Resources
These short checklists and worksheets turn the routine jobs of a volunteer board into steps you can follow. Use them as written, or copy them into your own documents and adjust them to fit your governing documents and your state's rules.
4 tools
Use the New Board Member Checklist in your first few weeks on the board. It is a one-page list of the documents to request, the money to understand, the people to meet, the dates to put on your calendar and the ground rules.
For the longer version, read The Must-Have HOA Management Checklist for New Board Members, an article that covers records, money, the budget and reserves, maintenance, meetings, owner communication, and insurance and contracts.
Use the Annual HOA Budget Checklist when you start work on next year's budget, about four to five months before the new fiscal year begins. It lists the tasks in order, from gathering this year's numbers to adopting the budget and sending it to owners.
Use the Board Meeting Checklist each time a board meeting goes on the calendar. It covers what to prepare before the meeting, what to do during it and what to finish afterward so that decisions turn into action.
Use the Vendor Comparison Worksheet when the board has bids in hand for a repair, a project or a service contract. It puts three bids side by side on the same criteria, so you compare license, insurance, scope and contract terms along with price.
19 tools
Enter your fiscal year-end to see the year’s budget, disclosure, review and filing deadlines.
Enter your election date and nomination deadline to see every notice deadline, with the rule behind each one.
A request for internal dispute resolution that owners or boards can fill in, then print or save.
A worksheet for charting who maintains, repairs and replaces each part of the property.
An application form for owner improvement requests, with the review deadlines for solar, EV charger and disaster rebuild requests.
Build a request for proposal for management companies, with a scoring sheet and the disclosures California managers must provide.
A board meeting notice and agenda that follow the Open Meeting Act, with the notice deadline and a separate executive session agenda.
Check a dues increase or special assessment against the 20 and 5 percent limits, with the member vote count and notice dates.
Write the notice each owner gets 30 to 60 days before a dues increase.
Write a special assessment notice, standard or emergency with the board’s written findings.
Work out the late charge and interest on a past-due account and every collection deadline, from the pre-lien notice to the lien.
Check a fine against the $100 cap and the health and safety exception, with the hearing notice and decision deadlines.
Build a graduated fine schedule within the $100 cap, with the 28-day rule change notice to adopt it.
Write the notice before a disciplinary hearing and the written decision after it.
A maintenance request, a work order with a spending limit and a running maintenance log, with who is usually responsible under section 4775.
A disability accommodation and modification request form, plus a board response letter that asks only what fair housing law allows.
A welcome letter for new owners with dues, contacts and meetings, plus the owner information form California requires each year.
Write a records request or log requests and see every response deadline.
Turn your reserve study into the disclosure summary that goes with the budget report.
Free download
The California HOA Board Toolkit puts 21 of the 23 tools on this page in one Word file: checklists, forms, worksheets and letters, grouped by board job. The compliance calendar and election planner work out dates for you, so they stay online. New board members can read the first part as an orientation packet. Enter your email and we’ll send you the download link. Every tool stays free on this page, with no sign-up.
We use your email only to send the toolkit, and we never share it with management companies. See our Privacy Policy. Template only: have your association’s attorney review any letter or form before use.
Start here
If you have just been elected or appointed, start with the New Board Member Guide. It explains what you are responsible for and which documents to read first, and it lays out what to learn in your first week, your first 30 days and your first 90 days.
This page is general educational information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and your association's governing documents control many of these questions, so check with your association's attorney or another qualified professional about your situation.