Colorado Law · Meetings & Procedure

How Colorado HOA Board Meetings Work: Notice, Open Sessions, Owner Comment, and Executive Session

Colorado writes one set of meeting rules for condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities alike. The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act opens board and committee meetings to owners, gives owners a right to speak before the board votes, and limits closed sessions to six listed subjects. The Nonprofit Corporation Act fills in the rest: remote participation, action without a meeting, and written ballots.

Educational notice. This information is educational in nature and should not be construed as legal advice. Statutory references are to the Colorado Revised Statutes as published by the Colorado General Assembly at the time of writing; later amendments are possible. Consult qualified association counsel regarding legal interpretation specific to your jurisdiction.

Currency: verified against the Colorado Revised Statutes 2024 (Office of Legislative Legal Services printout), Titles 38 and 7, and HB 22-1137 (effective August 10, 2022). Later amendments are possible.

The Short Version

• Owners’ meetings happen at least once a year. Notice goes out 10 to 50 days ahead and states the agenda, including any proposed declaration or bylaw amendment, budget change, or removal proposal (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-308(1)).
• Board and committee meetings are open to owners or their representatives, and agendas must be reasonably available (§ 308(2)(a)).
• Owners may speak before the board votes on an issue, subject to reasonable time limits (§ 308(2.5)).
• Executive session is limited to six listed subjects. The chair announces the general topic first, no rule may be adopted in closed session, and the minutes record that the session occurred (§ 308(4)–(7)).
• Default quorums are 20 percent of owner votes (10 percent above 1,000 owners) unless the bylaws provide otherwise, and 50 percent of the board unless the bylaws specify more (§ 309).
• Remote participation and action without a meeting come from the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, not CCIOA, and each default yields to contrary bylaws.

Who These Rules Reach: The Pre-1992 Question

CCIOA governs common interest communities created on or after July 1, 1992. For older communities, only the sections listed in § 38-33.3-117 apply, each from a stated date. The meeting rules are among the most widely applied:

• § 308(2) through (7) (open board meetings, executive session, minutes) apply to all common interest communities from July 1, 1995 (§ 117(4)).
• § 308(1), (2)(b), (2.5), and (4.5) (owners’ meeting notice, electronic notice, owner comment, and subsection (4.5)) apply to pre-1992 communities from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)).
• § 303(4)(a), the budget meeting and owner veto, applies to pre-1992 communities from July 1, 2017 (§ 117(1.8)).

Where a listed section conflicts with an express requirement in a declaration, bylaws, plat, or map that existed on June 30, 1992, the older document controls only to the extent needed to avoid invalidating it (§ 117(2)). Very small preexisting communities that qualify under § 119 are subject only to §§ 105–107 unless they amend in. A board that is unsure where its community falls typically confirms the answer with counsel before relying on any rule below.

Owners’ Meetings Under § 308(1)

Frequency and who may call a special meeting

The association holds a meeting of owners at least annually. Special meetings of owners may be called by the president, by a majority of the board, or by owners holding 20 percent of the votes, or any lower percentage the bylaws specify.

Notice: 10 to 50 days, and what it must say

Notice of an owners’ meeting goes out no fewer than 10 and no more than 50 days before the meeting. It is delivered by hand or by mail to each unit, and the statute adds physical posting where feasible. The notice states the time and place of the meeting and the items on the agenda, including:

• the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws;
• any budget changes; and
• any proposal to remove an officer or a member of the board.

The removal item matters because Colorado owners may remove any board member, with or without cause, by a vote of 67 percent of the persons present and entitled to vote at a meeting where a quorum is present (§ 38-33.3-303(8)). Declarant appointees and members elected by a class are excluded from that rule. Section 303(8) is not on the § 117 list, so its reach to pre-1992 communities is a question for counsel.

The budget meeting

One owners’ meeting has its own statutory shape. Within 90 days after the board adopts a proposed budget, it delivers a summary to all owners and sets a meeting within a reasonable time. Unless the declaration requires otherwise, the budget is deemed approved unless it is vetoed at that meeting by a majority of all unit owners (or a larger percentage the declaration specifies), whether or not a quorum is present (§ 303(4)(a)). See HOA Assessment Authority in Colorado for the full mechanism.

Board and Committee Meetings Under § 308(2)

Open to owners

All regular and special meetings of the executive board, and of any committee of the board, are open to attendance by all members of the association or their representatives. Agendas for board meetings are made reasonably available for examination by members or their representatives (§ 308(2)(a)). The rule covers committees, not only the full board, which surprises some associations that run architectural or finance committees informally.

Electronic notice

Section 308(2)(b) encourages associations to provide required notices and agendas electronically as well as in print. Where electronic means are available, it requires e-mail notice of all regular and special owners’ meetings to owners who request it and supply an address, with electronic notice of a special meeting at least 24 hours before it. Subsection (2)(b) does not apply to associations that include time-share units. Associations that collect owner e-mail addresses for this purpose typically keep a record of each owner’s request.

The owner right to speak before a vote

Before the board votes on an issue under discussion, owners or their designated representatives are permitted to speak, subject to reasonable time limits. The board may also limit the number of speakers to a reasonable number on each side of the issue (§ 308(2.5)). The statute ties the right to the vote, not to a general open-forum period. Boards commonly meet it by opening each action item to owner comment before the motion is called, in addition to any general comment period.

Executive Session Under § 308(4)–(7)

The board may hold an executive (closed) session only for the subjects listed in § 308(4). Summarized, they are:

1. personnel matters and the managing agent’s contract;
2. consultation with legal counsel on pending or imminent litigation, or on matters subject to the attorney-client privilege;
3. investigations of criminal misconduct;
4. matters that the law protects from disclosure;
5. any matter whose disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy, which expressly includes an owner disciplinary hearing and any referral of delinquency (the affected owner may obtain the result of the vote); and
6. review of communications from legal counsel.

The fifth item was amended by HB 22-1137 (effective August 10, 2022); in its current form it expressly includes owner disciplinary hearings and delinquency referrals. That matters because the same act requires a board to approve each referral of a delinquent account to a collection agency or attorney by majority vote, recorded at a meeting (§ 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(a)(II)). Closed session lets the board protect the owner’s privacy while still creating that record.

Three procedural guardrails

• Announce first. Before going into executive session, the presiding officer announces the general matter to be discussed (§ 308(5)).
• No rulemaking in private. No rule or regulation of the board may be adopted during an executive session (§ 308(6)). A rule may be discussed there only if the subject fits a listed category; adoption returns to open session.
• Minutes. The minutes of the open meeting reflect that an executive session was held and its general subject (§ 308(7)).

Quorum Under § 309

The budget veto is the notable exception. It operates whether or not a quorum is present (§ 303(4)(a)(II)). Pre-1992: § 309 does not appear on the § 117 list; older communities commonly look to their bylaws and counsel on quorum.

Remote Participation, Written Ballots, and Action Without a Meeting

The 2024 CCIOA text contains no general section on remote meetings or electronic voting. CICSC’s legislative review found no 2021–2026 enactment adding one, though that search was not exhaustive and should be confirmed against a current edition of the statutes. Today the rules come from the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, and each default applies unless the bylaws provide otherwise:

Two cautions follow. First, action without a meeting does not remove CCIOA’s open-meeting and owner-comment rules for decisions made at meetings. Boards that use § 7-128-202 typically reserve it for matters where that tension does not arise, and confirm their approach with counsel. Second, contrary bylaws control each default, so the bylaws are the first document to read.

Common Mistakes

A Note on Case Law

CICSC’s review of Colorado appellate decisions did not locate a published opinion construing § 38-33.3-308 or § 38-33.3-310. Colorado guidance on meetings therefore rests on the statutory text itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Colorado HOA board meetings open to homeowners?

Under § 38-33.3-308(2)(a), all regular and special meetings of the executive board, and of any committee of the board, are open to attendance by all members of the association or their representatives, and agendas for board meetings are made reasonably available for examination. Under § 117(4), § 308(2) through (7) apply to all common interest communities from July 1, 1995. How the rule applies to a particular committee is a question for association counsel.

When can homeowners speak at a Colorado HOA board meeting?

Section 308(2.5) provides that before the board votes on an issue under discussion, owners or their designated representatives are permitted to speak, subject to reasonable time limits, and the board may limit speakers to a reasonable number on each side. The right is tied to the vote, not to a general open-forum period, and boards commonly open each action item to owner comment before the motion is called. How a specific comment procedure fits the statute is a question for association counsel.

What topics can a Colorado HOA board discuss in executive session?

Section 308(4) limits executive session to six subjects: personnel matters and the managing agent’s contract; consultation with legal counsel on pending or imminent litigation or privileged matters; investigations of criminal misconduct; matters the law protects from disclosure; matters whose disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy, including owner disciplinary hearings and delinquency referrals; and review of communications from legal counsel. The presiding officer announces the general matter first, no rule may be adopted in executive session, and the minutes reflect that the session was held (§ 308(5)–(7)). Whether a particular discussion fits a category is a question for association counsel.

What is the default quorum for a Colorado HOA meeting?

Under § 38-33.3-309, unless the bylaws provide otherwise, the default quorum for an owners’ meeting is 20 percent of the votes, or 10 percent if the association has more than 1,000 owners. The board-meeting default is 50 percent of the votes on the board, and the bylaws may set only a larger percentage. Section 309 does not appear on the § 117 list, so pre-1992 communities commonly look to their bylaws and to counsel on quorum.

Can a Colorado HOA board meet remotely or act without a meeting?

The 2024 CCIOA text contains no general section on remote meetings, so the rules come from the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, and each default applies unless the bylaws provide otherwise. Section 7-128-201(2) lets directors participate by any means by which all participants can hear each other, and § 7-128-202 sets a written-notice procedure for board action without a meeting. Action without a meeting does not remove CCIOA’s open-meeting and owner-comment rules for decisions made at meetings, and how a board’s approach fits both is a question for association counsel.

Key Takeaways

• One meeting statute covers every CIC type, and § 308(2)–(7) reach all communities from July 1, 1995.
• Owners’ meeting notice: 10 to 50 days, with amendments, budget changes, and removal proposals stated.
• Board and committee meetings are open, and owners may speak before each vote.
• Six executive-session subjects. Announce the topic first, adopt no rules in closed session, and note the session in the minutes.
• Default quorums are 20 percent (10 percent above 1,000 owners) for owners and 50 percent for the board.
• Remote participation and action without a meeting come from the Nonprofit Act and yield to the bylaws.

References & Sources

1. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-308 — Meetings (owners’ meetings, open board and committee meetings, owner comment, executive session, minutes). Last amended L. 2022, HB 22-1137 ((4)(e)). C.R.S. 2024, Title 38 (OLLS)
2. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-309 — Quorums.
3. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-117 — Applicability to common interest communities created before July 1, 1992 (subsections (1.5), (1.8), (2), (4)); § 38-33.3-119 — small preexisting communities.
4. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-303(4)(a) and (8) — Budget adoption and owner veto; removal of board members.
5. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(a)(II) — Recorded board vote before referral of a delinquent account.
6. C.R.S. §§ 7-127-107, 7-127-108, 7-127-109, 7-128-201(2), 7-128-202 — Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act. C.R.S. 2024, Title 7 (OLLS)
7. HB 22-1137, Session Laws 2022, ch. 367, effective August 10, 2022. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1137

Related Resources & Additional Reading from the CIC-SC Library

• Understanding Colorado HOA Meetings — the plain-language owner’s view.
• Colorado Board Meetings Under § 38-33.3-308 — the statute in depth.
• The Colorado Annual Owners’ Meeting — notice, quorum, and agenda.
• HOA Assessment Authority in Colorado — the budget meeting and owner veto.
• Colorado HOA Board Member Governance Guide — the CCIOA map for new directors.

Tags: Colorado HOA meetings · C.R.S. 38-33.3-308 · open board meetings · owner right to speak · executive session · quorum 38-33.3-309 · CCIOA · Colorado Nonprofit Corporation Act · pre-1992 communities · Colorado HOA governance

Disclaimer. This article is published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Statutory references and procedural frameworks are intended to support informed governance, not to substitute for advice from qualified Colorado legal counsel. Boards and managers should consult their association’s attorney about the application of any statute, governing-document provision, or procedural decision to their specific circumstances. CIC-SC, its authors, and its members assume no liability for actions taken in reliance on this content.

Published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council (CICSC). Part of the CICSC Member Education Library. © 2026 CICSC. Educational use permitted with attribution.