Special-assessment approval
The honest answer depends on your state and your declaration, and the two most common assumptions boards make are both wrong somewhere.
Whether a special assessment needs an ownership vote is not a national rule, it is set jointly by your state statute and your declaration. Some states let the board act alone up to a limit, some only require an open, noticed meeting, and some leave the vote question entirely to the declaration. Check both documents before assuming either way.
Neither common assumption is universally true
Many boards assume a special assessment always needs a majority of owners to sign off. Other boards assume the opposite, that the board can simply decide and bill it. Neither belief holds everywhere. The amount a board may impose on its own authority, and whether a vote happens at all, is set by a combination of your state's statute and your own declaration. That means the same dollar special assessment could be entirely board-approved in one state and require an owner vote in another.
The same problem, three different mechanics
| State | What the board can do alone | What has to happen instead of, or before, a vote |
|---|---|---|
| California | Levy special assessments up to 5 percent of budgeted gross expenses for the year | Above that, a membership vote is required |
| Texas | No statewide dollar cap on a special assessment | Must be considered and voted on by the board in an open meeting with prior owner notice |
| Florida | Statute does not itself require an ownership vote | At least 14 days' written notice before the meeting where it will be considered |
"the board may not impose special assessments... which in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the budgeted gross expenses of the association for that fiscal year"
Source: California Civil Code §5605, California Legislative Information
"Written notice of a meeting at which a nonemergency special assessment... will be considered must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the unit owners and posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 14 days before the meeting."
Source: Florida Statutes §718.112, The Florida Senate
Robert's Rules does not set the threshold either
Some boards look to Robert's Rules for the vote count needed to pass a special assessment. It cannot answer that question. Robert's Rules of Order's own governing body states it applies only where it is not inconsistent with the organization's own bylaws. It governs how a motion is handled once the authority to assess already exists; it does not create that authority or set its threshold. The vote threshold, if any, comes from your declaration, your bylaws, or your state statute, in that order of what to check.
What to check before you assume either way
Read your declaration's section on special assessments first. It may name a dollar or percentage threshold, or a required vote, that is stricter or looser than your state's default. Then check your state statute for any cap on board-only authority or any meeting-notice rule layered on top. Finally, separate genuine emergencies from planned capital work: California's own cap does not apply to true emergencies, and the trade group representing associations has taken the position that boards should be able to raise emergency money for life-safety threats without a vote. Do not assume your state resembles California, Texas, or Florida; confirm your own statute's current text.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A California board wants to levy a special assessment equal to 3 percent of budgeted gross expenses, with no owner vote. Can it proceed?
A Texas HOA board discusses and approves a special assessment on a private phone call among directors, with no owner notice. Is this valid?
A Florida condo board plans to consider a nonemergency special assessment at its next meeting. What must happen beforehand?
- California Civil Code §5605, California Legislative Information
- California Civil Code §5610, California Legislative Information
- Texas Property Code §209.0051, Texas Legislature
- Florida Statutes §718.112, The Florida Senate
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised Association, "How to Adopt Robert's Rules of Order", robertsrules.com
- Community Associations Institute, "Reserve Study and Funding", Community Associations Institute
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Assessments
Next, see how these same state rules apply to raising assessments generally, not just special ones.
Whether a vote is required at all, any percentage or dollar cap on board authority, and the required notice period before the meeting all vary by state and by your declaration.