Attending HOA Meetings in Louisiana

Louisiana's rewritten HOA statute gives owners a detailed set of meeting rules: board meetings open to lot owners, 30 days' notice of board meetings, a short list of topics the board may take into executive session, and a required opportunity to comment at association meetings. The catch is timing and history. The rules come from a 2024 law, and how much of it reaches a community depends on when the community was created and what its documents already say. For your specific situation, a licensed Louisiana attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which law governs Louisiana HOA meetings?

Planned-community HOAs are governed primarily by the Louisiana Planned Community Act, R.S. 9:1141.1 et seq., which Acts 2024, No. 158 (SB 23) enacted to replace the older Louisiana Homeowners Association Act. The Act's meeting rules are in R.S. 9:1141.26, with quorum and voting in R.S. 9:1141.27 and 9:1141.28.

Under the Act's effective-date section, it took effect January 1, 2025 for declarations filed for registry on or after that date, and January 1, 2026 for "planned communities established by a declaration or similar document filed for registry on or before December 31, 2024" (Acts 2024, No. 158, § 3).

For an older community, the Act does not simply replace what the documents already say. R.S. 9:1141.3(A) provides that the Act "shall not be construed to affect the validity or superiority of any provision of a community document filed for registry prior to January 1, 2025." The 2024 revision comments printed with the enacted bill (explanatory notes, not codified statutory text) describe it this way: the Act "applies to existing planned communities only if, and to the extent that, their community documents fail to address matters covered by this Act." It also does not require an existing association "to amend or change its organizational structure or its community documents" (R.S. 9:1141.3(G)). So in a pre-2025 community whose recorded documents already set their own meeting rules, those provisions may control under R.S. 9:1141.3(A), and the revision comments describe the Act as filling the gaps the documents leave. How that works for a particular rule, including for bylaws that were never filed for registry, is a question for a licensed Louisiana attorney. Which Louisiana Laws Govern Your HOA or Condo? covers the full framework.

The Act does not apply to condominiums (R.S. 9:1141.3(B)(1)); condos are covered briefly below. The association's declaration and bylaws, the Louisiana Nonprofit Corporation Law, and federal law such as the Fair Housing Act also apply alongside the Act.

Open board meetings: R.S. 9:1141.26(B)

For meetings of the board of directors and of committees "authorized to act for the association," the core rule is direct: "Meetings shall be open to the lot owners except during executive sessions" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(1)).

The Act also closes an obvious loophole. A gathering of directors "at which the directors do not conduct association business is not a meeting of the board," but "[t]he board of directors shall not use incidental or social gatherings or any other method to evade the open meeting requirements of this Section" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(2)).

Executive sessions and what they cannot do

An executive session may be held "only during a regular or special meeting of the board or committee," and "[n]o final vote or action shall be taken during an executive session" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(1)). The permitted purposes are limited to:

• "Consult with an attorney concerning legal matters."
• "Discuss existing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings."
• "Discuss labor or personnel matters."
• Discuss "contracts, leases, and other commercial transactions to purchase or provide goods or services currently being negotiated, including the review of bids or proposals, if premature general knowledge of those matters would place the association at a disadvantage."
• "Prevent public knowledge of a matter if the board of directors or committee determines that public knowledge would violate the privacy of any person."

Because no final vote or action can be taken in the closed portion, any final vote on those matters takes place outside the executive session.

Notice of board meetings: 30 days

Unless a meeting "is included in a schedule previously provided to the lot owners" or is "called to address an emergency," the secretary or other officer named in the bylaws "shall give notice of each board of directors meeting to each director and to the lot owners. The notice shall be given at least thirty days before the meeting and shall state the time, date, place, and agenda of the meeting" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(5)). A meeting that appears on a schedule previously provided to owners therefore does not need its own 30-day notice.

Owners can also see what the board sees. "If any materials are distributed to the board of directors before the meeting, copies of those materials shall be reasonably available to lot owners, including by posting on the association's website," except unapproved minutes and materials for executive session (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(6)).

Notices under the Act may go by U.S. mail or commercial courier, by email to an address the owner designated, by hand delivery to the lot if the owner has designated neither a mailing nor an email address, or by "[a]ny other method reasonably calculated to provide notice to the lot owner" (R.S. 9:1141.38(A)). In an emergency, notice may be given by any method the association considers appropriate, and it "shall state the nature of the emergency" (R.S. 9:1141.38(C)).

Speaking at meetings

The Act treats owner comment differently depending on the type of meeting.

• Association (member) meetings. "At the meeting, lot owners shall be given a reasonable opportunity to comment regarding any matter affecting the planned community or the association" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(5)).
• Board meetings. The Act does not create a general right to speak at every board meeting. Instead, "[t]he board of directors shall establish procedural rules to permit participation by a lot owner in the event that the lot owner is directly impacted by an agenda item or is requested to attend by the board of directors" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(4)). Beyond that, owner comment at board meetings generally depends on the bylaws and board rules.

Meetings of the association and of the board are conducted under "the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order" except as the community documents provide otherwise (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(8), (B)(10)).

Annual and special meetings of the association

Annual meeting. "The association shall hold an annual meeting in accordance with the bylaws." If the bylaws are silent, the annual meeting is held on "not more than sixty days' nor less than thirty days' notice" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(1)). Association meetings "shall take place at the planned community or at a place convenient to it" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(7)).

Special meetings. The association "shall hold a special meeting to address any matter affecting the planned community or the association" if the president, a majority of the board, or "lot owners having at least twenty percent, or any lower percentage specified in the bylaws, of the voting interest in the association demand that the secretary call a meeting." The secretary "shall call the meeting within thirty days after receiving notice of the lot owners' demand," and only matters described in the notice may be considered (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(2)).

Notice contents. Owners get notice of "the time, date, and place of each annual and special meeting not more than sixty days nor fewer than thirty days before the meeting date," and the notice "shall state the items on the agenda," including the general nature and text of any proposed amendment to the community documents, any budget changes, and any proposal to remove a director or an officer elected by the association (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(3)). The board may reduce or waive the minimum notice "for a meeting called to address an emergency" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(4)).

Quorum, proxies, and ballots

Quorum. "Unless the bylaws provide otherwise," a quorum for an association meeting is present if owners holding "twenty percent of the voting interest in the association are present in person or by proxy at the beginning of the meeting," have cast timely absentee ballots, or any combination (R.S. 9:1141.27(A)). For the board, a quorum exists if directors entitled to cast a majority of the board's votes are present when the vote is taken, unless the Act or the documents require more (R.S. 9:1141.27(C)).

How owners vote. "Lot owners may vote at a meeting of the association in person, by absentee ballot, by proxy or, when a vote is conducted without a meeting, by electronic transmission or paper ballot" (R.S. 9:1141.28(B)). The association "shall promptly deliver an absentee ballot to a lot owner upon request made at least three days before the scheduled meeting" (R.S. 9:1141.28(D)(3)).

Proxies. An owner may appoint a proxy by signed writing or electronic transmission. A proxy "is valid only for the meeting for which it is cast and any recessed session of that meeting," and "[t]he appointment of a proxy is revocable" (R.S. 9:1141.28(F)). Directors, on the other hand, "may not vote by proxy at any meeting of the board of directors or at any committee thereof" (R.S. 9:1141.28(A)).

Votes without a meeting. Unless the community documents prohibit or limit it, the association may hold a vote by paper or electronic ballot. The ballot must list each proposed action, the responses needed for a quorum, the voting interest needed to approve each matter other than director elections, and a return deadline that is "no fewer than seven days after the date that the association delivers the ballot" (R.S. 9:1141.28(G)).

Electronic meetings and recording

The community documents "may allow for meetings of the association to be conducted by electronic means if the meeting notice states the electronic means to be used" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(6)). The board "may meet by electronic means if the meeting notice states the electronic means to be used" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(7)). The Act defines a meeting by electronic means to include one "conducted by teleconference, videoconference, internet exchange, or other electronic methods" (R.S. 9:1141.2).

The Act's meeting provisions do not address whether owners may record association or board meetings. Associations that set a policy on recording generally do so through their bylaws or board rules.

Board action without a meeting

In place of a meeting, the board "may act by unanimous consent as documented in a record signed by all directors," and the secretary "shall promptly give notice to all lot owners of any action taken by unanimous consent." After the declarant-control period ends, though, the board may use unanimous consent "only to undertake ministerial actions or to implement actions previously taken at a board meeting" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(8)). Once turnover has happened, other board actions generally go through a board meeting.

The 60-day window to challenge a board action

One provision is easy to miss and carries a short deadline. "All actions taken by the board of directors that do not comply with this Section are nevertheless deemed valid unless and until set aside by a court. A challenge to the validity of an action of the board of directors for failure to comply with this Section shall not be brought more than sixty days after the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken are approved or notice of that action is provided to lot owners, whichever is later" (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(9)). If an owner believes a board action was taken in violation of the meeting rules, that window may matter; whether and how it applies to a particular action, and to a community whose own documents govern meetings, depends on the facts and is a question for a licensed Louisiana attorney.

Removing directors

The Act lets owners remove directors at a meeting. "Notwithstanding any provision of the community documents to the contrary, lot owners at any meeting of the association at which a quorum is present and for which notice of removal was given may by majority vote remove any director of the board of directors and any officer of the association elected by the lot owners, with or without cause," though a declarant-appointed director may not be removed during declarant control (R.S. 9:1141.39(A)). The director or officer facing removal "shall have a reasonable opportunity to speak before the vote" (R.S. 9:1141.39(B)). How that "notwithstanding" language interacts with R.S. 9:1141.3(A) for a pre-2025 community is a question a licensed Louisiana attorney can address.

Minutes and meeting records

The association must keep "[m]inutes of all meetings of the lot owners and board of directors other than executive sessions," along with a record of actions taken without a meeting (R.S. 9:1141.36(A)(2)), and "[b]allots, proxies, and other records related to voting by lot owners for one year after the election, action, or vote to which they relate" (R.S. 9:1141.36(A)(11)). On request, the association "shall make the records available for examination and copying by a lot owner" (R.S. 9:1141.36(B)), although "[r]ecords of an executive session of the board of directors" may be withheld (R.S. 9:1141.36(C)(6)). The request process is covered in Getting Your HOA's Documents in Louisiana.

What the Nonprofit Corporation Law adds

The Act requires the lot owners association to be organized as a nonprofit corporation (R.S. 9:1141.19), and an association incorporated as a Louisiana nonprofit is generally subject to the Louisiana Nonprofit Corporation Law, R.S. 12:201 et seq. That law has its own member-meeting provisions, several of which apply only "[u]nless otherwise provided in the articles or by-laws":

• Annual meeting. "[A]t least one meeting of the members shall be held in each calendar year for the election of directors" (R.S. 12:229(B)).
• Member list. At any members' meeting, a certified list of members entitled to vote "shall be produced on the request of any member" (R.S. 12:229(D)).
• Notice. Written notice of "the time, place and purpose of the meeting" goes to voting members "at least ten days and not more than sixty days prior to the day fixed for the meeting" (R.S. 12:230(A)).
• Quorum. "The presence in person or by proxy of a majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum" (R.S. 12:231(1)).
• Proxies. Members may vote by written proxy unless the articles or bylaws prohibit it (R.S. 12:232(C)(1)).

Some of these defaults differ from the Planned Community Act's (for example, the quorum and notice figures). Which rule controls for a given community depends on its articles, bylaws, declaration, and when it was created, which is a question for a licensed Louisiana attorney.

Louisiana condominiums

Condominiums fall under the separate Louisiana Condominium Act, R.S. 9:1121.101 et seq. Its association provisions leave administration largely to the bylaws: "The administration and operation of the condominium shall be governed by the bylaws" (R.S. 9:1123.106(A)). The association sections reviewed for this article (R.S. 9:1123.101 through 9:1123.108) do not set an open-board-meeting rule like the Planned Community Act's, so condo meeting procedures generally come from the bylaws and, for incorporated associations, corporate law. Condo owners do have a records right: "All financial and other records shall be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner and his authorized agents" (R.S. 9:1123.108).

What people generally do

For owners who want a clear view of how their Louisiana association makes decisions, a few things commonly matter:

• Whether the community's declaration was filed before or after January 1, 2025, and what its bylaws already say about meetings.
• Whether board meetings were noticed at least 30 days ahead (or appeared on a schedule given to owners), with an agenda.
• Whether any executive session stayed within the listed purposes, and whether the final vote happened in the open meeting.
• Whether materials given to the board before a meeting were made reasonably available to owners.
• The 60-day window in R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(9), which can run from the approval of minutes or notice of the action.
• Minutes and other association records show how decisions were made; disputes over fines often trace back to a rule adopted at a board meeting.

More Louisiana topics are collected in the Louisiana HOA law guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are Louisiana HOA board meetings open to homeowners?

Under the Planned Community Act, yes: board and authorized committee meetings "shall be open to the lot owners except during executive sessions," and no final vote or action may be taken in executive session (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(1)). For older communities, the Act does not affect the "validity or superiority" of provisions in community documents filed for registry before January 1, 2025 (R.S. 9:1141.3(A)), so existing recorded meeting rules may govern instead; how that applies to a given community is a question for a licensed Louisiana attorney.

How much notice does a Louisiana HOA have to give before a board meeting?

At least 30 days, stating the time, date, place, and agenda, unless the meeting is on a schedule previously provided to owners or is called to address an emergency (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(5)). Annual and special association meetings require notice not more than 60 nor fewer than 30 days ahead (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(3)).

Can homeowners speak at Louisiana HOA meetings?

At association meetings, the Act requires that owners "be given a reasonable opportunity to comment regarding any matter affecting the planned community or the association" (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(5)). At board meetings, the board must set procedural rules allowing participation by an owner directly impacted by an agenda item or asked to attend (R.S. 9:1141.26(B)(4)); any broader comment period depends on the bylaws and board rules.

Can Louisiana homeowners call a special meeting?

Yes. Owners holding at least 20 percent of the voting interest, or any lower percentage the bylaws set, can demand that the secretary call a special meeting, and the secretary must call it within 30 days of receiving the demand (R.S. 9:1141.26(A)(2)).

Does the Planned Community Act cover condominium meetings?

No. The Act "shall not apply to condominium property" governed by the Louisiana Condominium Act (R.S. 9:1141.3(B)(1)). Condo meetings are generally governed by the condominium's bylaws, which the Condominium Act makes the governing document for the condominium's administration and operation (R.S. 9:1123.106(A)).

Sources

• La. R.S. 9:1141.26 — Meetings
• La. R.S. 9:1141.27 — Quorum
• La. R.S. 9:1141.28 — Voting; proxies; ballots
• La. R.S. 9:1141.36 — Association records
• La. R.S. 9:1141.38 — Notice to lot owners
• La. R.S. 9:1141.39 — Removal of directors and officers
• La. R.S. 9:1141.3 — Applicability
• La. R.S. 9:1141.2 — Definitions (electronic means)
• La. R.S. 9:1141.19 — Organization of lot owners association
• Acts 2024, No. 158 (SB 23) — full enacted text of the Louisiana Planned Community Act (2024 revision comments; effective dates § 3)
• La. R.S. 12:229 — Meetings of members (Nonprofit Corporation Law)
• La. R.S. 12:230 — Notice of meetings of members
• La. R.S. 12:231 — Quorum of members
• La. R.S. 12:232 — Voting of members
• La. R.S. 9:1123.106 — Bylaws (condominiums)
• La. R.S. 9:1123.108 — Association records (condominiums)