HOA Enacting a Smoking Ban Without a Formal Owner Vote

Attorney Answer

A board generally cannot stretch a nuisance clause into a blanket smoking ban without an owner vote, and there is a second, independent problem here — but it is not the 90 seconds. Under RCW § 64.90.445(2)(e), a board may impose reasonable time restrictions of "not less than 90 seconds per owner per unit," so a 90-second turn is the floor the legislature expressly allowed. What that same provision requires is at least 15 minutes at the beginning of each meeting for owners to comment on agenda items before the board votes — and that is the requirement your board appears to have skipped.

A nuisance clause is generally meant to address specific conduct that unreasonably interferes with other residents, not to serve as a catch-all rulemaking tool. A rule banning smoking outright for every owner looks less like enforcement of a nuisance clause and more like a new use restriction — and use restrictions typically require a formal CC&R amendment, which usually needs an owner vote, not just board action. Separately, RCW § 64.90.445(2)(a) requires board meetings to be open to unit owners, and § 64.90.445(2)(e) requires the board to give at least 15 minutes at the start of each meeting for owners to comment on agenda items before it votes. The board is allowed to cut each owner down to as little as 90 seconds, and to shorten and divide that time equally if more than 10 owners want to speak — so build your objection on the missing 15 minutes and on the order of events (comment first, vote after), not on the length of one owner's turn. If you were given no time at all, or the board voted before the comment period, that is the violation to name. These rules reach your association even if it was created before July 1, 2018, because RCW § 64.90.365(1) applies § 64.90.445 to older communities.

What you can do:

1. Check your declaration/bylaws for what counts as a board-adoptable "rule" versus a use restriction requiring an owner vote to amend the CC&Rs (thresholds vary by association).

2. Request the meeting minutes and any recording to document how comment was handled.

3. Send the board a written objection covering both the scope and process problems.

4. Contact an HOA-law attorney or your state's common-interest community resources to evaluate a formal challenge.

⏱ Time limits apply. Challenging a board rule or seeking reconsideration usually has a limited practical window before the rule takes effect and is enforced, so raise the process objection promptly.