The Do’s and Don’ts of HOA Meeting Minutes

HOA Board meeting protocol can be confusing if not clearly defined and understood. Within that protocol there parameters for a very important part of every Board meeting, the meeting minutes. Meeting minutes are meant to be a record of what has happened at a homeowners association (HOA) meeting.  This includes regularly scheduled Board of Directors Meetings, Annual Membership Meetings, and any other meetings where a vote was held or action was taken. 

Click me to learn how to create a successful homeowners association!

Minnesota law (varies by state) requires all Homeowners Associations to keep meeting minutes and to make these records available to HOA members.  HOA Board meeting requirements (per state laws) state that the responsibility to take minutes is held by the Secretary on the Board of Directors, and it is an important responsibility as these are the written records of the association.

HOA Meeting Minutes Property Management-hand-on-key-board

Typical layout of meeting minutes:

  • Date, time, and location of the meeting, as well as the time the meeting was called to order

  • Names of attendees and absent members

  • Review and approval of the previous meeting minutes

  • Short summary or evaluation of the current financials

  • Any motions that are proposed, who proposed them, and who seconded them

  • Any votes that happen, names of those who voted for and against, and the results of the vote

  • Any important decisions or resolutions that were voted on

  • An outline of unfinished or recurring business from previous meetings

  • New business that came up at the current meeting

  • Proposed date, time, and location of the next meeting

  • The time the meeting was adjourned

Now that we’ve covered what meeting agenda minutes are, who writes them, and what to put in them we will also quickly outline some general DO’s and DON’Ts when writing HOA meeting minutes.

Do

  • Clearly report on the action that was taken at the meeting, specifically for any motions made, votes held, etc.

  • Try to keep the minutes short to encourage owners who weren’t able to attend to read them.

  • Bring a laptop or other electronic device to the meeting to take meeting notes while all are present to avoid hand written note confusion when typing the minutes later.

  • Send a draft of the minutes to the other Board members to review.  While they may make sense to you, it’s good to have extra sets of eyes on them before submitting for final approval.

  • Post approved meeting minutes on a community website, or have them readily available electronically to share for members who request them. 

  • Promote regularly schedule events to encourage the membership to attend Board meetings.

  • If the Board enters executive session, do notate that in the minutes but not the proceedings that occur therein (those must be documented separately).

HOA Association Meeting Property Management

Don’t

  • Report on specific dialogue or personal opinions of what was said at the meeting. While some HOA Boards may be tempted to record this information in an effort to be transparent, this is a big no-no.  This will also help to keep the length of minutes down.

  • Include homeowner forum topics and discussion in the minutes.  Anything that requires a vote of the Board should be moved to the New Business and recorded there if action is taken.

  • Outline specific addresses or names when talking delinquencies, violations, or other sensitive information.

  • Wait until the next meeting to type up the previous meeting minutes.  This can cause items to be forgotten that should be in the minutes, and does not allow other association board members enough time to review the minutes prior to approving them.

If you are looking for more guidance on your HOAs meeting minutes or for a HOA annual meeting agenda template, please feel free to reach out to our team at RowCal today at 651-233-1307 or at Info@RowCal.com.

Mark Zubert