Regular meetings
The meetings on your calendar, not the ones called for a crisis, still run on rules you can get wrong.
A regular meeting is a board meeting held on the schedule your bylaws set (monthly, quarterly, whatever they specify), not called for a special reason. It still needs real notice: state law often sets a minimum notice period, and your bylaws can require more than that minimum, never less.
What makes a meeting "regular"
Every board meeting falls into one of a few types, and which type it is changes what rules apply. A regular meeting is the one on the calendar: the meeting your bylaws already schedule, monthly, quarterly, or whatever cadence they set, to conduct ordinary board business.
A special meeting is called outside that schedule for a specific purpose, and only the business named in its notice can be taken up. An emergency meeting is narrower still: it requires circumstances nobody could have reasonably foreseen. Special meetings and emergency meetings get their own lessons; this one covers the routine kind, the one most boards spend most of their time in.
Notice: a floor, not a target
Regular meetings still need advance notice before they happen. Where a state statute applies, it sets a minimum, and the minimum is not a suggestion.
Notice of a board meeting must go out "at least four days before the meeting" and "shall contain the agenda for the meeting."
Source: California Civil Code §4920, California Legislature
Other states set different numbers. Florida requires notice posted at least 48 hours ahead, or mailed further out depending on association type, and Washington requires at least 14 days. Check your own state's common-interest-community statute, these three are not the whole country.
| State | Minimum notice before a regular meeting | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| California | At least 4 days, agenda included | Civil Code §4920 |
| Florida (HOA) | Posted 48 hours ahead, or mailed at least 7 days ahead | §720.303 |
| Washington | At least 14 days, stating time, date, place, and agenda | RCW 64.90.445 |
These three states were researched directly because they have unusually well-developed statutes. Most states have thinner rules or none at all for HOA-specific meeting notice, so confirm your own state's law and your own bylaws before assuming a number.
Governing documents can require more than the statutory minimum, never less. If your bylaws specify a longer notice period than your state's floor, the bylaws control, check yours before scheduling.
What actually has to be in the notice
A notice that just says "meeting Tuesday" is not enough where a statute applies. California requires the notice itself to contain the agenda, not just a time and place. That matters because of how the meeting runs once it starts: in states with an open-meeting statute, the board is generally locked into what was posted, and can add items only in narrow, specific circumstances.
Meeting notice requirements covers the full notice rules in depth, and creating an agenda covers what belongs on it. Once the meeting starts, you still need a quorum to transact business, commonly a majority of the authorized board unless your documents say otherwise. Establishing quorum walks through that count.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A California HOA board posts notice for its regular meeting three days before the meeting date. A member asks if that is enough. What do you tell them?
An HOA's bylaws require ten days' notice for board meetings, but the board only gave the four days that state law allows as a minimum. Which number controls?
A board holds a meeting every second Tuesday of the month, as its bylaws specify. A neighboring board only calls a meeting when something urgent comes up. What best describes the first board's meeting?
- California Civil Code §4920, Davis-Stirling Open Meeting Act, California Legislature
- Florida Statutes §720.303, Homeowners' Association Act, Florida Legislature
- Florida Statutes §718.112, Condominium Act, Florida Legislature
- Revised Code of Washington §64.90.445, Washington State Legislature
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Board Meetings
Not sure your notice met the deadline? Meeting notice requirements covers what to do when notice goes out late.
This page explains general principles, not legal advice. HOA meeting law varies by state and by your association's own governing documents. Confirm specifics with your attorney and your bylaws before relying on them.