No, You Don't Have to Sit in Silence for 15 Minutes — RCW 64.90.445(2)(e) Explained

General information, not legal advice.

No. The 15 minutes in RCW 64.90.445(2)(e) is time a Washington board must make available for owner comment on agenda items before it votes — not a clock it has to run out in silence when nobody speaks. “Provide at least 15 minutes” allocates capacity owners may or may not use. The violations that get boards in trouble run the other way: gaveling the period shut while owners want to speak, taking comment after the vote, and running a remote meeting where owners cannot be heard.

No Washington court has construed (2)(e) — it arrived with ESSB 5129 (ch. 119, Laws of 2025) — so what follows is my reading, not settled law. The pillar guide to RCW 64.90.445 covers the rest of the section.

“At each board meeting, the board must provide a reasonable opportunity for unit owners to comment regarding matters affecting the common interest community and the association. The board must provide at least 15 minutes at the beginning of each meeting for unit owners to comment about agenda items before the board votes. The board may place reasonable time restrictions of not less than 90 seconds per owner per unit, except that the time per owner per unit may be reduced and allocated equally if more than 10 unit owners wish to comment.” — RCW 64.90.445(2)(e)

Does it apply to your association?

Yes, and since January 1, 2026 it applies however old your community is. RCW 64.90.365(1) provides that “the following sections apply to a common interest community created before July 1, 2018, and any inconsistent provisions of chapter 58.19, 64.32, 64.34, or 64.38 RCW do not apply,” listing “(c) RCW 64.90.445”; the effective-date note reads, “Sections 2 through 4, 11, 19, 21, and 25 of this act take effect January 1, 2026.” Communities exempt under RCW 64.90.360(4) or 64.90.100 are carved out; the old chapters sunset January 1, 2028 — see the WUCIOA 2028 checklist.

What RCW 64.90.445(2)(e) requires

One: a “reasonable opportunity” at every board meeting

The first sentence has no clock in it: the board must provide “a reasonable opportunity for unit owners to comment regarding matters affecting the common interest community and the association.” That is broader than the 15 minutes — not limited to agenda items — and the duty a three-second gavel breaks. See HOA open meeting laws.

Two: 15 minutes, at the beginning, before the vote

“Provide at least 15 minutes … for unit owners to comment” is a supply obligation: make the time available, announce it, hold it open. If the chair opens the period, states the rules, invites comment twice and nobody speaks, the board has provided it and may move on.

The floor cuts the other way: because it is “at least” 15 minutes, the board may not close early while owners are waiting. Owners do not complain about being offered fifteen minutes; they complain about being cut off. And “before the board votes” is the sleeper requirement — comment is an input to the decision, so comment taken afterward satisfies nothing.

Three: the 90-second floor per owner per unit

“Reasonable time restrictions of not less than 90 seconds per owner per unit” is a grant of authority with a floor inside it: a limit is allowed, it cannot go below 90 seconds unless the next clause applies, and it must still be reasonable. “Per owner per unit” is undefined, so set one allotment per unit by written rule.

Four: the “more than 10 unit owners” exception

Ten owners at 90 seconds each is 900 seconds — exactly 15 minutes, so the exception starts where the statute’s arithmetic runs out. At eleven or more speakers the board may go below 90 seconds, but only on the text’s two conditions: the time must be reduced and allocated equally. Three minutes for the board’s ally and forty-five seconds for the gadfly is not an equal allocation.

Twenty owners at 45 seconds each is compliant; six cut to 60 seconds is not, because six is not “more than 10.” And the trigger is owners who “wish to comment,” so count hands before shortening anyone — hence the sign-up sheet.

Who gets to speak: “unit owners”

RCW 64.90.010(59) defines a “unit owner” as “a declarant or other person that owns a unit or a lessee of a unit in a leasehold common interest community” — a narrow category that does not reach ordinary tenants. A renter, a spouse not on title, and an owner’s attorney have no statutory right to address the board, and unlike voting under RCW 64.90.455, there is no comment by proxy. Nothing forbids hearing them anyway — just make it written policy applied to everyone alike.

Executive session has no comment period of its own

Under RCW 64.90.445(2)(a) the board “may hold an executive session only during a regular or special meeting of the board or a committee,” and “a final vote or action may not be taken during an executive session.” It is a closed segment inside an open meeting, not a meeting of its own, so the 15 minutes attaches to the meeting itself, in the open portion, and every vote lands in open session. See executive session minutes. Subsection (2) also reaches “committees authorized to act for the board,” so an architectural committee with delegated authority owes the same period.

How to run it

Put “Owner comment period (15 minutes)” on the agenda as the first item after call to order; that makes it structural, not discretionary, and our agenda template is built that way. Run a sign-up sheet at the door, with a hand count for remote attendees — it tells you whether the “more than 10” exception is available and gives the secretary a count. Then use the same three lines:

1. “It is 6:31. I’m opening owner comment — at least fifteen minutes on tonight’s agenda items, before the board votes.”
2. “Each owner has ninety seconds. I have four names on the sheet; if you’re on Zoom or the phone, unmute or raise your hand.” Then call speakers by name and unit, let the clock run, don’t debate.
3. “Anyone else? … Last call. … Seeing none, it’s 6:38, comment is closed.”

Comments on things not on the agenda are still owed a reasonable opportunity under the first sentence — just not this period: “That isn’t on tonight’s agenda, so hold it for open comment at the end; if the board wants to act we’ll notice it for next month.” Board action needs 14 days’ notice and an agenda under (2)(f).

Remote and hybrid meetings — (3)(b)

Remote meetings get no exemption — they get an express cross-reference:

“(b) The process provides all participants the opportunity to hear or perceive the discussion and to comment as provided in subsection (2)(e) of this section; … (d) Any person entitled to participate in the meeting is given the option of participating by telephone.” — RCW 64.90.445(3)

Read (3)(b) literally: the platform must let participants comment. A host who mutes all attendees for the whole meeting, or runs webinar mode with no way to request the floor, has failed a statutory condition. Tell your Zoom host in writing to keep attendees unmuted or promotable, and keep the dial-in number in the notice — (3)(d) requires a telephone option even if every director uses video.

Minutes that record every decision the way RCW 64.90.445(4) requires. HOA Board Minutes is free: owner comment first on the agenda, roll-call votes by name, executive session kept out. Start with the agenda template, then generate your minutes free →

What goes in the minutes — (4)

The content requirement is one sentence, not a transcript:

“Minutes of all unit owner meetings and board meetings, excluding executive sessions, must be maintained in a record. The decision on each matter voted upon at a board meeting or unit owner meeting must be recorded in the minutes.” — RCW 64.90.445(4)

Decisions — not discussion, not comments, not names. Record the open and close times, the announced limit, and how many spoke:

• “Owner comment opened 6:31 p.m.; chair announced a 90-second limit per owner. Four owners commented on the landscaping bids. Closed 6:39 p.m.”
• “Owner comment opened 6:30 p.m.; chair invited comment twice, no owner requested to speak. Closed 6:32 p.m.”

Summarizing comments by name is a liability three ways: owners fight over accuracy, so approval becomes an hour of editing; an accusation about a neighbor or vendor becomes a published statement the association owns; and minutes are an association record under RCW 64.90.495(1)(b), open to inspection on 10 days’ notice — discoverable in the dispute you hoped to avoid. Record the votes instead: how to record a motion and vote, the free minutes template, and the full 64.90.445 walkthrough.

Six ways boards get this wrong

Each is common and fixable at the next meeting.

• Comment after the vote, or “we’ll take comments at the end.” The statute says “before the board votes.”
• The three-second gavel. “Any comments? None. Moving on” fails the reasonable-opportunity sentence even if the agenda promises fifteen minutes.
• Capping everyone at 60 seconds. Lawful only if more than 10 owners wish to comment, and only if allocated equally.
• Muting remote owners. A direct conflict with (3)(b).
• A bylaw making comment discretionary. RCW 64.90.015(2) bars governing documents from varying “a provision of this chapter that gives a right to or imposes an obligation or liability … on a unit owner … association, or board,” and the only meetings entries (3)(v) leaves variable are (1)(b) and (2)(i) — not (2)(e).
• Treating the annual meeting like a board meeting. At owner meetings, (1)(d) says only that “unit owners must be given a reasonable opportunity at any meeting to comment regarding any matter affecting the common interest community or the association” — broader in subject, but no 15-minute reservation and no 90-second floor.

What to do this month

• Move “Owner comment period (15 minutes)” to the top of the agenda template.
• Adopt a one-page comment-period rule by resolution: per-speaker limit, sign-up sheet, how the “more than 10” reduction is calculated, whether non-owners may be recognized.
• Email the Zoom host about unmuting attendees and the dial-in number.
• Give the secretary the two minutes lines above.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to wait the full 15 minutes if nobody wants to speak?

In my reading, no. The board “must provide at least 15 minutes” before it votes (RCW 64.90.445(2)(e)) — an obligation to make time available, not to consume it. If the chair opens the period, invites comment twice and nobody speaks, the board may proceed. It may not close early while owners still wish to speak.

Can the board limit each owner to 90 seconds?

Yes. The board “may place reasonable time restrictions of not less than 90 seconds per owner per unit.” That is a floor: anything shorter is unlawful unless more than 10 unit owners wish to comment. Announce it when the period opens.

What if more than 10 owners want to speak?

Then “the time per owner per unit may be reduced and allocated equally.” Twenty owners at 45 seconds each is compliant, as is eleven at roughly 81 seconds. The reduction must be equal across speakers. The board may also extend the period.

Does the 15-minute comment period apply to executive sessions?

No. Executive session is a closed portion of an open board meeting, not a meeting of its own: it may be held “only during a regular or special meeting of the board or a committee,” and no final vote may be taken there (RCW 64.90.445(2)(a)).

Does this apply to our HOA formed before 2018?

Yes, since January 1, 2026. RCW 64.90.365(1)(c) applies RCW 64.90.445 to communities created before July 1, 2018 and displaces inconsistent provisions of chapters 58.19, 64.32, 64.34 and 64.38 RCW, except communities exempt under RCW 64.90.360(4) or 64.90.100.

Can tenants speak during the owner comment period?

The statutory right belongs to “unit owners” as defined in RCW 64.90.010(59), which does not cover an ordinary residential tenant, a spouse not on title, or an owner’s attorney. A board may still recognize them — that is discretion, not obligation, and should follow a written rule.

Can the board respond to owner comments?

Nothing in RCW 64.90.445 requires a response or prohibits one; most chairs do better to thank the speaker and move on. For an answer on the record, RCW 64.90.715 (effective June 11, 2026) obliges the association to respond within 30 days to a written inquiry sent by certified mail.

Does the comment period apply to Zoom meetings?

Yes. A remote meeting is lawful only if “the process provides all participants the opportunity to hear or perceive the discussion and to comment as provided in subsection (2)(e)” (RCW 64.90.445(3)(b)), the notice explains how to join, votes are by roll call, and participants have a telephone option.

Run the meeting; let the software keep the record. HOA Board Minutes puts owner comment first, logs the open and close times, and records motions and roll-call votes by name. Free, part of HOA Fiscal. Start your next meeting here →

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Primary sources (app.leg.wa.gov, September 8, 2026): RCW 64.90.445, .365, .015, .010, .495, .715; effective-date note following RCW 64.32.260; ESSB 5129, ch. 119, Laws of 2025.