Open Meetings: Your Right to Attend the HOA Board in Vermont

Some of the most consequential HOA decisions — budgets, rules, contracts — happen at board meetings. Vermont's main HOA statute is unusually explicit that those meetings are, with limited exceptions, open to owners. Vermont communities are governed primarily by the Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act (VCIOA), Title 27A — one of several authorities that apply, alongside the association's own declaration and bylaws, Vermont's nonprofit corporation law, and federal law such as the Fair Housing Act. This is general information, not legal advice — for how it applies to your specific situation, a licensed Vermont attorney is the right resource.

Are HOA board meetings open to owners in Vermont?

Yes, except during executive sessions. Under 27A V.S.A. § 3-108(b)(1), executive board meetings are open to unit owners by default, and executive session is reserved for specific, limited matters rather than whenever the board would prefer privacy. For communities created between 1999 and 2011, which version of § 3-108 applies can be an open question.

VCIOA states the open-meeting principle directly:

"Meetings shall be open to the unit owners except during executive sessions." — 27A V.S.A. § 3-108(b)(1)

How much notice must a Vermont HOA give for board meetings?

At least 10 days. Under 27A V.S.A. § 3-108(b)(5), notice of each executive board meeting must go to owners at least 10 days before the meeting and state its time, date, place and agenda. Which version of § 3-108 applies to a community created between 1999 and 2011 can be a question worth putting to an attorney.

The right to attend means little without knowing a meeting is happening. VCIOA requires notice of each executive board meeting to go to owners ahead of time:

"at least 10 days before the meeting and shall state the time, date, place, and agenda of the meeting" — 27A V.S.A. § 3-108(b)(5)

Two things stand out. First, the 10-day lead time. Second, the notice has to include an agenda — owners are entitled to know in advance what the board intends to take up, not just that a meeting will occur.

These board-meeting provisions come from a rewrite of § 3-108 by 2009, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), effective January 1, 2012. Section 1-204(a)(2) applies § 3-108 to communities created before 1999 for events after December 31, 2011, while § 1-201(a) provides that "Amendments to this title apply to all common interest communities that contain 12 or more units that may be used for residential purposes and are created after January 1, 2011, or are subject to this title by amendment of their declaration" — so for a community created between 1999 and 2011, which version of § 3-108 applies can be a question worth putting to an attorney.

Why notice is the leverage point

Notice and an agenda exist so owners can show up and participate before a decision is locked in. When a board adopts a rule, approves a budget, or raises assessments at a meeting that was never properly noticed — or that wasn't on the agenda — the procedural gap is often the first thing a homeowner or attorney examines. A decision reached outside the statute's open-meeting and notice requirements may be vulnerable.

Executive session has limits

Because the open-meeting rule has an executive-session exception, boards sometimes try to move ordinary business behind closed doors. The statute frames executive session as a limited carve-out, so a board that conducts general decision-making in closed session may be stretching it beyond what § 3-108 allows.

Minutes are records you can get

If you could not attend, the minutes show what was decided. Minutes are part of the association's records, open to owners under § 3-118. Requesting them is a common move when a board action seems to have appeared from nowhere.

If meetings are closed or unnoticed

When an owner believes the board is meeting without the required notice or improperly excluding owners, the options include raising it with the board in writing and, for unresolved disputes, consulting a licensed Vermont attorney about whether § 3-108 was followed.

Sources

• 27A V.S.A. § 3-108 — Meetings
• 27A V.S.A. § 3-118 — Association records
• 27A V.S.A. § 1-201 — New common interest communities
• 27A V.S.A. § 1-204 — Applicability to preexisting common interest communities