DISCLAIMER: This glossary is intended to provide you with a general understanding of terms used on this site or in community association law in Washington and Oregon. Other statutes and governing documents may define these terms differently. Please refer to the statute applicable to your community [link to statutes page] or your community’s specific governing documents for specific definitions of these terms.

Assessment
While “assessment” is defined in most statutes and in governing documents as any amount chargeable to an owner by the community association, including fines and other charges, the term is most commonly used to describe the regular amount chargeable by the association against a unit or lot for the owner’s share of common expenses, including “regular assessments” (sometimes referred to as “dues”) and “special assessments,” which are often imposed for a specific or unexpected project.

Board
“Board” generally refers to the Board of Directors of a community association, which is the governing body charged with managing the affairs of the common property and the association.

Bylaws
Bylaws are the second tier of an association’s governing documents. The Bylaws generally cover corporate governance issues and administrative provisions, such as notice, meetings, officers, and elections, but can be far more substantive depending on the community.  Bylaws are not required to be recorded in Washington, but are recorded in Oregon.  When the terms of the Bylaws are in conflict with a Declaration, the Declaration will control.

Condominium
A condominium is created by recording a “Declaration” of condominium, consisting of “units” separately owned by individuals, and “common elements,” which are owned by all unit owners indivisibly. The physical characteristics of condominiums vary, and can be indistinguishable from other common interest communities. They can be made up of a single, high-rise concrete and steel tower; multiple mid-rise stick-frame buildings; townhomes; quadplexes, triplexes, or duplexes; or even stand-alone homes on individual parcels of property. Condominiums in Washington are controlled by either the Horizontal Property Regimes Act at RCW Chapter 64.32 (if created before July 1, 1990), the Condominium Act at RCW Chapter 64.34 (if created on or after July 1, 1990, but before July 1, 2018), or the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (if created on or after July 1, 2018).

Condominiums in Oregon are controlled by the Oregon Condominium Act at ORS Chapter 100.

Conversion Condominium
A conversion condominium typically refers to an existing building, such as an apartment, that has been “converted” into condominiums by a developer by filing a declaration of condominium and selling the resultant units.  Conversion condominiums are typically remodeled or upgraded by the seller to some degree, but remodeling is not required before selling conversion condominium units.

COA
“COA” commonly refers to a condominium owners’ association, as distinguished from an “HOA,” although HOA is often used casually to refer to both condominium and non-condominium homeowner associations.

CC&Rs
CC&Rs stands for “Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.”  It is also synonymous with “Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions” or just “Declaration,” although the term “CC&Rs” is more commonly used to refer to an HOA’s declaration. All CC&Rs are recorded and contain restrictions on the use of HOA property. Modern CC&Rs also establish the existence of the HOA and provide additional provisions regarding the community’s governance. See also Declaration.

Declaration
“Declaration” is short for “Declaration of Condominium” or “Declaration of Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions,” and is usually referred to as such for condominiums, while non-condominiums often use the term “CC&Rs.”
Declarations are recorded, tying their provisions to the property so that all owners of lots within an HOA or units within a condominium are bound to comply with their terms as a condition of purchasing the property – even if the owner never receives or reads the document. The Declaration is the highest level “governing document” and will trump inconsistent terms contained in the Bylaws or Rules.

Governing Documents
The governing documents of an association include the Declaration (CC&Rs), plat map or “survey map and plans,” Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and any Rules and Regulations.  Because the Articles are generally extremely broad, the Declaration is considered the top tier governing document, followed by the Bylaws, then the Rules. However, the Articles can restrict an association’s authority.

HOA
This term is most often used to describe a non-condominium common interest community, but it can be confusing because it is also used to describe the physical housing development. When used to describe the development, an HOA is made up of “lots” that are separately owned, and “common areas” that are most typically owned by the community association (which is also often referred to as the “HOA.”), although the common areas are sometimes owned indivisibly by all of the owners or members of the HOA. HOAs in Washington are controlled by the Homeowners’ Association Act at RCW 64.38; HOAs in Oregon are controlled by the Planned Community Act at ORS 94.550 et seq. POS or Public Offering Statement
In Washington, the Public Offering Statement, or POS, is a document that is prepared by a Declarant for the original purchasers of condominium units. It must contain certain statutory disclosures contained in both the Condo Act and WUCIOA. The POS generally contains a number of affirmative disclosures along with copies of the Association’s Governing Documents.

Special Assessment
A special assessment is an assessment that is levied for a particular purpose beyond that anticipated in the annual budget.  Since the adoption of WUCIOA, all communities have the authority to levy special assessments for any period of time, subject to the same ratification process used for approving an annual budget.

Special Meeting
Any meeting of an association (owners) or Board that is not a regularly scheduled meeting.  Generally, the only regular meeting for owners is the annual meeting, so all other meetings would be considered special meetings.

Sub-associations
Sub-associations are separate community associations with their own Declaration and other Governing Documents that are also subject to an entirely different set of Umbrella Association Governing Documents. A sub-association is subject to the terms of both the Umbrella association Governing Documents and the sub-association Governing Documents. See also “Umbrella Associations”.

Umbrella Association
This is the more modern term for what the statutes refer to as “master” associations. Umbrella associations are associations with separate sets of governing documents that will apply to all owners of property within its jurisdiction, even though those owners may also belong to a separate “sub-association.” Umbrella associations are generally created to maintain a certain level of control over separate phases of a larger development, which may include condominiums, non-condominium HOAs, or even apartments or other commercial property, in addition to common areas shared by some or all of those properties. Residential property within an umbrella community that is not part of a condominium or other sub-association is referred to as a “neighborhood.” See also Sub-associations.

Unit
The term “unit” generally refers to a the separately owned property within a condominium, the boundaries of which are defined in the Declaration, although WUCIOA uses the term as a replacement for both condominium units and lots. Condominium unit boundaries are often described as “walls-in,” for stacked or duplex-style condominiums, but the Declaration is the definitive source for determining the boundaries of the unit. In stand-alone home condominiums or “air-space” condominiums, for example, the unit may be defined to include the entire “lot,” or cube of airspace, in which case the unit would include the exteriors of buildings, yards, driveways and other areas you might initially consider “outside” the unit. The Oregon statutes also allow the creation of parking or storage “units” while in Washington, these are generally considered limited common elements.