Texas HOA annual meeting and board election notice: the 10-to-60-day window and the candidate call

What this guide covers

Texas does not tell a property owners’ association when to hold its annual meeting — the dedicatory instruments do — but once an election or an owner vote is scheduled, state law fixes the notice window, the candidate call for larger associations, the voting methods owners have to be offered, and who may touch the ballots. This guide covers property owners’ associations of residential subdivisions under the Residential Property Owners Protection Act (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.002(7), (9)). Condominium associations are governed by a separate chapter, noted at the end (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.108). It does not replace your declaration and bylaws, except where a cited rule says it supersedes them.

The short answer

• For an election or vote taken at a meeting of the owners, written notice goes to each owner not later than the 10th day and not earlier than the 60th day before the date of the election or vote (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a)).
• For a vote not taken at a meeting, notice goes to every owner entitled to vote not later than the 20th day before the last day a ballot may be submitted (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a-1)).
• Those windows override anything to the contrary in the dedicatory instruments (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(b)).
• An association of more than 100 lots must, at least 10 days before it sends out ballots, notify members that it is soliciting board candidates, with a request deadline no earlier than the 10th day after that notice (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a-1)).
• A director whose term has expired must be elected by the owners; the board may appoint only to fill a vacancy, for the rest of the unexpired term (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a)).
• Owners must be allowed to vote by at least one of absentee ballot, proxy or electronic ballot (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(a-1)).
• A candidate, or a relative within the third degree, may not tabulate or be given access to the ballots (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00594(a)).

Step by step

1. Confirm which act you are under

The Residential Property Owners Protection Act applies to a property owners’ association that represents the owners of a residential subdivision — land divided into two or more parts, restricted mostly to single-family homes, townhomes or duplexes, with recorded restrictions that require membership in an association with assessment authority (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.002(7), (9)). A condominium is governed instead by the Uniform Condominium Act, which requires an association meeting at least once a year and lets a special meeting be called by the president, a majority of the board, or unit owners holding at least 20 percent of the votes unless the declaration says otherwise (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.108(a)).

2. Send the election notice inside the 10-to-60-day window

For an election or vote taken at a meeting of the owners, the association gives written notice of the election or vote to each owner not later than the 10th day and not earlier than the 60th day before the date of the election or vote (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a)). Where a vote elects representatives who in turn appoint the board, the notice goes to each owner entitled to vote in that representative election (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a)(2)). For a vote of owners not taken at a meeting — a mail or electronic ballot with no assembly — notice goes to all owners entitled to vote not later than the 20th day before the latest date a ballot may be submitted to be counted (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a-1)). This section supersedes any contrary requirement in a dedicatory instrument (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(b)). The owner meeting itself may be held by any method of communication, including electronic and telephonic means, under the rule the Business Organizations Code sets for that (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(d)).

3. If you have more than 100 lots, call for candidates first

At least 10 days before an association composed of more than 100 lots disseminates absentee or other ballots for a board election, it must notify members that it is soliciting candidates; the notice carries instructions for an eligible candidate to ask to be placed on the ballot and a deadline that may not be earlier than the 10th day after the notice is given (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a-1)). That notice is mailed to each owner, or is both posted conspicuously — on common property, on consenting private property in the subdivision, or on a website the association maintains — and emailed to every owner who has registered an email address (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a-2)). Every eligible candidate who asks in time goes on the ballot (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a-3)).

Any board member whose term has expired must be elected by the owners, regardless of the dedicatory instruments; the board may appoint someone only to fill a vacancy, and only for the remainder of that unexpired term (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a)). An appointment made in violation of that rule is void, and the board may amend the bylaws itself to provide for the elections the section requires (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(b)–(c)). The rule does not apply during a declarant’s development period or to a representative board elected by delegates (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(d)–(e)).

4. Offer a voting method that does not require showing up

An owner’s vote may be cast in person or by proxy at a meeting, by absentee ballot, by electronic ballot, or by any representative or delegated method the dedicatory instruments provide (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(a)). Unless the dedicatory instruments provide otherwise the association need not offer more than one method, but an owner must be allowed to vote by at least one of absentee ballot, proxy or electronic ballot (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(a-1)).

An absentee or electronic ballot counts toward a quorum only for the items on the ballot; it is not counted if the owner turns up and votes in person, and it is not counted on a proposal that is amended at the meeting so that it differs from the ballot’s exact language — though a floor nomination in a board election is not treated as an amendment (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(b), (b-1)). A solicitation for absentee ballots must include a ballot with a for-and-against option on each proposed action, delivery instructions with the delivery location, and a prescribed paragraph warning the owner that by voting absentee they forgo the chance to vote on floor amendments (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(c)). An electronic ballot is one cast by email, fax or a website posting, where the owner’s identity can be confirmed and the owner can receive a receipt; if the ballot is posted on a website, each owner is sent a notice with instructions for reaching it (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(d)–(e)). These rules supersede contrary provisions in the dedicatory instruments (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00592(f)).

A provision in a dedicatory instrument that would disqualify an owner from voting in a board election, or on any matter concerning the owner’s rights or responsibilities, is void (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0059(a)).

5. Use signed ballots, or adopt secret-ballot rules that protect the count

A vote cast outside a meeting, in a board election, on adopting or amending a dedicatory instrument, on raising a regular assessment or adopting a special one, or on removing a board member must be in writing and signed by the member, unless the association has adopted secret-ballot rules (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0058(a)). An electronic vote cast under the voting section counts as a written and signed ballot (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0058(b)). Signed ballots are not required for uncontested races (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0058(c)). An association that adopts secret-ballot rules must take measures reasonably ensuring that no member casts more votes than they are eligible to cast and that every eligible vote is counted, and in a board election each candidate may name one observer of the count, who may not see who cast any ballot and may be removed if disruptive (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0058(d)).

6. Keep candidates away from the ballots

A person who is a candidate in the election or the subject of the vote, or who is related to such a person within the third degree by blood or marriage, may not tabulate the ballots or be given access to them (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00594(a)). Anyone else may tabulate, only the tabulator or a recount official may be given access to the ballots, and whoever counts may not disclose how an individual voted (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00594(b)–(c)).

Common mistakes

• Mailing the election notice with the annual-meeting packet a week out. The notice must arrive no later than the 10th day before the vote — and no earlier than the 60th (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(a)).
• Sending ballots first and calling for candidates after. An association of more than 100 lots gives the candidate-solicitation notice at least 10 days before ballots go out (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a-1)).
• Appointing a director to an expired seat. Only a vacancy may be filled by appointment; an appointment to an expired term is void (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00593(a), (c)).
• Letting a candidate’s spouse count the ballots. Relatives within the third degree are barred from tabulating or seeing ballots (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.00594(a)).
• Denying a ballot to an owner in arrears. A dedicatory-instrument provision disqualifying an owner from voting is void (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0059(a)).

Where software fits

Platforms that carry election notices, candidate calls and electronic ballots are compared in our best-of roundups; this page stays with what the law says.

When to involve counsel

Get advice before any recall or removal vote, whenever a development period may still be running, and the moment an owner alleges the notice window was missed — the sections above supersede the governing documents, so a board that followed its bylaws to the letter can still have held a defective election (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056(b); § 209.00592(f)).

Corrections and review history

• 2026-09-09: citations checked against the Property Code on statutes.capitol.texas.gov (text served from the Legislature’s file server at tcss.legis.texas.gov). Not yet published.

Sources

1. Texas Property Code § 209.002 — Definitions (property owners' association; residential subdivision; dedicatory instrument) — accessed 2026-09-09
2. Texas Property Code § 209.0056 — Notice of election or association vote — accessed 2026-09-09
3. Texas Property Code § 209.0058 — Ballots — accessed 2026-09-09
4. Texas Property Code § 209.0059 — Right to vote — accessed 2026-09-09
5. Texas Property Code § 209.00592 — Voting; quorum (absentee and electronic ballots) — accessed 2026-09-09
6. Texas Property Code § 209.00593 — Election of board members (candidate solicitation notice) — accessed 2026-09-09
7. Texas Property Code § 209.00594 — Tabulation of and access to ballots — accessed 2026-09-09
8. Texas Property Code § 82.108 — Condominium meetings — accessed 2026-09-09