Act, the Uniform Planned Community Act, or the Uniform Real Estate Cooperative Act. Recent legislative attention to common-interest communities has centered on short-term-rental regulation rather than board-election mechanics.

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Pennsylvania is a uniform-act-derived, multi-statute state. The Uniform Condominium Act (§§ 3101-3414), the Uniform Planned Community Act (§§ 5101-5414), and the Uniform Real Estate Cooperative Act (§§ 4101-4418) each govern separately. That sets Pennsylvania apart from single-act UCIOA states, which fold the forms into one statute, and from CC&R-primary states, which lean on recorded covenants more than on a governing code. Two features stand out for this topic: the three parallel acts that share internal numbering but keep separate scope, and two intermediate appellate courts — the Superior Court for most private civil appeals, and the Commonwealth Court, which under 42 Pa.C.S. § 762(a)(5)(ii) holds exclusive jurisdiction over appeals involving the corporate affairs of incorporated nonprofit associations, the route most board-election and governance disputes actually take.¹⁸ For a multi-state operator, the practical rule is to pin down the form of ownership and cite the right act — because § 3303, § 5303, and § 4303 look alike — and to expect incorporated-association appeals in the Commonwealth Court rather than the Superior Court.

Federal frameworks — the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the OTARD rule — also reach Pennsylvania associations and cooperatives regardless of the state framework.

1. 68 Pa.C.S. (Title 68, Real and Personal Property), table of contents listing Subpart B (Condominiums), Subpart C (Cooperatives), and Subpart D (Planned Communities), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
2. Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S. Ch. 33 (Management of the Condominium); see also § 3102(a) (applicability), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
3. Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. Ch. 51 (General Provisions), including § 5109 (short title) and applicability, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
4. Real Estate Cooperative Act, 68 Pa.C.S. Ch. 41 et seq. (Act of Dec. 18, 1992, P.L. 1426, No. 176), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
5. Unit Property Act, Act of July 3, 1963, P.L. 196, No. 117 (68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
6. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3303 (Executive board members and officers), subsections (a)-(g), including declarant control, staged election, board composition, vacancy-filling, and removal, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
7. 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 3308 (Meetings), 3309 (Quorums), 3310 (Voting; proxies), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
8. 68 Pa.C.S. § 5303 (Executive board members and officers), subsections (a)-(f); §§ 5308-5310, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
9. 68 Pa.C.S. § 4303 (Executive board members and officers), subsections (b)-(g), and §§ 4308-4310, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
10. Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988, 15 Pa.C.S. § 5101 et seq. (incl. § 5756, quorum), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
11. Act 115 of 2022 (House Bill 1795), Omnibus Amendments to 68 Pa.C.S. (electronic voting, removal, pre-election sessions, acclamation, independent reviewer, 51% bylaw amendment), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
12. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3306 (Bylaws), incl. § 3306(a)(3) (qualifications, terms of office, manner of electing and removing board members), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
13. 68 Pa.C.S. § 5308 (Meetings), timing, 10-to-60-day notice, and electronic notice; parallel to § 3308 and § 4308, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
14. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3210 (Allocation of common element interests, votes and common expense liabilities), cumulative voting only if the declaration expressly provides and only for electing the executive board, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
15. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3103 (Definitions), defining "unit owner in good standing" (Act of May 4, 2018, P.L. 96, No. 17); parallel definitions at §§ 5103 and 4103, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
16. Chan v. Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Inc., Nos. 70 & 71 C.D. 2023 (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 20, 2024), allowance of appeal denied (Pa. Feb. 12, 2025) (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania) ↩
17. R.P. Cooley v. Lofts at 1234 Condominium Association, No. 580 C.D. 2021 (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 20, 2024), published opinion, Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania ↩
18. 42 Pa.C.S. § 762(a)(5)(ii) (Commonwealth Court exclusive jurisdiction over appeals involving the corporate affairs of not-for-profit corporations subject to Title 15), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩