HOA legal quorum standards in Texas state that, unless bylaws specify otherwise, meetings and votes may proceed if persons able to cast at least 20% of the votes are present. This language is the way it is because of a lack of specificity in state law as to how property owners are represented.
Understanding when quorums are met and how to meet them is as important as the security of HOA voting ballots. Just as with meeting announcement rules for HOAs in Texas, when it comes to quorums, there are some minimum requirements, and many ways to do things beyond those minimums.
There are federal laws that affect HOAs, and there are bylaws specific to each organization. In between, every HOA has to follow the guidelines of the state in which they function.
‘Quorum’ refers to the minimum number of members who must be present in order for business to be conducted. When it comes to HOA quorums, Texas state law says that unless HOAs bylaws say otherwise, enough people responsible for at least 20% of votes is required for a quorum.
For a board meeting, at least 50% of votes on the board must be present. Individual HOAs can use their bylaws to set a different quorum requirement, but they are prohibited from setting the quorum requirement to less than 10%.
This law is worded this way for a specific reason: there is more than one way to distribute voting power in an HOA. For example, an organization may decide:
State law in Texas leaves this decision up to each HOA. This means that for some organizations of one hundred members, twenty members may be required for a quorum. For another HOA (one that grants each member a vote for each property they own) of the same size, fifteen members might be sufficient.
| Quorum Type | Texas Requirement |
| General HOA Meetings | At least 20% of votes must be represented, unless bylaws specify otherwise. |
| Board Meetings | At least 50% of board votes must be present. |
| Minimum Quorum Allowed | HOAs may adjust requirements in bylaws, but never below 10%. |
| Voting Power Distribution | Each HOA may decide: 1) One vote per property owner, or 2) One vote per property owned. |
Quorum is important for organizations because it’s an easy way to prevent a small number of members from making decisions for everyone. Setting a basic minimum ensures that for every election and for each decision, members can have faith that a meaningful percentage of their fellow property owners support the actions being taken.
Without quorum, an HOA cannot conduct business. They cannot carry out an election, and they cannot pass new regulations. In fact, if an annual meeting of an HOA (legally required by Texas law) fails to meet quorum, the meeting is canceled and the board must reschedule it. Some bylaws allow for reduced quorum to conduct follow-up meetings, but without quorum, business is at a standstill.
Meeting quorum takes work, but is, at its core, a relatively easy challenge to tackle:
Many HOAs work with online election providers to make the voting process as simple and accessible as possible. ElectionBuddy has a team of experts familiar with HOA elections and Texas homeowner rules. That insight, combined with an easy-to-use, safely encrypted voting platform, offers HOAs exactly the help they need to meet quorum and build voter trust!
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