Washington HOA ADUs & Modifications

Key Findings

Washington is mid-transition — four statutes are folding into one uniform act, and on modifications the state comes down firmly on the owner's side. Here is what stands out, point by point.

• Four statutes still divide the field by age and type. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) governs communities created on or after July 1, 2018; the Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) covers condominiums created between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2018; the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32) reaches condominiums created before July 1, 1990; and the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38) governs planned communities recorded before July 1, 2018.¹
• The framework is consolidating. SB 5796 (2024) repeals the three legacy community statutes on January 1, 2028, and SB 5129 (2025) already pushed a defined set of WUCIOA provisions onto pre-2018 communities as of January 1, 2026 (RCW 64.90.365).^2,3
• Washington reaches ADUs, but within a boundary. The rule binds only common interest communities created after July 23, 2023 in urban growth areas; covenants recorded before that date still hold.^4,5
• The energy protections predate the consolidation. Washington's solar-rights rule (2009) and EV-charging rules (2022) sit in each of the four statutes.^6,7
• The flag statute is HOA-only. Washington has HOA flag and political-sign statutes, but the flag statute sits only in RCW 64.38, with a WUCIOA counterpart at RCW 64.90.510 — so a condominium owner's U.S. flag protection rests mainly on the federal statute and the declaration.^8,9

Details

Section 1: Overview — ADUs and modifications in Washington

Washington is moving from a four-statute framework to a single uniform act, and on modifications it lands firmly on the owner-protective side, limiting association authority over solar, EV charging, and accessory dwelling units. As of mid-July 2026, the statute that governs a community depends on its creation date and type. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) governs common interest communities created on or after July 1, 2018 and communities that opt in; the Washington Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) governs condominiums created from July 1, 1990 through June 30, 2018; the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32) governs condominiums created before July 1, 1990; and the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38) governs planned communities whose declarations were recorded before July 1, 2018.¹ Under SB 5796 (2024), the three legacy community statutes are repealed January 1, 2028, after which WUCIOA governs every community, and under SB 5129 (2025) a defined set of WUCIOA provisions already reached most pre-2018 communities on January 1, 2026.^2,3

Washington reaches ADUs, though within a defined boundary. For common interest communities created after July 23, 2023 in urban growth areas, an association may not impose any ADU restriction the local government itself could not impose — which places Washington with the states that limit association authority over ADUs rather than the municipal-only group.⁴ Covenants recorded before that date stay enforceable.⁵ On energy, an association may not prohibit a compliant solar installation and may not unreasonably restrict an EV charging station, subject in each case to reasonable rules.^6,10 Federal overlays apply regardless of the state framework: the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (the U.S. flag), the OTARD rule (antennas and dishes), the Fair Housing Act reasonable-modification rule (disability), and ADA Title III (common-area public accommodations).¹¹ The sections that follow set out the framework, the compliance obligations it creates, and the recent legislative and judicial activity.

Section 2: The legal framework

2A. The four statutes and the consolidation

Four statutes govern Washington's community associations right now, sorted by age and type. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) arrived in 2018 as SB 6175, took effect July 1, 2018, and draws on the Uniform Law Commission's Common Interest Ownership Act; it governs every common interest community — condominiums, plat and miscellaneous communities, and cooperatives — created on or after that date, plus older communities that opt in.¹² It is the most detailed of the four, running past 67,000 words and 120 sections after the 2024 and 2025 amendments.¹³ The Washington Condominium Act (RCW 64.34), effective July 1, 1990 and drawn from the Uniform Condominium Act, governs condominiums created from that date through June 30, 2018.¹⁴ The Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32), enacted in 1963, governs condominiums created before July 1, 1990.¹ The Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38), enacted in 1995, is a shorter governance framework for planned-community HOAs whose declarations were recorded before July 1, 2018.¹⁵ Most associations also incorporate as nonprofits under RCW 24.03A, and some under RCW Title 23B.¹

The consolidation runs in two steps. First, SB 5796 (2024, Chapter 321, Laws of 2024) repeals the Horizontal Property Regimes Act, the Condominium Act, the Homeowners' Associations Act, and the Land Development Act (RCW 58.19) effective January 1, 2028, after which WUCIOA governs every common interest community regardless of when it formed.² Second, SB 5129 (2025, Chapter 119, Laws of 2025) applies a defined set of WUCIOA provisions to communities created before July 1, 2018 starting January 1, 2026 (RCW 64.90.365).³ That cross-applicability list picks up the open-meeting and owner-comment provision (RCW 64.90.445), emergency powers, the EV-charging provision (RCW 64.90.513), heat pumps, the no-charge payment method, and the budget and reserve provisions.¹⁶ Provisions off the list — the resale-certificate requirement, RCW 64.90.640, for one, which demands delivery within 10 days of a written request for a fee capped at $275, or $100 for an update within six months — do not reach pre-2018 communities until the January 1, 2028 transition.¹⁷ Once a pre-2018 community becomes subject to a WUCIOA provision, any inconsistent provision in its governing documents gives way by operation of law.³

Architectural-review authority itself comes from the declaration and the applicable statute. The declaration typically hands an architectural committee or the board the discretion to approve or deny modifications. Washington courts read restrictive covenants as contracts and, since Wilkinson v. Chiwawa Communities Ass'n (2014), stress protecting the homeowners' collective interests while giving effect to the covenant's purpose.¹⁸ Under WUCIOA, an owner's alteration of a unit generally needs board approval, and the board must grant it once the owner submits the required plans and specifications, unless the proposal fails to comply with the statute or the governing documents (RCW 64.90.255).¹⁹

2B. Solar, EV, and ADUs

On solar, Washington has reached into HOAs since 2009. RCW 64.38.055 bars an association's governing documents from prohibiting an owner's installation of a solar energy panel on the owner's property, so long as the panel meets the health and safety standards state and local permitting authorities impose and the relevant performance and certification standards.⁶ The association keeps real control over aesthetics: it may bar visibility above the roof line, require a street-facing array to follow the roof slope, require frames and wiring painted to match the roofing, and adopt other reasonable rules on placement and manner.⁶ WUCIOA carries a parallel rule at RCW 64.90.510 — an association may not prohibit a compliant solar panel on or within a unit, though reasonable rules survive and installations on common elements need board approval.⁹ The Condominium Act contains a comparable provision. The bottom line: an association cannot effectively block a compliant installation, but reasonable restrictions stand.

On EV charging, WUCIOA's RCW 64.90.513 bars an association from adopting or enforcing any restriction that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of an EV charging station for an owner's personal, noncommercial use within a unit or a designated parking space.¹⁰ The association may require an application and reasonable architectural standards, but if it requires approval, it must process the application like an architectural modification, put the decision in writing, and — absent a reasonable request for more information — treat an application it does not deny in writing within 60 days as approved.¹⁰ Parallel provisions sit in each legacy statute: RCW 64.34.395 for 1990–2018 condominiums, RCW 64.32.290 for pre-1990 condominiums, and RCW 64.38.062 for pre-2018 HOAs.⁷ RCW 64.90.513 is one of the provisions that reached pre-2018 communities on January 1, 2026 under SB 5129.¹⁶

On ADUs, HB 1337 (2023, Chapter 334, Laws of 2023, effective July 23, 2023) requires cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act to permit at least two ADUs per lot in urban growth areas, codified at RCW 36.70A.680, .681, and .696.^20,21 The HOA-reach lives in companion provisions, not in the municipal mandate itself. RCW 64.90.350 (for WUCIOA communities) and RCW 64.38.160 (for HOA Act communities) provide that the declarations and governing documents of common interest communities created after July 23, 2023, and applicable to property within an urban growth area, may not impose any ADU restriction the local government would itself be barred from imposing under RCW 36.70A.681 — with an exception for communities created to protect public health, safety, and water quality from on-site wastewater.^4,22 That places Washington among the states that limit association authority over ADUs rather than the municipal-only group. The boundary matters: RCW 36.70A.699 says the ADU statutes do not modify rights legally recorded in the governing documents of associations subject to RCW 64.32, 64.34, 64.38, or 64.90, so covenants recorded before July 23, 2023 stay enforceable.⁵ For a modification request, the practical effect is this — a newer growth-area community cannot use its covenants to bar an ADU the city must allow, an older community's recorded ADU prohibition still binds its owners, and a city permit does not shield an owner from a covenant-enforcement suit by the association.⁴

2C. Other categories and federal overlays

Washington has an HOA flag statute and a political-sign statute, but both sit in the Homeowners' Associations Act. RCW 64.38.033 bars governing documents from prohibiting the outdoor display of the U.S. flag consistent with federal flag-display law (4 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) and from prohibiting a flagpole, subject to reasonable rules; RCW 64.38.034 protects political yard signs before an election.⁸ WUCIOA carries a flag provision at RCW 64.90.510 that also covers the Washington state flag.⁹ Because the RCW 64.38 flag statute reaches HOAs and not condominiums, a condominium owner's U.S. flag protection rests mainly on the federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 and the declaration.²³ Washington also limits association restrictions on drought-resistant and wildfire-resistant landscaping (RCW 64.38.057) and on heat pumps (RCW 64.90.580).¹⁶

Four federal overlays bind every Washington association, whatever the state framework says. The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 protects the U.S. flag.²³ The OTARD rule (47 C.F.R. § 1.4000) blocks restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance, or use of covered antennas and satellite dishes within an owner's exclusive-use area.¹¹ The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)) requires an association to permit reasonable modifications for a resident with a disability, generally at the resident's expense.²⁴ ADA Title III can reach common-area facilities that qualify as public accommodations.²⁵ These are federal requirements, not Washington statutes, and they sit on top of the state framework.

Section 3: Compliance obligations created by the framework

A. Architectural review process obligations

• Review authority arises from the declaration and the applicable state statute; the declaration sets the committee, standards, and process, and Washington courts treat covenants as contracts (Wilkinson v. Chiwawa Communities Ass'n). Applies to all community types.¹⁸
• Under WUCIOA, an owner's unit and common-element alterations generally require board approval, which the board must grant after receiving the required plans unless the proposal fails to comply with the statute or governing documents (RCW 64.90.255). Applies to WUCIOA communities; reaches pre-2018 communities on January 1, 2028.¹⁹
• Open-meeting, notice, and owner-comment duties attach to board decisions under WUCIOA: meetings must be open, with at least 15 minutes at the start for owner comment on agenda items before the board votes (reasonable limits of not less than 90 seconds per owner per unit are allowed), and owner meetings require not less than 14 and not more than 50 days' notice (RCW 64.90.445).²⁶ Applies to WUCIOA communities and, since January 1, 2026, to pre-2018 communities under SB 5129.¹⁶
• Written decisions and recordkeeping: EV applications require written decisions and carry a 60-day deemed-approval default (RCW 64.90.513), and records must be produced on request (RCW 64.90.495 for WUCIOA; RCW 64.38.045 for HOA Act communities).^10,27

B. Modifications the association must permit

• ADUs: for communities created after July 23, 2023 in urban growth areas, the association may not impose ADU restrictions the local government could not impose (RCW 64.90.350 and RCW 64.38.160); pre-2023 recorded covenants stay enforceable (RCW 36.70A.699).^4,5
• Solar: the association may not prohibit a compliant installation but may impose reasonable placement and aesthetic rules (RCW 64.38.055; RCW 64.90.510; RCW 64.34 counterpart). Applies across community types.^6,9
• EV charging: the association may not unreasonably restrict installation and must process applications like architectural modifications (RCW 64.90.513 and the legacy counterparts). Reaches pre-2018 communities since January 1, 2026.^10,7
• Federal: the U.S. flag (Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005), antennas and dishes (OTARD, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000), disability modifications (FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)), and ADA Title III common-area facilities are federal overlays binding every association.^11,24

C. ADU obligations and limits on HOA authority

• The HOA-reach: a common interest community created after July 23, 2023 in an urban growth area cannot adopt covenants restricting ADUs beyond what the city or county may restrict under RCW 36.70A.681 (RCW 64.90.350; RCW 64.38.160), with an exception for communities created to protect public health, safety, and water quality from on-site wastewater.^4,22
• The municipal mandate works at the zoning level (RCW 36.70A.680–.681): cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act must allow at least two ADUs per lot in urban growth areas, may not require owner occupancy, and may not impose design standards more restrictive than for the principal unit.²¹

D. Enforcement, dispute resolution, and appeal obligations

• Enforcement of the statutes and the governing documents runs through the courts; the civil path is Superior Court, then the Washington Court of Appeals (Division I in Seattle, II in Tacoma, III in Spokane), with discretionary review by the Washington Supreme Court.¹⁸
• Follow any pre-suit procedure the declaration or the statute requires — an internal appeal to the board, for instance — before heading to litigation; WUCIOA requires open decision-making at board meetings (RCW 64.90.445).²⁶
• There is no dedicated Washington HOA or condominium operations regulator and no CAM-specific license; common interest community managers are exempt from real-estate broker licensure under RCW 18.85.151.²⁸ The Attorney General's manufactured and mobile home dispute-resolution program (RCW 59.30) does not cover HOAs or condominiums.²⁸

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Three recent measures set the terms for Washington associations — one on ADUs, and two on the WUCIOA consolidation itself.

B. Recent appellate rulings

One decision from the past year speaks directly to how far an association may go in tightening its covenants — and what vote it takes to get there.

C. Active legislative debates

The Legislature kept refining WUCIOA in the 2026 session. It enacted HB 2304 (Chapter 7, Laws of 2026, effective June 11, 2026), which expands the small-condominium buildings eligible for the express warranty-insurance option, and Substitute HB 2354 (Chapter 96, Laws of 2026), an omnibus WUCIOA bill that, among other changes, requires the owner who benefits from an EV charging station or heat pump serving a single unit to bear its cost.^31,32 Stakeholders have also floated an HOA ombudsman within the Attorney General's office and Consumer Protection Act remedies, a sign of the continuing debate over enforcement as the 2028 consolidation nears.²⁹

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Washington sits among the UCIOA states, set apart by an in-progress consolidation of four statutes into WUCIOA and by owner-protective rules on solar, EV charging, and ADUs.¹² On ADUs, Washington belongs with California (Civ. Code § 4751), Colorado (HB 24-1152), Idaho, and Rhode Island in the group that limits association authority over accessory dwelling units, rather than the states that mandate ADUs only at the municipal level — though Washington's limit is bounded to communities created after July 23, 2023 in urban growth areas.⁴ For a multi-state operator, the practical implication is direct: in Washington an association generally may not prohibit compliant solar or, subject to reasonable rules, EV charging, may not prohibit ADUs in newer growth-area communities, and must identify the governing statute by the community's age and type until the 2028 consolidation completes.

This Washington ADUs and Modifications coverage updates quarterly as the Legislature and the Washington courts act, and as WUCIOA consolidates the field. The federal frameworks noted here — the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, OTARD, the Fair Housing Act, and the ADA — apply to Washington associations no matter what the state framework says.

Recommendations

• Stage 1 (identify). Boards and managers should first pin down the governing statute by creation date and type, then calendar the January 1, 2028 transition and confirm which WUCIOA provisions have applied since January 1, 2026 — open meetings, owner comment, EV charging, heat pumps, budgets, reserves. Escalate any community whose declaration has not been checked against RCW 64.90.365's cross-applicability list.
• Stage 2 (process discipline). For any solar, EV, or ADU request, treat denial as the high-risk path. Issue written decisions within the statutory deadlines — 60 days for EV under RCW 64.90.513 — and document the specific reasonable rule you rely on. Remember the benchmark: an EV application left undecided in writing for 60 days is deemed approved.
• Stage 3 (ADU audit). Communities created after July 23, 2023 in growth areas should audit their covenants for ADU restrictions that exceed what the city may impose under RCW 36.70A.681, and remove them. Older communities should confirm the recording date of their covenants before relying on an ADU prohibition, because the RCW 36.70A.699 carve-out protects only pre-July-23-2023 recorded rights.
• Stage 4 (restatement). Begin governing-document restatements before December 31, 2027. The 2028 repeal renders inconsistent legacy provisions unenforceable and exposes budget, assessment, and architectural actions to challenge if the documents are not conformed.

Caveats

• This is a moving target; verify each citation against the current RCW text before you rely on it, because the 2026 session produced further WUCIOA amendments — HB 2304 and Substitute HB 2354, both chaptered in 2026 — that keep adjusting the framework.
• The exact final disposition of the petition for review in View Ridge Estates v. Guetter (Washington Supreme Court No. 1030444) could not be confirmed from a primary source; the Court of Appeals opinion is published (30 Wn. App. 2d 612), and the analysis above relies on that published opinion.
• Do not overstate the ADU HOA-reach: it binds only newer growth-area communities, and pre-2023 recorded covenants stay enforceable, so calling every Washington association unable to restrict ADUs would be inaccurate.

1. Apex Law Group, Which HOA Law Applies To Me (four-statute framework by creation date and type; nonprofit corporation status) ↩
2. RCW 64.90.360, Common interest communities (reviser's note: chapters 58.19, 64.32, 64.34, and 64.38 RCW repealed by 2024 c 321, effective January 1, 2028) ↩
3. RCW 64.90.365, Common interest communities — Exceptions (cross-applicability to pre-July-1-2018 communities; 2025 c 119 amendments) ↩
4. RCW 64.90.350, New common interest communities — Accessory dwelling units ↩
5. RCW 36.70A.699, Accessory dwelling units — Rights not modified (does not modify rights legally recorded in governing documents of associations subject to ch. 64.32, 64.34, 64.38, or 64.90) ↩
6. RCW 64.38.055, Governing documents — Solar panels ↩
7. RCW 64.34.395, Electric vehicle charging stations (Condominium Act counterpart; see also RCW 64.32.290 and RCW 64.38.062) ↩
8. RCW 64.38.033, Flag of the United States — Outdoor display — Governing documents (and RCW 64.38.034, Political yard signs) ↩
9. RCW 64.90.510, Flags, solar panels, and other displays (WUCIOA solar and flag provision) ↩
10. RCW 64.90.513, Electric vehicle charging stations ↩
11. FCC, Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000 ↩
12. WUCIOA.info, Understanding WUCIOA and RCW 64.90 (SB 6175, effective July 1, 2018, based on UCIOA) ↩
13. AmLo Management, RCW 64.38 vs. WUCIOA (WUCIOA over 67,000 words and 120 sections after 2024 and 2025 amendments) ↩
14. RCW 64.34 (Washington Condominium Act, applies to condominiums created after July 1, 1990) ↩
15. RCW 64.38 (Homeowners' Associations Act, governs planned communities recorded before July 1, 2018) ↩
16. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.90.365 cross-applicability list (meetings RCW 64.90.445, EV RCW 64.90.513, heat pumps RCW 64.90.580, budgets and reserves) ↩
17. RCW 64.90.640, Resale certificate (delivery within 10 days; fee capped at $275, or $100 for an update within six months) ↩
18. Third Street Law, Structures That Violate CC&Rs (Riss v. Angel and Wimberley v. Caravello on Washington covenant interpretation; Wilkinson v. Chiwawa Communities Ass'n standard) ↩
19. RCW 64.90.255, Common elements and units — Alterations ↩
20. HB 1337 (2023), Washington State Legislature bill summary (Chapter 334, Laws of 2023, effective July 23, 2023) ↩
21. RCW 36.70A.681, Accessory dwelling units (two ADUs per lot, no owner occupancy, design standards no more restrictive than principal unit) ↩
22. RCW 64.38.160, New associations — Accessory dwelling units ↩
23. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243 ↩
24. HUD, Reasonable Modifications under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)) ↩
25. U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Title III (public accommodations) ↩
26. RCW 64.90.445, Meetings (open meetings; 15 minutes at the start for owner comment before votes; 14-to-50-day notice) ↩
27. RCW 64.90.495, Association records (WUCIOA records requests); see also RCW 64.38.045 ↩
28. RCW 18.85.151, Exemptions from licensing (common interest community managers exempt from real-estate broker licensure) ↩
29. House Bill Report ESSB 5129 (2025) — phase-in to January 1, 2026; small-community exemption raised to 50 units and $1,000; ombudsman and CPA proposals in testimony ↩
30. View Ridge Estates Homeowners Ass'n v. Guetter, No. 85897-1-I (Wash. Ct. App. Div. I, Apr. 8, 2024), 30 Wn. App. 2d 612, 546 P.3d 463 ↩
31. HB 2304 (2025-26), Washington State Legislature bill summary (Chapter 7, Laws of 2026, effective June 11, 2026; amends RCW 64.90.675) ↩
32. Substitute HB 2354 (2025-26), Washington State Legislature bill summary (Chapter 96, Laws of 2026; amends multiple RCW 64.90 sections) ↩