How to take good HOA board meeting minutes

Meeting minutes are official records for your homeowners association. Learn what must be included and how to take good minutes.

Your homeowners association (HOA) meeting minutes are a historical, and legal, record of your HOA’s operations. Taking minutes can be viewed as a tedious task, but it doesn’t have to be. These tips can help guide you so your minutes include all necessary information and are in good format.

Information to include in your HOA meeting minutes

To begin with, all HOA meeting minutes must present certain information. This includes:

• Your homeowners association’s name; the date and place of the meeting; the kind of meeting (board, annual or other); and the time the meeting was called to order and adjourned. This standard information could be included as a header for your minutes.
• Names of board members both present and absent to determine if quorum was established.
• Approval of the previous meeting minutes.
• All reports presented, including the financial, manager’s and any committee reports.
• Financial transactions, such as opening a bank account or allocating funds from a reserve account.
• Motions of old and new business. This should include the name of the person making and seconding the motion, the exact wording of the motion, and whether it passed. Also include the names of those voting in favor, opposing or abstaining.
• The date, place and time of the next meeting.
• The name and position of the person taking the meeting minutes.
• A notation that the minutes were approved along with the date they were approved.

Tips for taking good HOA board meeting minutes

Along with what must be included in your meeting minutes, here are a few tips on how to take good minutes:

• Be brief. Minutes are not a transcription of your meeting. They should be informative and reflect what was accomplished at your meeting, but be concise. No more than one to two pages.
• Be legal. If there’s no quorum for you meeting, don’t bother taking notes as it’s not a legal meeting. Simply note the date and time of the meeting and that it was canceled due to lack of quorum, and include this with your official records.
• Be timely. Document your meeting’s minutes within a week of your meeting so the information is fresh and members can be aware of actions that may occur prior to the next meeting.
• Be accurate. Send a draft of your meeting minutes to your board’s president and manager for review. With their feedback included, send the minutes to the remaining board members for review as well.

Of course, good meeting minutes are dependent on a good meeting. If your meeting doesn’t follow an agenda or proper form, your minutes will end up disorganized and confusing. If your meeting is lacking structure, these tips may help.

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