Meeting minutes are more than a formality. They're the official legal record of your HOA's decisions. When disputes arise, when homeowners challenge a vote, or when new board members need context on past decisions, the minutes are what everyone turns to.
Yet many HOA minutes fall short. They're either too detailed (transcribing every word) or too vague (missing critical information). The result? Documents that don't protect the board and don't help the community.
Here are the five elements every set of HOA meeting minutes must include to be both legally defensible and practically useful.
1. Meeting Logistics
Every set of minutes should open with the basics:
- Date, time, and location (or virtual platform)
- Type of meeting (regular board meeting, special meeting, annual meeting)
- Board members present and absent
- Confirmation of quorum
- Time the meeting was called to order
This establishes that the meeting was properly convened and had the authority to make decisions.
2. Motions with Full Detail
The heart of parliamentary minutes is the motion. Each motion should include:
- Exact wording of the motion
- Who made the motion
- Who seconded it
- Any amendments (with their own movers and seconders)
Don't paraphrase. If someone moves to "approve the contract with ABC Landscaping for $24,000 annually," that's what the minutes should say, not "approved landscaping contract."
3. Vote Counts and Outcomes
For every motion, record:
- How many voted in favor
- How many opposed
- How many abstained
- Whether the motion passed or failed
For controversial decisions, some boards prefer to record how each member voted by name. Check your governing documents, as some states or bylaws require roll-call votes for certain decisions.
4. Action Items with Owners
Decisions mean nothing without follow-through. Every action item should specify:
- What needs to be done
- Who is responsible
- When it's due (if a deadline was set)
This creates accountability. At the next meeting, the board can review action items and confirm they were completed.
5. Adjournment
Close the minutes properly:
- Time of adjournment
- Date of next scheduled meeting (if announced)
- Signature lines for the secretary and president (once approved)
What NOT to Include
Parliamentary minutes are not transcripts. Leave out:
- Detailed discussion summaries – Minutes record decisions, not debates
- Personal opinions or characterizations – Stick to facts
- Content from executive session – Only note that executive session occurred and its general purpose
- Verbatim quotes (unless specifically relevant to a motion)
Why This Matters
Proper minutes protect everyone. They protect the board by documenting that decisions followed proper procedure. They protect homeowners by creating transparency. And they protect the management company by providing clear records of what was authorized.
When minutes are incomplete, vague, or delayed, that protection disappears. A homeowner challenges a decision, and the board can't prove it was properly voted on. An action item falls through the cracks because no one was assigned responsibility. A new board member makes the same mistake a previous board already learned from.
Good minutes take effort, which is exactly why many boards struggle to produce them consistently, especially when the manager is also trying to participate in the meeting, answer questions, and track multiple discussions at once. For more on this challenge, see our article on common mistakes in HOA meeting documentation.
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