We frequently get the question “do we have to do a reserve study” or do we have to maintain a HOA?

While it is technically possible to dissolve an HOA in Washington State, doing so is a massive legal, financial, and logistical uphill battle. More importantly, completely dissolving the entity usually creates a whole new set of headaches for the homeowners.

dissolution 1. The Immediate Realities & Implications

Before looking at how to do it, it’s critical to understand what happens to a community when an HOA is dissolved.
  • The Common Area Conundrum: If your HOA owns common property—like stormwater retention ponds, private roads, community parks, entry signage, or greenbelts—that property cannot just exist in limbo. Washington municipalities (cities and counties) will not automatically take them over. If you dissolve the corporate entity, who pays the property taxes on those parcels? Who pays to maintain them? If a dead tree on a common tract falls and hits someone, who gets sued?
  • The Stormwater/Infrastructure Trap: In Washington (especially Western Washington), local jurisdictions heavily regulate stormwater management. HOAs are almost always legally mandated to inspect and maintain retention ponds. If the HOA disappears, the local government can fine the individual homeowners collectively or place a lien on all properties to pay for municipal maintenance.
  • Property Values and Covenants: Dissolving the association (the corporate structure) does not automatically dissolve the covenants (the CC&Rs attached to your deed). The rules regarding what you can build or do on your lot may still legally exist, but with no board, they become enforceable only if a neighbor privately sues another neighbor. Furthermore, some mortgage lenders require properties to be part of a functional HOA if common infrastructure exists; dissolving it could impact future buyers’ ability to get financing.

My suggestion before pursuing dissolution

Talk to a lawyer whose expertise is HOA’s. Then determine:

Does your HOA own or maintain anything essential?

If yes, dissolution may be impractical unless another entity takes over.

What do your CC&Rs require for termination?

That one clause often determines whether dissolution is realistically possible.

How many owners actually support ending it?

In practice, many dissolution’s fail because reaching 75–100% agreement is extremely difficult.