Hybrid meetings
Some directors in the room, some on a screen, one meeting. Here is what has to be true before you run one.
A hybrid board meeting mixes in-person and remote participation: some directors sit in the room, others join by phone or video. Your bylaws must authorize it. Beyond that, states diverge sharply: California requires a physical meeting location; Washington and Florida condominiums instead require options like phone access and roll-call votes.
People in the room, people on a screen, one meeting
A hybrid meeting is not the same as occasionally letting one director dial in. It is a single board meeting where some directors, and often some owners, sit in the same room while others join at the same time by phone or video, all counted as one meeting, not two.
Whether your board can do this at all depends on your bylaws, not on what feels convenient. Robert's Rules of Order treats electronic participation as conditional, not automatic.
"You may hold board meetings by videoconference or teleconference (including over the Internet) only if your bylaws specifically authorize you to do so."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
If your bylaws say nothing about electronic participation, the board's first move is amending them, not scheduling a hybrid meeting and hoping nobody objects.
A room may be required, or it may not be
Even where hybrid meetings are allowed, states disagree sharply on what has to accompany them. Check your own state's common-interest-community statute and your governing documents before you assume either rule applies to you.
California requires a teleconference board meeting to name a real room in the notice, staffed by at least one director, so a member without a phone or a laptop can still show up in person.
"...at least one physical location for member attendance..."
Source: California Civil Code §4090, California Legislature
Washington and Florida condominium law take a different approach: no physical room is required, but the meeting must use roll-call voting, and Washington specifically guarantees owners the option to join by telephone.
"Any meeting may be held by telephonic, video, or other conferencing process."
Source: Revised Code of Washington §64.90.445, Washington State Legislature
Open still means open, even with a screen involved
A hybrid format does not lower the association's open-meeting obligations. Owners who are not directors still have a right to attend and to hear what's happening, whichever way they join.
"...shall be audible to the members in a location specified in the notice..."
Source: California Civil Code §4925, California Legislature
Before the meeting, the board should also settle the mechanics Robert's Rules flags for any electronic format: how a remote director gets recognized to speak, how motions are put in writing, and how a vote is verified when not everyone is in the room. None of that is optional once directors are participating from more than one place.
The notice itself still has to meet your state's minimum, plus whatever your bylaws add on top, and it still has to carry the agenda regardless of format.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your California HOA board wants directors to join some meetings by video while others sit in the boardroom. Under California's Open Meeting Act, what must the notice also identify?
A Washington HOA board holds a hybrid meeting: some directors in person, some by phone. What must it also give every owner?
Your board's bylaws say nothing about electronic participation, but the president wants to start holding hybrid meetings anyway. Under Robert's Rules, what should the board do first?
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th ed., Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- California Civil Code, Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (§§4090, 4925), California Legislature
- Florida Statutes §718.112, Condominium Act, Florida Legislature
- Revised Code of Washington §64.90.445, Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, Washington State Legislature
Board Meetings
Next, check whether your state's open-meeting statute sets a specific notice period. See Meeting notice requirements.
This page is educational, not legal advice. Meeting rules vary by state and by your association's own governing documents; confirm specifics with your attorney and your CC&Rs, articles, and bylaws.