Delaware HOA and condo board meeting notice rules explained

Who this page applies to

This page explains board meeting notice and open meeting rules for Delaware common interest communities — planned communities, condominiums, and cooperatives — governed by the Delaware Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (DUCIOA), Delaware Code Title 25, Chapter 81, specifically § 81-308 (unit-owner meetings) and § 81-308A (executive board meetings).

Delaware is the only state in the mid-Atlantic region that uses a single unified statute for all community types. If your community is a planned community, condominium, or cooperative created in Delaware, Chapter 81 is almost certainly your governing framework.

Important: Delaware communities created before October 31, 2008 (the DUCIOA effective date) may have some provisions governed by the older Unit Property Act (Title 25, Chapter 22). Chapter 81 supersedes Chapter 22 on conflicts, but pre-existing contractual obligations and non-conflicting declaration provisions survive. If your community was created before October 31, 2008, verify which provisions of Chapter 22 still apply to your specific circumstances.

This page does not cover:

• Continuing care facilities created before October 31, 2008, which are excluded from Chapter 81 entirely and governed solely by the Unit Property Act.
• Declarant-controlled periods: the open meeting requirement under Chapter 81 applies after the period of declarant control ends, not during it.

The rule in ordinary language

Delaware’s DUCIOA provides the most mechanically specific board meeting notice framework of any mid-Atlantic state.

10 to 60 days advance notice, with a schedule exception. Under § 81-308A(b), the association must deliver notice to unit owners “not fewer than 10 nor more than 60 days in advance” of any board meeting. Notice must include the time, place, agenda items, and information about owners’ right to comment. The one exception: if a meeting schedule has already been distributed to all unit owners identifying the specific meeting, advance notice for that meeting is not separately required.

Quarterly meetings are mandatory. Executive board meetings must be held at least quarterly, not just annually (§ 81-308A(a)). This is a statutory floor, not a recommendation.

Open meetings after developer turnover. Once the period of declarant control ends, “all meetings of the executive board shall be open to the unit owners” except for executive sessions (§ 81-308A(c)). The open meeting requirement does not apply during the declarant-control period.

Executive sessions are narrowly defined. Permitted closed-session topics: (i) consulting legal counsel on litigation, mediation, arbitration, or contract matters; (ii) labor or personnel matters; (iii) reviewing contract terms when premature disclosure would disadvantage the association; (iv) complaints involving unit owners where public knowledge would violate their privacy. Actions taken by unanimous written consent — the board voting outside of a meeting — may not be used for adopting rules, budgets, special assessments, fines, enforcement actions, real property transactions, borrowing, or any contract exceeding 1% of the annual budget. The secretary must promptly notify all unit owners of any unanimous consent action taken (§ 81-308A(f)).

Pre-meeting materials must be made reasonably available. Materials distributed to board members before a meeting must be made reasonably available to unit owners, except for unapproved minutes and executive session materials (§ 81-308A(d)).

Telephonic and electronic meetings are permitted. Board meetings may be held entirely by telephone or interactive electronic communication as long as unit owners receive notice and have an opportunity to hear the discussion and offer comments (§ 81-308A(e)).

What is actually different about Delaware

A concrete enforcement window. Delaware is the only mid-Atlantic state with a specific statutory limitations period for challenging improperly noticed board actions. Under § 81-308A(g): “a challenge to the validity of an action of the executive board for failure to comply with this section may not be brought more than 60 days after the minutes of the executive board of the meeting at which the action was taken are approved.” Actions are valid unless set aside by a court; third-party contracts entered into without knowledge of the notice failure remain valid. This gives practitioners — and boards — a clear filing deadline.

Unified statute eliminates the HOA/condo split. Every other state in this group requires separate research for planned community and condominium meeting rules. Delaware’s DUCIOA covers both under identical provisions. A board member who manages two Delaware communities — one HOA, one condo — is working from the same statutory playbook.

The open meeting requirement is gated to post-declarant-control status. During the developer control period, Chapter 81 does not require executive board meetings to be open. This is an important timing threshold for newer communities or communities still in developer-facilitated transition.

Operational questions to ask

If you are on a board:

• Has your community’s declarant-control period ended? If yes, executive board meetings must be open to all unit owners under § 81-308A(c). If the community is still in developer transition, check your declaration for when that period ends.
• Are you holding at least quarterly executive board meetings? The quarterly requirement is a statutory floor. Missing it is a compliance failure independent of any notice question.
• If you pass a resolution by unanimous written consent (outside of a meeting), does it fall into one of the prohibited categories? Unanimous consent may not be used for rules, budgets, special assessments, fines, enforcement actions, real property transactions, borrowing, or contracts over 1% of the annual budget.
• When a board meeting is challenged on notice grounds, the 60-day window from approval of the minutes governs. Are your minutes being approved — not just drafted — on a timely schedule?

If you are an owner:

• Is the meeting schedule being distributed to you at the start of each year? Under § 81-308A(b), a previously distributed schedule can substitute for advance meeting-by-meeting notice. If you have not received a schedule, the 10–60-day advance notice obligation applies to every board meeting.
• If you believe a board action was taken at an improperly noticed meeting, you have 60 days from the date the minutes of that meeting are approved to challenge it. After that window closes, the action stands regardless of the notice failure.
• You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to comment at any meeting under § 81-308(b). The comment right is not limited to formal “open” meetings — it applies to any association meeting.

What to do next

The full text of § 81-308A is at the source link above (the Delaware Code online database). The companion section § 81-309 covers quorum for both unit-owner meetings (20% of votes, with at least 25% of non-declarant owners) and executive board meetings (majority of board votes present throughout the meeting).

For communities with pre-2008 formation dates, also check Title 25, Chapter 22 at delcode.delaware.gov to identify which Unit Property Act provisions survive alongside Chapter 81.

This page is the explainer layer, not a legal memo. Confirm current statute text at the source link before relying on specific procedural details.