The record, not the argument
What HOA minutes must include
HOA minutes are a list of what the board did, rather than a novel of who was upset. If a later secretary, or a lawyer, cannot tell who voted, the page failed. This is a drafting checklist. It is not legal advice, and it is not a list of statutes for fifty states. Your documents and your counsel still control.
Must include
- Association legal name — the name on the articles, not the subdivision marketing name.
- Meeting type — regular board, special, annual. Say which.
- Date, time, place — time in, time out, address or “video conference.”
- Attendance — directors present and absent. Guests if it matters who spoke.
- Quorum — number required, number present, whether a quorum was established. No quorum, no votes on association business.
- Each motion — one sentence, who moved, who seconded, the result of the vote. Where your documents or state law require it, how each director voted.
- Actions — what happens next, who owns it, due date. Copy the row onto the register so old business cannot hide.
- Adjournment — motion, result, time out.
Must not
- A transcript. “Bob said the grass looks terrible and Chris agreed…” is not a minute.
- Insults, tone, who “won.” The vote is the record. The argument dies in the notes.
- Legal conclusions you are not qualified to put in the book (“this is a violation of section 4.2”).
- Sealed executive-session detail in the public minutes. Public record: category plus time in and time out. Details stay on a sealed cover.
The shrug is the other failure: “Old business discussed. New business discussed. Adjourned.” Nobody can tell what was decided.
The empty skeleton is the HOA meeting minutes template. The chair’s timed table is how to run a 60-minute board meeting. Method with eight elements: how to write HOA minutes.
- Pay through Paddle (your statement may say Paddle).
- Get an email with the zip.
- Open “00 Read me first.” Copy this month’s files. Leave the originals.
It is a Word kit for $49 once, and it is not a subscription. Pricing and the other guides are linked here.
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The checklist is the file
The same numbers, every month, for $49 once.
The kit lines up the agenda, the notes, the minutes, and the action register. You still review every line before it becomes the record.
Get The Minute Book — $49- Pay through Paddle (your statement may say Paddle).
- Get an email with the zip.
- Open “00 Read me first.” Copy this month’s files. Leave the originals.
Digital download. Delivered immediately after payment. If the zip will not open or the files are not as described, email hello@gettheminutebook.com first and we will help. Payment and refund requests are handled by Paddle, the merchant of record. See the refund policy.
Not legal advice
These are sample forms and a drafting aid, not a substitute for an attorney. They are not valid, complete, or sufficient in every state or for every association. Check your CC&Rs, bylaws, articles, and state law. Have your association’s attorney review anything that affects owner rights, fines, elections, or assessments.