The Board Can Only Act at a Meeting

Except for an action taken without a meeting under Section 16-6a-813, a board may take action only at a board meeting. 

That sentence is the foundation for everything below. Decisions made by email thread, hallway conversation, or a phone poll are not board action unless they satisfy the nonprofit statute's written-consent procedure.

Notice: 48 Hours, by Email, Only If You Ask

At least 48 hours before a board meeting, the association shall give written notice by email to each lot owner who requests notice.

If you have never asked the board to notify you of meetings, the association is not required to email you. Ask in writing and give them the email address you want used.

The notice must be sent to the address you provided and must state the date, time, and location. If a board member may participate electronically, the notice must also provide the information necessary for you to participate that way. 

Two exceptions apply: 

• The meeting was already listed in a board meeting schedule previously provided to you
• The meeting addresses an emergency, and each board member also received notice less than 48 hours ahead of time

The emergency exception is narrow: it requires that the board members themselves get short notice. A board that had days to plan cannot label something an emergency to skip notifying owners.

The Meeting Is Open to You

A board meeting shall be open to each lot owner, or to the owner's representative if that representative is designated in writing. If you want to send someone in your place (like a property manager, if you rent to a tenant), put the designation in writing beforehand.

You also get to speak. At each board meeting, the board shall provide each lot owner a reasonable opportunity to offer comments. The board may confine those comments to a specific time period during the meeting, but it may not eliminate them entirely.

A board member may not avoid or obstruct these requirements. 

The Six Reasons a Meeting Can Be Closed, and What Follows

A board may close a meeting only to do one of six things. This is a complete list.

• Consult with an attorney for the purpose of obtaining legal advice
• Discuss ongoing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings
• Discuss a personnel matter
• Discuss a matter relating to contract negotiations, including review of a bid or proposal
• Discuss a matter involving an individual where discussion is likely to cause undue embarrassment or violate a reasonable expectation of privacy
• Discuss a delinquent assessment or fine

Anything outside those six things must happen in the open. Closing a meeting to set next year's budget, to award a contract already signed, or to debate a rule change is not allowed.

Quorum and Minutes Are Not in This Chapter

Owners often ask what quorum the statute requires and how long minutes must be kept. Chapter 8a sets neither.

Quorum is a matter of the bylaws. Section 57-8a-216(2) provides that unless the declaration provides otherwise, an association's bylaws shall state a list of items, and Subsection (2)(h) adds any other matter necessary or appropriate for conducting the association's affairs, including meetings, voting requirements, and quorum requirements.

Your bylaws are also recorded and findable. No later than the date of the first lot sale, an association shall file its bylaws for recording with the recorder of each county where any part of the association's real estate sits, and must record any amendments the same way. So if the board will not hand you the bylaws, the county recorder has them.

Minutes are not required by this chapter either. They are reachable in a different way: minutes are among the records an owner can request. See Records and Document Requests for the procedure and the response deadline.

How Notice May Be Delivered

Notice provided by a method allowed under the Utah Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, Title 16, Chapter 6a, is fair and reasonable notice regardless of whether the association is a nonprofit corporation. 

Notice by any other method is fair and reasonable only if the method is authorized in the declaration, articles, bylaws, or rules and, considering all the circumstances, the notice is fair and reasonable. Both conditions.

Electronic notice requires document authorization. If the declaration, articles, bylaws, or rules provide for it, the association may give notice by text message, email, or its website. 

And you can override it. Notwithstanding that, a lot owner may, by written demand, require the association to provide notice by mail. That right does not depend on the governing documents and cannot be waived away by them.

Declarant Control

The provisions of this section generally do not apply during the period of administrative control, when the developer, or declarant, is still in charge. However, during the period of administrative control, the association shall hold a meeting complying with the requirements above: 

• At least once each year; and
• Each time the association increases a fee or raises an assessment

A complying meeting means the full package: 48-hour notice on request, open to owners, and a reasonable opportunity to comment. So a declarant-controlled association cannot raise your assessment without holding an open meeting you may attend and speak at.

Outside that period, this section applies regardless of when the association's first governing document was recorded. 

If the Board Will Not Comply: $500 or Actual Damages

If the association fails to comply with any of the above requirements and does not remedy it, a lot owner may file an action for injunctive relief, $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater, or any other relief provided by law. The court may award costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party. 

A mandatory 90-day notice comes first. At least 90 days before filing, deliver written notice stating your name, address, telephone number, and email address; each requirement the association failed to meet; a demand that it comply; and a remedy date at least 90 days out. 

There is also an interim remedy: on your motion, with notice and a hearing where the court finds a likelihood of noncompliance, the court may order immediate compliance.

One limit before you file. Nothing in this section affects the validity or enforceability of a board action. A decision made at an improperly noticed meeting is not void because of that defect; your remedy is compliance and damages, not undoing the decision.

Three Things To Do Now

• Request meeting notice in writing and provide an email address. Until you do, the 48-hour notice duty is not triggered for you.
• Get the recorded bylaws and find the quorum percentage. They are on file with the county recorder, so the board is not your only source.
• If your community is under declarant control and a fee or assessment increases, ask when the required meeting is scheduled. The statute entitles you to one.

Every deadline on this page also appears in Deadlines and Thresholds. For minutes and other records, see Records and Document Requests. If the board meets in secret or will not let you speak, read Advisory Opinions and Where To Take a Problem.

Reviewed against the Utah Code, current as of September 9, 2026.