A.R.S. 33-1804: Arizona HOA Open Meeting Law

Board meetings and member meetings have to be open to all members, you get to speak before the board takes a vote, and you can audio or video record the open parts. That right to watch your HOA govern comes from A.R.S. 33-1804. The board can only close the doors for a short list of sensitive topics, and it has to give notice before it meets. This is the section to point to when a board tries to decide things in private.

Meetings are open by default

The starting rule is that HOA meetings are open. Both meetings of the members' association and meetings of the board of directors are open to every member, who has the right to attend and to speak during deliberations. The statute frames open meetings as the state's policy:

It is the policy of this state... that all meetings of a planned community, whether meetings of the members' association or meetings of the board of directors of the association, be conducted openly and that notices and agendas be provided for those meetings.

Because that is a stated policy, the law tells courts to read the section in favor of openness when there is doubt. A board cannot quietly approve your neighbor's room addition or set next year's budget in a private email thread and call it final.

Your right to speak and record

Beyond just attending, you get to be heard before a decision lands. The board must let a member, or the member's designated representative, speak once after the board has discussed a specific agenda item but before the board takes formal action on it. You can also record what you see: anyone attending may audiotape or videotape the open portions of a meeting, and the board cannot make you ask permission in advance.

For example, if your Scottsdale HOA board is about to vote on a rule banning RV parking, you have the right to attend, to say your piece on that item before the vote, and to record the discussion on your phone.

Notice the board must give

A meeting only counts as open if members know it is happening. For a meeting of the members, notice has to go out not fewer than 10 nor more than 50 days in advance, by hand delivery or prepaid mail, and it must state the date, time, and place. For board meetings (after the developer is out of control of the association), members get at least 48 hours' notice by newsletter, conspicuous posting, or another reasonable means.

When a board can close the doors

The board may go into a closed (executive) session only for narrow reasons. The statute lists them: getting legal advice, discussing pending or contemplated litigation, dealing with a person's personal, health, or financial information, matters of employee job performance, and a member's appeal (which can be closed if the member asks for it). Everything else stays open. A board cannot stretch "legal advice" to cover an ordinary budget debate.

How it connects to the rest of the law

Open meetings work hand in hand with your right to inspect the association's books under A.R.S. 33-1805 : you can both watch decisions get made and later read the records behind them. The notice-and-be-heard idea here echoes the fine process in A.R.S. 33-1803 . The "board of directors" and "association" this section binds are the ones defined in A.R.S. 33-1802 , and the meeting and notice duties trace back to the recorded CC&Rs . If your build will go before a design committee, the open-meeting and final-review rules overlap with A.R.S. 33-1817 ; see also our FAQ on HOA design review and your custom home .

Full text and source

Read the current version, including any amendments, on the legislature's site: View A.R.S. 33-1804 on azleg.gov .

How the open-meeting rules apply to a specific dispute depends on the facts, so confirm your situation with a qualified attorney before relying on it.