Arizona Condo Association Meetings: A.R.S. 33-1248 and 33-1250

Quick answer: Arizona condo association meetings are governed by A.R.S. 33-1248 and 33-1250. Owner and board meetings must be open, with five narrow grounds for a closed session. Owners get notice of member meetings 10 to 50 days ahead, and notice and an agenda for board meetings at least 48 hours ahead. After declarant control ends, proxies are banned, and the association must offer in-person and absentee ballot voting.

These two sections of the Arizona Condominium Act override your declaration and bylaws on most meeting questions. If you serve on a condo board, they are the rules to run your meetings by. Planned communities (HOAs that aren't condominiums) follow a separate statute; see our guide to A.R.S. 33-1804 and Arizona HOA board meetings.

Arizona condo association meetings at a glance

The open meeting rule (A.R.S. 33-1248)

Subsection (A) sets the baseline:

Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration, bylaws or other documents to the contrary, all meetings of the unit owners' association and the board of directors, and any regularly scheduled committee meetings, are open to all members of the association or any person designated by a member in writing as the member's representative and all members or designated representatives so desiring shall be allowed to attend and speak at an appropriate time during the deliberations and proceedings.

Three practical points follow from the rest of subsection (A):

• Owners get to speak before the vote. The board can set reasonable time limits, but it must let a member or the member's designated representative speak once after the board has discussed a specific agenda item and before it takes formal action on that item. The board must also allow a reasonable number of speakers on each side of an issue.
• Owners may record. People attending may audiotape or videotape the open portions of board and member meetings. The board can't require advance notice of recording. It can adopt reasonable recording rules, but those rules can't bar recording unless the board itself records the meeting and makes the unedited recording available to members on request.
• Board recordings are kept six months. If the board records an open meeting, it must keep a copy for at least six months and make the unedited recording available to any member on request.

Workshops and informal meetings count

The open meeting rule isn't limited to meetings where the board votes. Subsection (E)(4) says:

Any quorum of the board of directors that meets informally to discuss association business, including workshops, shall comply with the open meeting and notice provisions of this section without regard to whether the board votes or takes any action on any matter at that informal meeting.

So a study session, a budget workshop or a walk-through attended by a quorum needs the same 48-hour notice and has to be open to owners.

Subsection (F) adds a policy statement: anyone interpreting these provisions, including board members and community managers, must construe them in favor of open meetings.

When a condo board can close a meeting

A portion of a meeting may be closed only if it's limited to one or more of five topics listed in subsection (A):

1. Legal advice from an attorney for the board or the association.
2. Pending or contemplated litigation.
3. Personal, health or financial information about an individual member, an individual employee of the association, or an individual employee of a contractor.
4. Job performance, compensation, health records or specific complaints against an individual employee of the association or of a contractor who works under the association's direction.
5. An owner's appeal of a violation or penalty, unless the affected owner asks for it to be heard in open session.

Before closing the door, the board has to say which ground applies:

Before entering into any closed portion of a meeting of the board of directors, or on notice of a meeting under subsection D of this section that will be closed, the board shall identify the paragraph under subsection A of this section that authorizes the board to close the meeting.

That's subsection (C). Record that statement in the open-session minutes. Our guide to HOA executive session minutes shows how to document a closed session without disclosing what was discussed.

Notice of unit owner meetings

Subsection (B) requires a meeting of the unit owners' association at least once each year, and all association and board meetings must be held in Arizona. Special owner meetings may be called by the president, by a majority of the board, or by owners holding at least 25 percent of the votes (or a lower percentage if the bylaws say so).

The notice window for any owner meeting:

Not fewer than ten or more than fifty days in advance of any meeting of the unit owners, the secretary shall cause notice to be hand delivered or sent prepaid by United States mail to the mailing address of each unit or to any other mailing address designated in writing by the unit owner.

The notice must state the date, time and place. For an annual, regular or special meeting it must also state the purpose, including the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, any assessment changes that need owner approval, and any proposal to remove a director or officer.

The secretary must also provide an agenda for owner meetings. The agenda can go out by hand delivery, mail, website posting, e-mail or other electronic means, or by posting at a community center or similar location. An individual owner's failure to actually receive the notice or agenda doesn't invalidate what happens at the meeting.

For a step-by-step run of show, see how to run an HOA annual meeting.

Notice of board meetings: 48 hours

Subsection (D) covers board meetings held after the declarant control period ends:

Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration, bylaws or other condominium documents, for meetings of the board of directors that are held after the termination of declarant control of the association, notice to unit owners of meetings of the board of directors and meeting agendas shall be given at least forty-eight hours in advance of the meeting by newsletter, conspicuous posting or any other reasonable means as determined by the board of directors.

A few more points from subsections (D) and (E):

• The notice must state the date, time and place of the meeting.
• An officer's affidavit of notice is prima facie evidence that notice was given.
• The agenda must be available in advance for all unit owners attending.
• A quorum of the board may meet by telephone conference if a speakerphone in the meeting room lets board members and owners hear everyone who is speaking.

Emergency board meetings

Notice isn't required when emergency circumstances require board action before notice can be given. At an emergency meeting the board may act only on emergency matters. The minutes must state the reason for the emergency, and they must be read and approved at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

Voting, proxies and absentee ballots (A.R.S. 33-1250)

No proxies after declarant control

During the declarant control period, owners may vote by proxy. After that, subsection (C) ends the practice:

Notwithstanding any provision in the condominium documents, after termination of the period of declarant control, votes allocated to a unit may not be cast pursuant to a proxy.

Instead, the association must provide for votes to be cast in person and by absentee ballot. It may also allow other forms of delivery, including e-mail and fax.

What an absentee ballot must contain

When absentee ballots or other delivered ballots are used for action at an annual, regular or special member meeting, subsection (C) lists seven requirements:

1. The ballot sets forth each proposed action.
2. It gives an opportunity to vote for or against each proposed action.
3. It's valid for only one specified election or meeting and expires automatically afterward.
4. It states the date and time by which it must be delivered to the board to be counted, which must be at least seven days after the board delivers the unvoted ballot to the member.
5. It doesn't authorize another person to cast votes for the member.
6. The completed ballot contains the voter's name, address and actual or electronic signature. If the condominium documents permit secret ballots, only the envelope carries that information.
7. Ballots, envelopes and related materials, including sign-in sheets if used, are kept in electronic or paper form and made available for owner inspection for at least one year after the election.

Absentee ballots count toward quorum

Votes cast by absentee ballot or other form of delivery, including the use of e-mail and fax delivery, are valid for the purpose of establishing a quorum.

That's subsection (D). For many condos this is what makes the annual meeting possible. Send the ballot with the meeting notice and count the returned ballots when you establish quorum.

Units with more than one owner

Under subsection (A), if only one of a unit's co-owners is present, that owner casts all of the unit's votes. If more than one is present, the votes are cast as a majority in interest of the co-owners agree, unless the declaration expressly says otherwise. Majority agreement is presumed when one co-owner votes and no other co-owner promptly protests to the person presiding.

A meeting checklist for Arizona condo boards

Before a board meeting

• Post notice and the agenda at least 48 hours ahead by newsletter, conspicuous posting or another reasonable method the board has chosen.
• Have copies of the agenda available for owners who attend.
• If part of the meeting will be closed, note which of the five grounds applies.

Before an owner meeting

• Mail or hand deliver notice 10 to 50 days ahead, stating the date, time, place and purpose.
• Send the agenda and the absentee ballot. Set the ballot return deadline at least seven days after delivery.

During the meeting

• Let owners speak after board discussion and before each vote.
• Announce the statutory ground before entering closed session.
• Count absentee ballots toward quorum at owner meetings.

In the minutes

• Record each motion and vote. See how to record a motion and vote in HOA board minutes.
• For an emergency meeting, state the reason for the emergency.
• Note the closed-session ground and the time the board went in and came out.
• Keep ballots, envelopes and sign-in sheets for at least one year.

What these sections don't cover

Neither section applies to timeshare plans or associations subject to chapter 20 of Title 33. They also don't set your budget, assessment or reserve rules. For those, and for Arizona's 2026 legislative changes, see Dynamite Management's guide to Arizona HOA laws in 2026. If your board is self-managed and wants its books in the same shape as its minutes, HOA Fiscal's guide to self-managing an HOA covers the financial side.

FAQ

How much notice is required for an Arizona condo board meeting?

At least 48 hours, with the agenda, by newsletter, conspicuous posting or another reasonable method chosen by the board. This applies after declarant control ends. Emergency meetings are the exception.

How much notice is required for an Arizona condo annual meeting?

Not fewer than 10 or more than 50 days before the meeting, hand delivered or mailed to each unit's mailing address or another address the owner has designated in writing.

Can Arizona condo owners vote by proxy?

Not after the declarant control period ends. A.R.S. 33-1250(C) bars proxies and requires the association to offer in-person and absentee ballot voting.

Do absentee ballots count toward quorum in an Arizona condo?

Yes. A.R.S. 33-1250(D) says votes cast by absentee ballot or another form of delivery are valid for establishing a quorum.

Can owners record an Arizona condo board meeting?

Yes, the open portions. The board may adopt reasonable recording rules, but it can't bar recording unless it records the meeting itself and makes the unedited recording available to members on request.

This is not legal advice. This post summarizes A.R.S. 33-1248 and 33-1250 as published on the Arizona Legislature's website. Statutes change, so confirm the current text and talk to your association's attorney about your situation.

Cover: Photo by Quintin Gellar on Pexels