What Washington requires of the books
From the statutes, as the legal corpus holds them. The verified date is the day the value was last read against the statute's own text.
| Requirement | Value | Statute | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Lien Statute of LimitationsAssessment liens and personal liability for payment are extinguished after 6 years. | 6 years | RCW 64.90.485 (9) | May 22, 2026 |
| Annual Audit ThresholdAnnual assessments at or above this figure require an annual CPA audit that cannot be waived; below it the audit may be waived annually by a majority of non-de… | $100,000 | RCW 64.90.530 (2) | Jul 4, 2026 |
| Budget Distribution Deadline After AdoptionDays after the board adopts a proposed budget within which it must reach every unit owner. The quote is the same text the (1)(a) facts below carry, verbatim. | 30 days | RCW 64.90.525 (1)(a) | Jul 4, 2026 |
| Late Fee Cap (Assessment)During the 15-day standstill period, the maximum late fee is $50 or 5% of the unpaid assessment, whichever is less. | $50 | RCW 64.90.485 (21)(b)(ii)(C) | May 22, 2026 |
| Records Response DeadlineStandard window for the association to produce requested records (extendable to 21 days for size or redaction). | 10 days | RCW 64.90.495 (2)(a)(ii) | May 22, 2026 |
| Records Retention FloorMinimum retention period for financial records, statements, contracts, design materials, and enforcement decisions. | 7 years | RCW 64.90.495 (1)(a) | May 22, 2026 |
| WUCIOA Reserve Study CadenceWashington WUCIOA (RCW 64.90.545(1)) requires the reserve study to be updated annually; at least every third year, the update must be prepared by a reserve stu… | 3 years | RCW 64.90.545 (1) | Aug 12, 2026 |
| Condominium Act Reserve Study CadenceWashington Condominium Act (RCW 64.34.380(3)) requires the association to update the reserve study annually; at least every three years, an updated reserve stu… | 3 years | RCW 64.34.380 (3) | Aug 12, 2026 |
| Reserve Study Update IntervalThe longest interval WUCIOA permits between updated reserve studies. A study older than this is overdue. | 3 years | RCW 64.90.545 (1) | Oct 11, 2026 |
9 of the 27 statutory thresholds the corpus holds for Washington concern the books. The full list, with every citation.
January 1, 2028: WUCIOA reaches every association
On January 1, 2028, every association formed under Washington's older acts comes under the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (ESSB 5796, 2024). The rules above stop being a condominium's or a new community's and become every board's: a reserve study updated every year, with a site visit at least every three years (RCW 64.90.545); the budget summary to every owner before the ratification meeting (RCW 64.90.525); seven years of financial records, and ten days to produce them (RCW 64.90.495); an audit where annual assessments reach the threshold (RCW 64.90.530).
Books kept to that standard now are books that do not need rebuilding in 2028. We keep a running account of what the change means for an association's books; ask for it with the read.
What arrives by the 10th
In January, the annual statement package and the CPA's schedules, numbered and hashed. We never hold signing authority over funds. Bookkeeping is not an audit, review, or attestation engagement.
How it starts
Send the last balance sheet and bank statement. We write back within two days with what we see, every line a number from your own file, free, whether or not you hire us. If the books are clean, we say so, and the second opinion is the service. The read is also how we choose: we take on an association only where the read says its books can be kept to this standard, and we keep ten at a time.
Setup follows a cutover date: opening balances from the bank statements and the owner records, the chart of accounts, every owner's ledger, the first month reconciled. The statements arrive by the 10th from then on.