RCW ch. 64.90 — Revised Code of Washington Chapter 64.90 RCW — Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act

RCW 64.90.010 Definitions. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Affiliate of a declarant" means any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a declarant. For purposes of this subsection: (a) A person controls a declarant if the person: (i) Is a general partner, managing member, officer, director, or employer of the declarant; (ii) Directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing more than 20 percent of the voting interest in the declarant; (iii) Controls in any manner the election or appointment of a majority of the directors, managing members, or general partners of the declarant; or (iv) Has contributed more than 20 percent of the capital of the declarant. (b) A person is controlled by a declarant if the declarant: (i) Is a general partner, managing member, officer, director, or employer of the person; (ii) Directly or indirectly or acting in concert with one or more other persons, or through one or more subsidiaries, owns, controls, holds with power to vote, or holds proxies representing more than 20 percent of the voting interest in the person; (iii) Controls in any manner the election or appointment of a majority of the directors, managing members, or general partners of the person; or (iv) Has contributed more than 20 percent of the capital of the person. (c) Control does not exist if the powers described in this subsection (1) are held solely as security for an obligation and are not exercised. (2) "Allocated interests" means the following interests allocated to each unit: (a) In a condominium, the undivided interest in the common elements, the common expense liability, and votes in the association; (b) In a cooperative, the common expense liability, the ownership interest, and votes in the association; and (c) In a plat community and miscellaneous community, the common expense liability and the votes in the association, and also the undivided interest in the common elements if owned in common by the unit owners rather than an association. (3) "Assessment" means all sums chargeable by the association against a unit, including any assessments levied pursuant to RCW 64.90.480, fines or fees levied or imposed by the association pursuant to this chapter or the governing documents, interest and late charges on any delinquent account, and all costs of collection incurred by the association in connection with the collection of a delinquent owner's account, including reasonable attorneys' fees. (4) "Association" or "unit owners association" means the unit owners association organized under RCW 64.90.400 and, to the extent necessary to construe sections of this chapter made applicable to common interest communities pursuant to RCW 64.90.365, * 64.90.090, or 64.90.370, the association organized or created to administer such common interest communities. (5) "Ballot" means a record designed to cast or register a vote or consent in a form provided or accepted by the association. (6) "Board" means the body, regardless of name, designated in the declaration, map, or organizational documents, with primary authority to manage the affairs of the association. (7) "Common elements" means: (a) In a condominium or cooperative, all portions of the common interest community other than the units; (b) In a plat community or miscellaneous community, any real estate other than a unit within a plat community or miscellaneous community that is owned or leased either by the association or in common by the unit owners rather than an association; and (c) In all common interest communities, any other interests in real estate for the benefit of any unit owners that are subject to the declaration. (8) "Common expense" means expenditures made by, or financial liabilities of, the association, together with any allocations to reserves. (9) "Common expense liability" means the liability for common expenses allocated to each unit pursuant to RCW 64.90.235. (10) "Common interest community" means real estate described in a declaration with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for a share of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance, or improvement of, or services or other expenses related to, common elements, other units, or other real estate described in the declaration. "Common interest community" does not include an arrangement described in RCW 64.90.110 or 64.90.115. A common interest community may be a part of another common interest community. (11) "Condominium" means a common interest community in which portions of the real estate are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of the real estate is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. A common interest community is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners. (12) "Condominium notice" means the notice given to tenants pursuant to subsection (13)(c) of this section. (13)(a) "Conversion building" means a building: (i) That at any time before creation of the common interest community was lawfully occupied wholly or partially by a tenant or subtenant for residential purposes pursuant to a rental agreement, oral or written, express or implied, who did not receive a notice pursuant to (c) of this subsection prior to entering into the rental agreement or lawfully taking occupancy, whichever event occurred first; or (ii) That at any time within the 12 months preceding the first acceptance of an agreement with the declarant to convey, or the first conveyance of, any unit in the building, whichever event occurred first, to any person who was not a declarant or dealer, or affiliate of a declarant or dealer, was lawfully occupied wholly or partially by a tenant or subtenant for residential purposes pursuant to a rental agreement, oral or written, express or implied, who did not receive a condominium notice prior to entering into the rental agreement or lawfully taking occupancy, whichever event occurred first. (b) A building in a common interest community is a conversion building only if: (i) The building contains more than two attached dwelling units as defined in RCW 64.55.010(1); and (ii) Acceptance of an agreement to convey, or conveyance of, any unit in the building to any person who was not a declarant or dealer, or affiliate of a declarant or dealer, did not occur prior to July 1, 2018. (c) The notice referred to in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection must be in writing and must state: "The unit you will be occupying is, or may become, part of a common interest community and subject to sale." (14) "Convey" or "conveyance" means, with respect to a unit, any transfer of ownership of the unit, including a transfer by deed or by real estate contract and, with respect to a unit in a leasehold common interest community or a proprietary lease in a cooperative, a transfer by lease or assignment of the unit, but does not include the creation, transfer, or release of a security interest. (15) "Cooperative" means a common interest community in which the real estate is owned by an association, each member of which is entitled by virtue of the member's ownership interest in the association and by a proprietary lease to exclusive possession of a unit. (16) "Dealer" means a person who, together with such person's affiliates, owns or has a right to acquire either six or more units in a common interest community or 50 percent or more of the units in a common interest community containing more than two units. (17) "Declarant" means: (a) Any person who executes as declarant a declaration; (b) Any person who reserves or succeeds to any special declarant right in a declaration; (c) Any person who exercises special declarant rights or to whom special declarant rights are transferred of record. The holding or exercise of rights to maintain sales offices, signs advertising the common interest community, and models, and related right of access, does not confer the status of being a declarant; or (d) Any person who is the owner of a fee interest in the real estate that is subjected to the declaration at the time of the recording of an instrument pursuant to RCW 64.90.425 and who directly or through one or more affiliates is materially involved in the construction, marketing, or sale of units in the common interest community created by the recording of the instrument. (18) "Declarant control" means the right of the declarant or persons designated by the declarant to appoint or remove any officer or board member of the association or to veto or approve a proposed action of any board or association, pursuant to RCW 64.90.415(1)(a). (19) "Declaration" means the instrument, however denominated, that creates a common interest community, including any amendments to the instrument. (20) "Development rights" means any right or combination of rights reserved by a declarant in the declaration to: (a) Add real estate or improvements to a common interest community; (b) Create units, common elements, or limited common elements within a common interest community; (c) Subdivide or combine units or convert units into common elements; (d) Withdraw real estate from a common interest community; or (e) Reallocate limited common elements with respect to units that have not been conveyed by the declarant. (21) "Effective age" means the difference between the useful life and remaining useful life. (22) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. (23) "Electronic transmission" or "electronically transmitted" means any electronic communication (a) not directly involving the physical transfer of a record in a tangible medium and (b) that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by the sender and the recipient of the communication, and that may be directly reproduced in a tangible medium by a sender and recipient. (24) "Eligible mortgagee" means the holder of a security interest on a unit that has filed with the secretary of the association a written request that it be given copies of notices of any action by the association that requires the consent of mortgagees. (25) "Foreclosure" means a statutory forfeiture or a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of a security interest or a deed or other conveyance in lieu of a security interest. (26) "Full funding plan" means a reserve funding goal of achieving 100 percent fully funded reserves by the end of the 30-year study period described under RCW 64.90.550, in which the reserve account balance equals the sum of the estimated costs required to maintain, repair, or replace the deteriorated portions of all reserve components. (27) "Fully funded balance" means the current value of the deteriorated portion, not the total replacement value, of all the reserve components. The fully funded balance for each reserve component is calculated by multiplying the current replacement cost of that reserve component by its effective age, then dividing the result by that reserve component's useful life. The sum total of all reserve components' fully funded balances is the association's fully funded balance. (28) "Governing documents" means the organizational documents, map, declaration, rules, or other written instrument by which the association has the authority to exercise any of the powers provided for in this chapter or to manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under its jurisdiction. (29) "Identifying number" means a symbol or address that identifies only one unit or limited common element in a common interest community. (30) "Leasehold common interest community" means a common interest community in which all or a portion of the real estate is subject to a lease the expiration or termination of which will terminate the common interest community or reduce its size. (31) "Limited common element" means a portion of the common elements allocated by the declaration or by operation of RCW 64.90.210 (1)(b) or (3) for the exclusive use of one or more, but fewer than all, of the unit owners. (32) "Map" means: (a) With respect to a plat community, the plat as defined in RCW 58.17.020 and complying with the requirements of Title 58 RCW, and (b) with respect to a condominium, cooperative, or miscellaneous community, a map prepared in accordance with the requirements of RCW 64.90.245. (33) "Master association" means: (a) A unit owners association that serves more than one common interest community; or (b) An organization that holds a power delegated under RCW 64.90.300(1)(a). (34) "Miscellaneous community" means a common interest community in which units are lawfully created in a manner not inconsistent with chapter 58.17 RCW and that is not a condominium, cooperative, or plat community. (35) "Nominal reserve costs" means that the current estimated total replacement costs of the reserve components are less than 50 percent of the annual budgeted expenses of the association, excluding contributions to the reserve fund, for a condominium or cooperative containing horizontal unit boundaries, and less than 75 percent of the annual budgeted expenses of the association, excluding contributions to the reserve fund, for all other common interest communities. (36) "Organizational documents" means the instruments filed with the secretary of state to create an entity and the instruments governing the internal affairs of the entity including, but not limited to, any articles of incorporation, certificate of formation, bylaws, and limited liability company or partnership agreement. (37) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, the trustee or beneficiary of a trust that is not a business trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal entity. (38) "Plat community" means a common interest community in which units have been created by subdivision or short subdivision as both are defined in RCW 58.17.020 and in which the boundaries of units are established pursuant to chapter 58.17 RCW. (39) "Proprietary lease" means a written and recordable lease that is executed and acknowledged by the association as lessor and that otherwise complies with requirements applicable to a residential lease of more than one year and pursuant to which a member is entitled to exclusive possession of a unit in a cooperative. A proprietary lease governed under this chapter is not subject to chapter 59.18 RCW except as provided in the declaration. (40) "Purchaser" means a person, other than a declarant or a dealer, which by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a unit other than as security for an obligation. (41) "Qualified financial institution" means a bank, savings association, or credit union whose deposits are insured by the federal government. (42) "Real estate" means any leasehold or other estate or interest in, over, or under land, including structures, fixtures, and other improvements and interests that by custom, usage, or law pass with a conveyance of land though not described in the contract of sale or instrument of conveyance. "Real estate" includes parcels with or without upper or lower boundaries and spaces that may be filled with air or water. (43) "Real estate contract" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 61.30.010. (44) "Record," when used as a noun, means information inscribed on a tangible medium or contained in an electronic transmission. (45) "Remaining useful life" means the estimated time, in years, before a reserve component will require major maintenance, repair, or replacement to perform its intended function. (46) "Replacement cost" means the estimated total cost to maintain, repair, or replace a reserve component to its original functional condition. (47) "Reserve component" means a physical component of the common interest community which the association is obligated to maintain, repair, or replace, which has an estimated useful life of less than 30 years, and for which the cost of such maintenance, repair, or replacement is infrequent, significant, and impractical to include in an annual budget. (48) "Reserve study professional" means an independent person who is suitably qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to prepare a reserve study in accordance with RCW 64.90.545 and 64.90.550. For the purposes of this subsection, "independent" means a person who is not an employee, officer, or director, and has no pecuniary interest in the declarant, association, or any other party for whom the reserve study is prepared. (49) "Residential purposes" means use for dwelling or recreational purposes, or both. (50) "Rule" means a policy, guideline, restriction, procedure, or regulation of an association, however denominated, that is not set forth in the declaration or organizational documents. (51) "Security interest" means an interest in real estate or personal property, created by contract or conveyance that secures payment or performance of an obligation. "Security interest" includes a lien created by a mortgage, deed of trust, real estate contract, lease intended as security, assignment of lease or rents intended as security, pledge of an ownership interest in an association, and any other consensual lien or title retention contract intended as security for an obligation. (52) "Special declarant rights" means rights reserved for the benefit of a declarant to: (a) Complete any improvements the declarant is not obligated to make that are indicated on the map or described in the declaration or the public offering statement; (b) Exercise any development right, pursuant to RCW 64.90.250; (c) Maintain sales offices, management offices, signs advertising the common interest community, and models, pursuant to RCW 64.90.275; (d) Use easements through the common elements for the purpose of making improvements within the common interest community or within real estate that may be added to the common interest community, pursuant to RCW 64.90.280; (e) Make the common interest community subject to a master association, pursuant to RCW 64.90.300; (f) Merge or consolidate a common interest community with another common interest community, pursuant to RCW 64.90.310; (g) Appoint or remove any officer or board member of the association or any master association or to veto or approve a proposed action of any board or association, pursuant to RCW 64.90.415(1); (h) Control any construction, design review, or aesthetic standards committee or process, pursuant to RCW 64.90.505(3); (i) Attend meetings of the unit owners and, except during an executive session, the board, pursuant to RCW 64.90.445; (j) Have access to the records of the association to the same extent as a unit owner, pursuant to RCW 64.90.495. (53) "Specially allocated expense" means any common expense of the association, including allocations to reserves, allocated on a basis other than the common expense liability pursuant to RCW 64.90.480. (54) "Survey" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 58.09.020. (55) "Tangible medium" means a writing, copy of a writing, facsimile, or a physical reproduction, each on paper or on other tangible material. (56) "Timeshare" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 64.36.010. (57) "Transition meeting" means the meeting held pursuant to RCW 64.90.415(4). (58)(a) "Unit" means a physical portion of the common interest community designated for separate ownership or occupancy, the boundaries of which are described pursuant to RCW 64.90.225(1)(d). (b) If a unit in a cooperative is owned by a unit owner or is sold, conveyed, voluntarily or involuntarily encumbered, or otherwise transferred by a unit owner, the interest in that unit that is owned, sold, conveyed, encumbered, or otherwise transferred is the right to possession of that unit under a proprietary lease, coupled with the allocated interests of that unit, and the association's interest in that unit is not affected. (c) Except as provided in the declaration, a mobile home or manufactured home for which title has been eliminated pursuant to chapter 65.20 RCW is part of the unit described in the title elimination documents. (59)(a) "Unit owner" means (i) a declarant or other person that owns a unit or (ii) a lessee of a unit in a leasehold common interest community whose lease expires simultaneously with any lease the expiration or termination of which will remove the unit from the common interest community, but does not include a person having an interest in a unit solely as security for an obligation. (b) "Unit owner" also means the vendee, not the vendor, of a unit under a recorded real estate contract. (c) In a condominium, plat community, or miscellaneous community, the declarant is the unit owner of any unit created by the declaration. In a cooperative, the declarant is treated as the unit owner of any unit to which allocated interests have been allocated until that unit has been conveyed to another person. (60) "Useful life" means the estimated time during which a reserve component is expected to perform its intended function without major maintenance, repair, or replacement. (61) "Writing" does not include an electronic transmission. (62) "Written" means embodied in a tangible medium. [ 2025 c 119 s 6; 2024 c 321 s 301; 2019 c 238 s 201; 2018 c 277 s 102.] NOTES: *Reviser's note: RCW 64.90.015 No variation by agreement. (1) Except as expressly provided in this chapter, the effect of the provisions of this chapter may not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by this chapter may not be waived. Except as provided otherwise in RCW 64.90.110, a declarant may not act under a power of attorney, or use any other device, to evade the limitations or prohibitions of this chapter or the declaration. (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the governing documents may not vary a provision of this chapter that gives a right to or imposes an obligation or liability on a unit owner, declarant, association, or board. (3) The governing documents may vary the following provisions as provided in the provision: (a) RCW 64.90.020(1), concerning classification of a cooperative unit as real estate or personal property; (b) RCW 64.90.030 (2) and (3), concerning reallocation of allocated interests and allocation of proceeds after a taking by eminent domain; (c) RCW 64.90.360(4), 64.90.370, and 64.90.100, concerning elections regarding applicability of this chapter; (d) RCW 64.90.100 (1), (2), and (3), concerning communities restricted to nonresidential uses; (e) RCW 64.90.200(3) (a) and (b), concerning the timing of the conveyance of common elements to the association, and the vesting of real estate owned by the association on termination; (f) RCW 64.90.210, concerning boundaries between units and common elements; (g) RCW 64.90.240 (2) and (3), concerning reallocation of limited common elements; (h) RCW 64.90.245(11), concerning horizontal boundaries of units; (i) RCW 64.90.255, concerning alterations of units and common elements made by unit owners; (j) RCW 64.90.260 (1) and (2), concerning relocation of boundaries between units; (k) RCW 64.90.265 (1) and (2), concerning subdivision and combination of units; (l) RCW 64.90.275, concerning sales offices, management offices, models, and signs maintained by a declarant; (m) RCW 64.90.280 (1) and (3), concerning easements through, and rights to use, common elements; (n) RCW 64.90.285 (1) and (8), concerning the percentage of votes and consents required to amend the declaration; (o) RCW 64.90.290 (1) and (8), concerning the percentage of votes required to terminate a common interest community and priority of creditors of a cooperative; (p) RCW 64.90.360(4)(a), concerning small communities; (q) RCW 64.90.405 (4)(c) and (5)(c), concerning an association's assignment of rights to future income, the number of votes required to reject a proposal to borrow funds, and the right to terminate a lease or evict a tenant; (r) RCW 64.90.410 (1) and (2), concerning the board acting on behalf of the association and the election of officers by the board; (s) RCW 64.90.420(2), concerning costs of audits; (t) RCW 64.90.435(1)(b), concerning election of officers by unit owners; (u) RCW 64.90.440 (1) and (4), concerning responsibility for maintenance, repair, and replacement of units and common elements and treatment of income or proceeds from real estate subject to development rights; (v) RCW 64.90.445 (1)(b) and (2)(i), concerning meetings; (w) RCW 64.90.450, concerning quorum requirements for meetings; (x) RCW 64.90.455 (3), (4), (5), and (8), concerning unit owner voting; (y) RCW 64.90.465 (1), (2), and (7), concerning the percentage of votes required to convey or encumber common elements and the effect of conveyance or encumbrance of common elements; (z) RCW 64.90.470 (2) and (11), concerning insurance where the units are attached, and insurance for a nonresidential common interest community; (aa) RCW 64.90.475(2), concerning payment of surplus funds of the association; (bb) RCW 64.90.485 (7) and (20), concerning priority and foreclosure of liens held by two or more associations; (cc) RCW 64.90.505 (1) and (3), concerning the adoption of rules; (dd) RCW 64.90.520(4), concerning the board's ability to remove an officer elected by the board; (ee) RCW 64.90.525(1), concerning the percentage of votes required to reject a budget; and (ff) RCW 64.90.545(2), concerning applicability of reserve study requirements to certain types of common interest communities. [ 2026 c 96 s 1; 2025 c 119 s 7; 2018 c 277 s 103.] RCW 64.90.020 Separate titles and taxation. (1) In a cooperative, unless the declaration provides that a unit owner's interest in a unit and its allocated interests is real estate for all purposes, that interest is personal property. (2) In a condominium, plat community, or miscellaneous community, if there is any unit owner other than a declarant: (a) Each unit that has been created, together with its interest in the common elements, constitutes for all purposes a separate parcel of real estate; and (b) Each unit together with its interest in the common elements must be separately taxed and assessed. (3) If a development right has an ascertainable market value, the development right constitutes a separate parcel of real estate for property tax purposes and must be separately taxed and assessed to the declarant, and the declarant alone is liable for payment of those taxes. (4) If there is no unit owner other than a declarant, the real estate comprising the common interest community may be taxed and assessed in any manner provided by law. [ 2018 c 277 s 104.] RCW 64.90.025 Applicability of local ordinances, regulations, and building codes. (1) A building, fire, health, or safety statute, ordinance, or regulation may not impose any requirement upon any structure in a common interest community that it would not impose upon a physically identical development under a different form of ownership. (2) A zoning, subdivision, or other land use statute, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit the condominium or cooperative form of ownership or impose any requirement upon a condominium or cooperative or miscellaneous community that it would not impose upon a physically identical development under a different form of ownership. Such requirements include, without limitation, any permitting process such as a binding site plan under RCW 58.17.035 or hearing examiner proceeding under RCW 35A.63.170. (3) Chapter 58.17 RCW does not apply to the creation of a condominium or a cooperative. This chapter must not be construed to permit the creation of a condominium or cooperative or miscellaneous community on a lot, tract, or parcel of land that could not be sold or transferred without violating chapter 58.17 RCW. (4) Except as provided in subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, this chapter does not invalidate or modify any provision of any building, zoning, subdivision, or other statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation governing the use of real estate. (5) This section does not prohibit a county legislative authority from requiring the review and approval of declarations and amendments to declarations and of termination agreements executed pursuant to RCW 64.90.290(2) by the county assessor solely for the purpose of allocating the assessed value and property taxes. The review by the assessor must be done in a reasonable and timely manner. [ 2025 c 208 s 4; 2019 c 238 s 202; 2018 c 277 s 105.] RCW 64.90.030 Eminent domain. (1) If a unit is acquired by condemnation or part of a unit is acquired by condemnation leaving the unit owner with a remnant that may not practically or lawfully be used for any purpose permitted by the declaration, the award must include compensation to the unit owner for that unit and its allocated interests, whether or not any common elements are acquired. Upon acquisition, unless the decree otherwise provides, that unit's allocated interests are automatically reallocated to the remaining units in proportion to the respective allocated interests of those units before the taking, and the association must promptly prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocations. Any remnant of a unit remaining after part of a unit is taken under this subsection is thereafter a common element. (2) Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, if part of a unit is acquired by condemnation, the award must compensate the unit owner for the reduction in value of the unit and its interest in the common elements, whether or not any common elements are acquired. Upon acquisition, unless the decree provides otherwise: (a) That unit's allocated interests are reduced in proportion to the reduction in the size of the unit, or on any other basis specified in the declaration; and (b) The portion of the allocated interests divested from the partially acquired unit are automatically reallocated to that unit and to the remaining units in proportion to the respective allocated interests of those units before the taking, with the partially acquired unit participating in the reallocation on the basis of its reduced allocated interests. (3)(a) If part of the common elements is acquired by condemnation, the portion of the award attributable to the common elements taken must be paid to the association. A court may award damages to a unit owner or owners for particular damage to the owner's units arising from condemnation. (b) Unless the declaration or the decree provides otherwise, any portion of the award attributable to the acquisition of a limited common element must be equally divided among the owners of the units to which that limited common element was allocated at the time of acquisition. (4) The decree must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located. [ 2018 c 277 s 106.] RCW 64.90.035 Supplemental general principles of law applicable. The principles of law and equity, including the law of corporations and any other form of organization authorized by the law of this state and unincorporated associations, the law of real estate, and the law relative to the capacity to contract, principal and agent, eminent domain, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, receivership, substantial performance, or other validating or invalidating cause supplement this chapter, except to the extent inconsistent with this chapter. [ 2018 c 277 s 107.] RCW 64.90.040 Construction against implicit repeal. This chapter is intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter and no part of it must be construed to be impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if that construction can reasonably be avoided. [ 2018 c 277 s 108.] RCW 64.90.045 Application—Construction. This chapter must be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it. [ 2018 c 277 s 109.] RCW 64.90.050 Unconscionable agreement or term of contract. (1) The court, upon finding as a matter of law that a contract or contract clause was unconscionable at the time the contract was made, may refuse to enforce the contract, enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or limit the application of any unconscionable clause to avoid an unconscionable result. (2) Whenever it is claimed, or appears to the court, that a contract or any contract clause is or may be unconscionable, the parties, to aid the court in making the determination, must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to: (a) The commercial setting of the negotiations; (b) Whether a party has knowingly taken advantage of the inability of the other party reasonably to protect his or her interests by reason of physical or mental infirmity, illiteracy, inability to understand the language of the agreement, or similar factors; (c) The effect and purpose of the contract or clause; and (d) If a sale, any gross disparity at the time of contracting between the amount charged for the property and the value of that property measured by the price at which similar property was readily obtainable in similar transactions. A disparity between the contract price and the value of the property measured by the price at which similar property was readily obtainable in similar transactions does not, of itself, render the contract unconscionable. [ 2018 c 277 s 111.] RCW 64.90.055 Obligation of good faith. Every contract or duty governed under this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement. [ 2018 c 277 s 112.] RCW 64.90.060 Remedies. The remedies provided under this chapter must be liberally administered to the end that the aggrieved party is put in as good a position as if the other party had fully performed. However, consequential, special, or punitive damages may not be awarded except as specifically provided in this chapter or by other rule of law. [ 2018 c 277 s 113.] RCW 64.90.065 Adjustment of dollar amounts. (1) From time to time the dollar amount specified in RCW 64.90.360(4), 64.90.530(2), and 64.90.640(2) must change, as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, according to and to the extent of changes in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers: United States city average, all items 1967 = 100, compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor, (the "index"). The index for December 1979, which was 230, is the reference base index. (2) The dollar amounts specified in RCW 64.90.360(4), 64.90.530(2), and 64.90.640(2) and any amount stated in the declaration pursuant to RCW 64.90.360(4) and 64.90.640(2) must change on July 1st of each year if the percentage of change, calculated to the nearest whole percentage point, between the index at the end of the preceding year and the reference base index, is 10 percent or more, but: (a) The portion of the percentage change in the index in excess of a multiple of 10 percent must be disregarded and the dollar amount may only change in multiples of 10 percent of the amount appearing in this chapter on July 1, 2018; (b) the dollar amount must not change if the amount required under this section is that currently in effect pursuant to this chapter as a result of earlier application of this section; and (c) the dollar amount must not be reduced below the amount appearing in this chapter on July 1, 2018. (3) If the index is revised after December 1979, the percentage of change pursuant to this section must be calculated on the basis of the revised index. If the revision of the index changes the reference base index, a revised reference base index must be determined by multiplying the reference base index then applicable by the rebasing factor furnished by the bureau of labor statistics. If the index is superseded, the index referred to in this section is the one represented by the bureau of labor statistics as reflecting most accurately the changes in the purchasing power of the dollar for consumers. [ 2026 c 96 s 7; 2024 c 321 s 302; 2018 c 277 s 114.] RCW 64.90.070 Electronic signatures in global and national commerce act. This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal electronic signatures in global and national commerce act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001(c) or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7003(b). [ 2018 c 277 s 115.] RCW 64.90.085 Common interest communities, amendments to. Amendments to this chapter apply to all common interest communities subject to this chapter, regardless of when the amendments become effective. [ 2024 c 321 s 201; 2018 c 277 s 118.] RCW 64.90.090 Prior condominium statutes. (Effective until January 1, 2028.) (1) Chapter 64.32 RCW does not apply to condominiums created on or after July 1, 1990, and except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, chapter 64.34 RCW does not apply to condominiums created on or after July 1, 2018. (2) RCW 64.34.405, 64.34.410, 64.34.415, 64.34.417, 64.34.418, and 64.34.420 continue to apply, and RCW 64.90.605, 64.90.610, 64.90.615, 64.90.620, 64.90.625, 64.90.630, and 64.90.635 do not apply, to any public offering statement first delivered to a prospective purchaser prior to July 1, 2018, for any common interest community created on or after July 1, 2018. A declarant or dealer who first delivered a public offering statement to a prospective purchaser pursuant to chapter 64.34 RCW prior to July 1, 2018, is not required to deliver a new or amended public offering statement to that purchaser pursuant to chapter 238, Laws of 2019. [ 2019 c 238 s 205; 2018 c 277 s 119.] RCW 64.90.100 Common interest communities, nonresidential and mixed-use. (1) A plat community, miscellaneous community, or cooperative in which all the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use is not subject to this chapter except to the extent the declaration provides that: (a) This entire chapter applies to the community; (b) RCW 64.90.010 through 64.90.325 and 64.90.900 apply to the community; or (c) Only RCW 64.90.020, 64.90.025, and 64.90.030 apply to the community. (2) A condominium in which all the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use is subject to this chapter, but the declaration may provide that only RCW 64.90.010 through 64.90.325 and 64.90.900 apply to the community. (3) If this entire chapter applies to a common interest community in which all the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use, the declaration may also require, subject to RCW 64.90.050, that: (a) Any management, maintenance, operations, or employment contract, lease of recreational or parking areas or facilities, and any other contract or lease between the association and a declarant or an affiliate of a declarant continues in force after the declarant turns over control of the association; and (b) Purchasers of units must execute proxies, powers of attorney, or similar devices in favor of the declarant regarding particular matters enumerated in those instruments. (4) A common interest community that contains both units restricted to nonresidential purposes and units that may be used for residential purposes is not subject to this chapter unless the units that may be used for residential purposes would comprise a common interest community subject to this chapter in the absence of such nonresidential units or the declaration provides that this chapter applies as provided in subsection (2) or (3) of this section. [ 2024 c 321 s 304; 2018 c 277 s 121.] RCW 64.90.105 Common interest communities, out-of-state. This chapter does not apply to a common interest community located outside this state, but RCW 64.90.605 and 64.90.610, and, to the extent applicable, RCW 64.90.615 and 64.90.620, apply to a contract for the disposition of a unit in that common interest community signed in this state by any party unless exempt under RCW 64.90.600(2). [ 2024 c 321 s 202; 2018 c 277 s 122.] RCW 64.90.110 Exempt real estate arrangements. (1) An arrangement between the associations for two or more common interest communities to share the costs of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, services, maintenance or improvements of real estate, or other activities specified in their arrangement or declarations does not create a separate common interest community. (2) An arrangement between an association for a common interest community and the owner of real estate that is not part of a common interest community to share the costs of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, services, maintenance or improvements of real estate, or other activities specified in their arrangement does not create a separate common interest community. However, costs payable by the common interest community as a result of the arrangement must be included in the periodic budget for the common interest community, and the arrangement must be disclosed in all public offering statements and resale certificates required under this chapter. (3) Except for a cooperative, a lease in which the tenant is obligated to share the costs of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, services, maintenance or improvements of real estate, or other activities specified in an arrangement does not create a separate common interest community. [ 2018 c 277 s 123.] RCW 64.90.115 Other exempt covenants. An easement or covenant that requires the owners of separately owned parcels of real estate to share costs or other obligations associated with a party wall, driveway, well, or other similar use does not create a common interest community. [ 2018 c 277 s 124.] RCW 64.90.200 Common interest communities, creation of. (1)(a) A common interest community may be created under this chapter only by (i) recording a declaration executed in the same manner as a deed, and (ii) recording a map pursuant to RCW 64.90.245(3), and (iii) with respect to a cooperative, conveying the real estate subject to that declaration to the association. (b) The declaration and map must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the common interest community is located. The name of a condominium must not be identical to the name of any other existing condominium or plat community, whether created under this chapter or *chapter 64.32 or 64.34 RCW, in any county in which the condominium is located. (2) A declaration or an amendment to a declaration adding units to a common interest community other than a plat community may not be recorded unless a certification required under RCW 64.90.245(6) (a) or (b) regarding the map is also recorded. (3)(a) Except as provided otherwise in the declaration or map, if, in a common interest community other than a condominium or cooperative, real estate described as a common element in the declaration or map is not conveyed to the association or expressly dedicated in the declaration or map to the unit owners as tenants in common, that real estate is deemed to be conveyed to the association at the time the first unit is conveyed, subject to the authority and jurisdiction of the association and subject to development rights, if any, reserved in the declaration. (b) Except as provided otherwise in the declaration or map, in the event of the dissolution of an association, any real estate owned by the association vests in the unit owners as tenants in common with each unit owner's interest being determined in accordance with the provisions of RCW 64.90.290 regarding a termination of the common interest community. [ 2018 c 277 s 201.] NOTES: *Reviser's note: RCW 64.90.205 Reservation of name. Upon the filing of a written request with the county office in which the declaration is to be recorded, using a form of written request as may be required by the county office and paying a fee as the county office may establish not in excess of fifty dollars, a person may reserve the exclusive right to use a particular name for a condominium to be created in that county. The reserved name must not be identical to any other condominium or plat community located in that county. The name reservation expires unless within three hundred sixty-five days from the date on which the name reservation is filed the person reserving that name either records a declaration using the reserved name or files a new name reservation request. [ 2018 c 277 s 202.] RCW 64.90.210 Unit boundaries. Except as provided by the declaration or, in the case of a plat community or miscellaneous community, by the map: (1)(a) If walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a unit, all lath, furring, wallboard, plasterboard, plaster, paneling, tiles, wallpaper, paint, finished flooring, and any other materials constituting any part of the finished surfaces thereof are a part of the unit, and all other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are a part of the common elements. (b) If any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column, or any other fixture lies partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element allocated solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements is a part of the common elements. (2) Subject to subsection (1)(b) of this section, all spaces, interior partitions, and other fixtures and improvements within the boundaries of a unit are a part of the unit. (3) Any fireplaces, shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, decks, patios, and all exterior doors and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single unit, but located outside the unit's boundaries, are limited common elements allocated exclusively to that unit. [ 2025 c 119 s 8; 2018 c 277 s 203.] RCW 64.90.215 Construction and validity of governing documents. (1) All provisions of the governing documents are severable. If any provision of a governing document, or its application to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the governing document or application to other persons or circumstances is not affected. (2) The rule against perpetuities may not be applied to defeat any provision of the governing documents adopted pursuant to RCW 64.90.405(1)(a). (3) If a conflict exists between the declaration and the organizational documents, the declaration prevails except to the extent the declaration is inconsistent with this chapter. (4)(a) The creation of a common interest community must not be impaired and title to a unit and any common elements must not be rendered unmarketable or otherwise affected by reason of an insignificant failure of the governing documents, or any amendment to the governing documents, to comply with this chapter. (b) This chapter does not determine whether a significant failure impairs marketability. Any unit owner, record owner of a security interest in any portion of the common interest community, or the association has standing to obtain a court order compelling the recordation of a declaration or map or adoption of organizational documents, or any appropriate amendment thereto, or to any other governing document, necessary to comply with the requirements of this chapter and to effectuate the reasonably ascertainable intent of the parties, including the intent to create a common interest community in compliance with this chapter. The failure to (i) include in the declaration or any amendment to the declaration cross-references by recording number to the map or any amendment to the map, or (ii) include in the map or any amendment to the map cross-references by recording number to the declaration or any amendment to the declaration is deemed an insignificant failure to comply with this chapter. [ 2018 c 277 s 204.] RCW 64.90.220 Description of units. (1) In a condominium or a cooperative, a description of a unit that sets forth the name of the common interest community, the recording data for the declaration, the county and state in which the common interest community is located, and the identifying number of the unit is a legally sufficient description of that unit and all rights, obligations, and interests appurtenant to that unit that were created by the governing documents. (2) In a plat community or miscellaneous community, a description of a unit that sets forth the name of the common interest community, the recording data for the map, the county and state in which the common interest community is located, and the identifying number of the unit is a legally sufficient description of that unit and all rights, obligations, and interests appurtenant to that unit. [ 2018 c 277 s 205.] RCW 64.90.225 Declaration—Contents. (1) The declaration must contain: (a) The names of the common interest community and the association and, immediately following the initial recital of the name of the community, a statement that the common interest community is a condominium, cooperative, plat community, or miscellaneous community; (b) A legal description of the real estate included in the common interest community; (c) A statement of the number of units that the declarant has created and, if the declarant has reserved the right to create additional units, the maximum number of such additional units; (d) In all common interest communities, a reference to the recorded map creating the units and common elements, if any, subject to the declaration, and in a common interest community other than a plat community, the identifying number of each unit created by the declaration, a description of the boundaries of each unit if and to the extent they are different from the boundaries stated in RCW 64.90.210(1)(a), and with respect to each existing unit, and if known at the time the declaration is recorded, the (i) approximate square footage, (ii) number of whole or partial bathrooms, (iii) number of rooms designated primarily as bedrooms, and (iv) level or levels on which each unit is located. The data described in this subsection (1)(d)(ii) and (iii) may be omitted with respect to units restricted to nonresidential use; (e) A description of any limited common elements, other than those specified in RCW 64.90.210 (1)(b) and (3); (f) A description of any real estate, except real estate subject to development rights, that may be allocated subsequently by the declarant as limited common elements, other than limited common elements specified in RCW 64.90.210 (1)(b) and (3), together with a statement that they may be so allocated; (g) A description of any development right and any other special declarant rights reserved by the declarant, a time limit within which each of those rights must be exercised, and a legal description of the real property to which each development right applies; (h) If any development right may be exercised with respect to different parcels of real estate at different times, a statement to that effect together with: (i) Either a statement fixing the boundaries of those portions and regulating the order in which those portions may be subjected to the exercise of each development right or a statement that no assurances are made in those regards; and (ii) A statement as to whether, if any development right is exercised in any portion of the real estate subject to that development right, that development right must be exercised in all or in any other portion of the remainder of that real estate; (i) Any other conditions or limitations under which the rights described in (g) of this subsection may be exercised or will lapse; (j) An allocation to each unit of the allocated interests in the manner described in RCW 64.90.235; (k) Any restrictions on alienation of the units, including any restrictions on leasing that exceed the restrictions on leasing units that boards may impose pursuant to RCW 64.90.510(10)(c) and on the amount for which a unit may be sold or on the amount that may be received by a unit owner on sale, condemnation, or casualty loss to the unit or to the common interest community, or on termination of the common interest community; (l) A cross-reference by recording number to the map for the units created by the declaration; (m) Any authorization pursuant to which the association may establish and enforce construction and design criteria and aesthetic standards as provided in RCW 64.90.505; (n) All matters required under RCW 64.90.230, 64.90.235, 64.90.240, 64.90.275, 64.90.280, and 64.90.410; (o) A statement on the first page of the declaration whether the common interest community is subject to this chapter. (2) All amendments to the declaration must contain a cross-reference by recording number to the declaration and to any prior amendments to the declaration. All amendments to the declaration adding units must contain a cross-reference by recording number to the map relating to the added units and set forth all information required under subsection (1) of this section with respect to the added units. (3) The declaration may contain any other matters the declarant considers appropriate, including any restrictions on the uses of a unit or the number or other qualifications of persons who may occupy units. [ 2024 c 321 s 305; 2019 c 238 s 206; 2018 c 277 s 206.] RCW 64.90.230 Leasehold common interest communities. (1) Any lease the expiration or termination of which may terminate the common interest community or reduce its size, or a memorandum of the lease, must be recorded. Every lessor of these leases in a condominium, plat community, or miscellaneous community must sign the declaration. The declaration must state: (a) The recording number of the lease or a statement of where the complete lease may be inspected; (b) The date on which the lease is scheduled to expire; (c) A legal description of the real estate subject to the lease; (d) Any right of the unit owners to redeem the reversion and the manner in which those rights may be exercised, or a statement that they do not have those rights; (e) Any right of the unit owners to remove any improvements within a reasonable or stated time after the expiration or termination of the lease, or a statement that they do not have those rights; and (f) Any rights of the unit owners to renew the lease and the conditions of any renewal, or a statement that they do not have those rights. (2) The declaration may provide for the collection by the association of the proportionate rents paid on the lease by the unit owners and may designate the association as the representative of the unit owners on all matters relating to the lease. (3) After the declaration for a condominium, miscellaneous community, or plat community is recorded, neither the lessor nor the lessor's successor in interest may terminate the leasehold interest of a unit owner who makes timely payment of a unit owner's share of the rent and otherwise complies with all covenants that, if violated, would entitle the lessor to terminate the lease. A unit owner's leasehold interest in a condominium, miscellaneous community, or plat community is not affected by failure of any other person to pay rent or fulfill any other covenant. (4) Acquisition of the leasehold interest of any unit owner by the owner of the reversion or remainder does not merge the leasehold and fee simple interests unless the leasehold interests of all unit owners subject to that reversion or remainder are acquired and the owner of the reversion or remainder records a document confirming the merger. (5) If the expiration or termination of a lease decreases the number of units in a common interest community, the allocated interests must be reallocated in accordance with RCW 64.90.030(1) as though those units had been taken by condemnation. Reallocations must be confirmed by an amendment to the declaration and map prepared, executed, and recorded by the association. [ 2018 c 277 s 207.] RCW 64.90.235 Allocated interests. (1) The declaration must allocate to each unit: (a) In a condominium, a fraction or percentage of undivided interests in the common elements and in the common expenses of the association and a portion of the votes in the association; (b) In a cooperative, an ownership interest in the association, a fraction or percentage of the common expenses of the association, and a portion of the votes in the association; and (c) In a plat community and miscellaneous community, a fraction or percentage of the common expenses of the association and a portion of the votes in the association. (2) The declaration must state the formulas used to establish allocations of interests. Those allocations may not discriminate in favor of units owned by the declarant or an affiliate of the declarant. (3) If units may be added to or withdrawn from the common interest community, the declaration must state the formulas to be used to reallocate the allocated interests among all units included in the common interest community after the addition or withdrawal. (4)(a) The declaration may provide: (i) That different allocations of votes are made to the units on particular matters specified in the declaration; (ii) For cumulative voting only for the purpose of electing board members; and (iii) For class voting on specified issues affecting the class if necessary to protect valid interests of the class. (b) A declarant may not utilize cumulative or class voting for the purpose of evading any limitation imposed on declarants under this chapter, and units do not constitute a class because they are owned by a declarant. (5) Except for minor variations due to rounding, the sum of the common expense liabilities and, in a condominium, the sum of the undivided interests in the common elements allocated at any time to all the units must each equal one if stated as a fraction or one hundred percent if stated as a percentage. In the event of discrepancy between an allocated interest and the result derived from application of the pertinent formula, the allocated interest prevails. (6)(a) In a condominium, the common elements are not subject to partition, and any purported conveyance, encumbrance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of an undivided interest in the common elements made without the unit to which that interest is allocated is void. (b) In a cooperative, any purported conveyance, encumbrance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of an ownership interest in the association made without the possessory interest in the unit to which that interest is related is void. [ 2018 c 277 s 208.] RCW 64.90.240 Limited common elements. (1)(a) Except for the limited common elements described in RCW 64.90.210 (1)(b) and (3), the declaration must specify to which unit or units each limited common element is allocated. (b) An allocation of a limited common element may not be altered without the consent of the owners of the units from which and to which the limited common element is allocated. (2)(a) Except in the case of a reallocation being made by a declarant pursuant to a development right reserved in the declaration, a limited common element may be reallocated between units only with the approval of the board and by an amendment to the declaration executed by the unit owners between or among whose units the reallocation is made. (b) The board must approve the request of the unit owner or owners under this subse