Meetings & GovernanceRI
Attending HOA Meetings in Rhode Island
By The HOARebel Team · May 31, 2026 · 2 min read
The decisions that affect your home — budgets, rules, assessments — often get made at board or association meetings. In Rhode Island, the Condominium Act is concrete about how much notice owners are entitled to. For your specific situation, a licensed Rhode Island attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The notice window (§ 34-36.1-3.08)
For condominiums under R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1, the statute sets a specific window:
"Not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days in advance of any meeting, the secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall cause notice to be hand delivered or sent prepaid by United States mail to the mailing address of each unit or to any other mailing address designated in writing by the unit owner." — R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.08
The notice must include the time, place, and agenda, including the general nature of any proposed declaration or bylaw amendment, budget changes, or any proposal to remove a director or officer. Notice that misses the window, or that omits a material agenda item, is the kind of thing a homeowner or attorney examines first.
Quorum and voting (§§ 34-36.1-3.09, 3.10)
The Act also addresses quorums (§ 34-36.1-3.09) and voting and proxies (§ 34-36.1-3.10). A meeting decision reached without a valid quorum, or one made by an improper proxy vote, may be vulnerable.
For non-condominium HOAs
For a traditional Rhode Island HOA where you own a house and lot, § 34-36.1 generally does not apply. Meeting procedure comes from:
- The recorded declaration and bylaws
- The Rhode Island Nonprofit Corporation Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-6), if the HOA is incorporated as a nonprofit, which supplies rules for annual meetings, special meetings, notice to members, voting, and minutes as corporate records
See Which Rhode Island Laws Govern Your HOA or Condo?.
Why notice is the leverage point
Notice exists so owners can attend and participate before a decision is locked in. When a board adopts a rule, approves a budget, or raises assessments at a meeting members were never properly noticed of — under the bylaws, the Condominium Act, or the Nonprofit Corporation Act — the lack of notice is often the first thing a homeowner or attorney examines.
Minutes are records you can get
If you couldn't attend, the minutes show what happened. For condominiums, the records right under § 34-36.1-3.18 reaches the minutes within 30 days of a request. See Getting Your HOA's Records in Rhode Island. For incorporated HOAs, the Nonprofit Corporation Act gives members access to corporate records, including minutes.
If meetings are closed or unnoticed
When an owner believes the board is meeting without the notice the documents or the statute require, the options include raising it with the board in writing, requesting the records that would show what happened, and consulting a licensed Rhode Island attorney about whether the bylaws and the applicable statute were followed.