HOA – RECALL OF BOARD MEMBERS

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

Published April 14, 2026

The HOA REFORM BILL HB 657 was killed by the Senate, but this year they minimum didn’t try to mess with the HOA Recall Provisions. After totally messing up the Condo Recall Provisions the Legislature this year didn’t even attempt to change the HOA Recall Rules.

It is still the easiest and least expensive way of removing “unwanted” board members.

But if you really want to get directors off the board, please always consider:

• Recalling a majority of board members gives you the right to appoint the new board members of your choice.

• Recalling a minority of board members gives the remaining board members the right to appoint board members of their choice.

And that often defeats the purpose behind recalling board members: The remaining board members might appoint new members which may not be to the liking of the owners voting for recall.

You actually need 50% + 1 member to sign the Recall Ballot, but always try to have a few more – just for good measure. But if you make mistakes in your first attempt and the board calls you on it at the required recall meeting, just correct your mistakes, add a few corrected ballots – the others are already validated – and serve the copies of the ballot again. For servicing the board with the copies of the petitions, always use a process server and make sure the process server marks on his service affidavit how many copies have been served. We have seen cases where “smart” board members just let a few ballots “disappear”, claiming the number of ballots were not sufficient.

You may only need an attorney if the recall goes to arbitration and it gets a little more complicated. Otherwise the procedure is pretty simple.

Filing lawsuits is expensive and you would as well be suing your neighbors, something boards often use to make you look bad in the eyes of your neighbors.

Recalls are not very costly. You only pay for copies of the ballots and the cost of the process server – normally altogether a cost of less than $100. A lawsuit can last for many years, a recall normally no more than 90 days.

So, if you think your board is not working in the interests of you and your neighbors, collect recall ballots and get rid of these board members. It’s normally a very fast solution.

For more detailed information regarding the RECALL OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS please go to our education webpages: “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER”, click on the HOA button and click the link: “RECALL OF BOARD MEMBERS”.

You find the actual statutes, the necessary ballot forms with instructions and helpful arbitration rulings. Be sure to get it all correct from starters, it’s easier to get all the right information before starting the recall than to correct mistakes later.