Quick Answer
Tennessee has no single election statute for community associations, so start with what your community is. A condominium created after January 1, 2009 runs on the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008. An older condominium keeps its Horizontal Property Act documents unless it opts in. A homeowners association runs on its declaration and bylaws and, if incorporated, the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, plus a short Homeowners' Association part of Title 66 with two rules about votes.
| Question | Condominium (2008 Act) | Incorporated HOA (Nonprofit Corporation Act) |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting notice | 10 to 60 days before the meeting, stating the time, place, method of attendance and agenda (§66-27-408) | 10 days to two months before the meeting is fair and reasonable (§48-57-105(c)) |
| Quorum | 20 percent of the votes, present in person or by proxy at the start, unless the bylaws say otherwise (§66-27-409(a)) | 10 percent of the votes entitled to be cast, unless the charter or bylaws say otherwise (§48-57-203(a)) |
| Proxies | Allowed. Void if undated or if it purports to be revocable without notice; duration follows the Nonprofit Corporation Act (§66-27-410(b)) | Allowed unless the charter or bylaws prohibit or limit them. Valid 11 months unless the form says otherwise (§48-57-205) |
| Voting without a meeting | Not addressed in the 2008 Act | A ballot to every member entitled to vote, unless the charter or bylaws restrict it (§48-57-108) |
| Attending remotely | In person, by telephone or by other means in the bylaws (§66-27-409(c)) | By remote communication, with voters verified and remote votes recorded, unless the charter or bylaws say otherwise (§48-57-109) |
| Removing a director | A two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote, at a meeting with a quorum, with or without cause (§66-27-403(f)) | With or without cause, at a meeting called for that purpose, by enough votes to elect (§48-58-108) |
| Special assessment for a pool or clubhouse | Not in the 2008 Act | Any HOA: two-thirds of the total members, plus financing or a payment plan (§66-27-706) |
This is our reading of the Tennessee Code, offered to support your own review, and it is not legal advice. Your declaration, charter and bylaws override many of these defaults. Confirm with your association's attorney before you rely on any one of them.
Which Law Governs Your Community
Condominiums created after January 1, 2009. Parts 2 to 5 of Title 66, Chapter 27, the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008, apply to all condominiums created in Tennessee after January 1, 2009 (§66-27-202(a)). The association must be organized by the time the first unit is conveyed, as a profit or nonprofit corporation or a limited liability company; one with four or fewer units that is not a master association may be an unincorporated association (§66-27-401).
Condominiums created before then. Only a short list of the 2008 Act's sections reaches them, only for events after January 1, 2009, and with one exception those sections do not override the existing master deed, declaration, bylaws or plats (§66-27-202(a)). The meeting, quorum and voting sections (§66-27-408 to §66-27-410) are not on the list. Part 1, the Horizontal Property Act (§66-27-101), does not apply to condominiums created after January 1, 2009, and an older condominium amends its master deed, bylaws or plats under those instruments and Part 1 (§66-27-202(b)). It may elect into the 2008 Act in its entirety by amending and restating them (§66-27-202(c)).
Homeowners associations. Part 7 of Chapter 27 is headed "Homeowners' Association". It defines one as an incorporated or unincorporated association owned by, or whose members consist primarily of, the owners of the residential property covered by the declaration, through which the owners or the board manage or regulate the residential subdivision (§66-27-701). It has six sections and is not an election code; two of them concern votes. Everything else comes from the declaration and bylaws and, for an incorporated association, the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act in Title 48, Chapters 51 to 68.
The Horizontal Property Act, for Pre-2009 Condominiums
The Horizontal Property Act leaves most of the procedure to the bylaws. They must provide the form of administration, including how the administrator or board is removed; the method of calling or summoning the co-owners to assembly; that a majority of co-owners is required to adopt decisions; and who presides and who keeps the minute book (§66-27-112(a)). A majority of co-owners means more than 50 percent of the co-owners (§66-27-102). Co-owners representing two-thirds of the total apartments may change the system of administration, effective once recorded (§66-27-112(b)). So the recorded bylaws are the rulebook; if the association is incorporated, ask counsel how the Nonprofit Corporation Act's defaults below fit with them.
Notice
Condominiums under the 2008 Act. The association must meet at least once a year, and the president, a majority of the board, or owners holding 20 percent of the votes (or a lower percentage in the bylaws) may call a special meeting. Not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before any meeting, the secretary or other officer the bylaws name must have notice hand-delivered or sent by prepaid United States mail, fax, electronically, or other means the declaration expressly authorizes, to the unit's address or any physical or electronic address the owner designates. The notice states the time, place and method of attendance and the agenda, including the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, any budget changes, and any proposal to remove a director or officer. All owners may waive notice in writing (§66-27-408).
Incorporated associations. Notice must be fair and reasonable and consistent with the charter or bylaws (§48-57-105(a)). It is fair and reasonable if members get the place, date and time no fewer than 10 days nor more than two months before the meeting, an annual meeting notice describes any matter on the statute's list that members must approve, and a special meeting notice describes the matters it is called for (§48-57-105(c)). Notice by electronic transmission needs the recipient's consent (§48-51-202(f)).
Special meetings. Unless the charter provides otherwise, holders of at least 10 percent of the votes entitled to be cast on an issue can demand a special meeting in signed, dated writing. If notice is not given within one month, the people who signed may set the time and place and give the notice themselves (§48-57-102).
Quorum
Condominiums. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a quorum is present throughout a meeting of the association if persons entitled to cast 20 percent of the votes that may be cast for election of the board are present in person or by proxy at the beginning of the meeting (§66-27-409(a)). The count is taken at the start, so owners who leave later do not undo it. A board meeting needs 50 percent unless the bylaws set more (§66-27-409(b)).
Incorporated associations. Unless the act, charter or bylaws set a higher or lower quorum, 10 percent of the votes entitled to be cast on a matter must be represented (§48-57-203(a)). An amendment that adds, changes or deletes a greater quorum or voting requirement must be adopted under the requirement then in effect or the one proposed, whichever is greater (§48-57-203(b)).
Compare other states in HOA quorum requirements by state, or run your roster through the quorum calculator.
Proxies
Condominiums. Votes allocated to a unit may be cast under a proxy duly executed by the owner. A proxy is void if it is not dated or if it purports to be revocable without notice, and an owner can revoke one only by actual notice to the person presiding over the meeting. The 2008 Act sets no duration of its own: it says the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act governs, including §48-57-205 (§66-27-410(b)). If several owners of a unit attend, the votes follow a majority in interest, and one owner casting them without prompt protest counts as agreement (§66-27-410(a)). Votes allocated to a unit the association owns may not be cast (§66-27-410(d)).
Incorporated associations. Proxies are allowed unless the charter or bylaws prohibit or limit them (§48-57-205(a)). A member may sign a writing, or send an electronic transmission to the proxy holder with information showing the member authorized it (§48-57-205(b)). The appointment takes effect when the secretary or other person authorized to tabulate votes receives it, is valid for 11 months unless the form expressly provides another period, and is revocable unless it conspicuously says it is irrevocable and is coupled with an interest (§48-57-205(c), (d)).
The comparison across states is in HOA proxy voting rules by state.
Ballots, Electronic Delivery and Remote Meetings
Ballots without a meeting. Except as the charter or bylaws restrict, any action members could take at a meeting may be taken without one if the corporation delivers a ballot to every member entitled to vote on the matter (§48-57-108(a)). The ballot must be in the form of a document, set out each proposed action, let members vote for or withhold a vote for each director candidate, and let them vote for, against or abstain on each other action (§48-57-108(b)). It is valid only if the votes cast at least equal the quorum a meeting would need and the approvals at least equal what a meeting with the same number of votes cast would need (§48-57-108(c)). Every solicitation must state the number of responses needed for quorum, the percentage of approvals needed for each matter other than electing directors, and the deadline for receipt (§48-57-108(d)). A ballot cannot be revoked unless the charter, bylaws or ballot permits it (§48-57-108(e)).
The act defines a document as a tangible medium on which information is inscribed, or an electronic record (§48-51-201). On our reading, a ballot that is an electronic record is a document under the act, and sending it electronically needs the member's consent (§48-51-202(f)). Check your charter and bylaws for a restriction first.
Remote attendance. Unless the charter or bylaws provide otherwise, a corporation may let members or proxyholders take part in a regular or special meeting, or hold it, by remote communication, if it takes reasonable measures to verify that each person deemed present and permitted to vote is a member or proxyholder entitled to vote, gives them a reasonable opportunity to participate and vote, and keeps a record of each vote taken remotely. A member who takes part this way is deemed present in person (§48-57-109).
Condominiums. Attendance may be in person, by telephone, or by any other means the bylaws specify, and by proxy (§66-27-409(c)), and the notice must state the method of attendance (§66-27-408). The 2008 Act does not address voting without a meeting.
This one gets heated
Should community boards be required to use independent election administrators?
Electing, Removing and Replacing Directors
Condominiums. A declaration may give the developer a period of control, which ends no later than 120 days after 75 percent of the units that may be created are conveyed to other owners, or five years after the first conveyance (seven if more than 100 units may be created), whichever comes first (§66-27-403(c)). Within 120 days after 25 percent are conveyed, owners other than the developer must elect at least one board member (§66-27-403(d)). By the end of developer control, the owners elect a board of at least three, a majority of them owners, and the board elects the officers (§66-27-403(e)). The bylaws must set the number of directors and how they are elected and removed and vacancies filled (§66-27-406(a)). The board may not elect its own members, but it may fill a vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term (§66-27-403(b)).
Notwithstanding the declaration or bylaws, the owners may remove any director other than a developer appointee, with or without cause, by a two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote at a meeting where a quorum is present (§66-27-403(f)). The proposal must be on the notice (§66-27-408). The handover is covered in the developer turnover election guide.
Incorporated associations. Directors are elected at each annual meeting unless the charter or bylaws provide another time or method (§48-58-104(a)), by a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting with a quorum unless the charter or bylaws say otherwise (§48-57-206(a)). Cumulative voting exists only if the charter or bylaws provide for it, and then only if the notice says so conspicuously or a member announces the intent during the meeting before the vote (§48-57-206(b), (d)). A director whose term ends serves until a successor is elected and qualifies (§48-58-105(d)).
Members may remove a director they elected, with or without cause, unless the charter allows removal only for cause (§48-58-108(a)). It happens only at a meeting called for that purpose, with the purpose in the notice, and the votes to remove must be enough to have elected the director (§48-58-108(c), (e)). Unless the charter or bylaws provide otherwise, the members or the board may fill a vacancy, and a majority of the remaining directors may fill it if fewer than a quorum remain (§48-58-111(a)). A director filling a member-elected seat serves until the members next elect directors (§48-58-105(c)). See how to fill a board vacancy.
The Homeowners' Association Part: Two Rules About Votes
The record of a rental-ban vote. When a homeowners association votes to amend its declaration to prohibit or effectively prohibit using residential property as a long-term rental, it must give a member who asks in writing a record of the votes. The record includes the ballot question language, proof of mailing, the number of members present at the meeting, the total number of members, the total votes the governing body is entitled to cast, the number needed for a quorum, and the final count (§66-27-702). This applies to amendments enacted on or after May 1, 2021 (§66-27-705). A long-term rental is a lease of 180 or more consecutive days (§66-27-701), and an owner at the time of such an amendment keeps a vested right to rent until the property is transferred (§66-27-703).
Assessments for amenities. To levy a special assessment for a nonessential amenity, such as a pool, tennis court or clubhouse, an association must pass it by at least a two-thirds majority vote of the total members, and offer financing or a payment plan. It may not foreclose for nonpayment of that assessment (§66-27-706). Two-thirds of the total membership is a high bar: count it against the full roster, not the owners who vote.
How a Tennessee Election Runs, From Notice to Result
- 1Identify the law and read the documents for quorum, notice and proxies.
- 2Build the voter list. An incorporated association prepares an alphabetical list of members entitled to notice, with addresses and votes, open to inspection beginning two business days after notice is given (§48-57-201).
- 3Send the notice inside the window, with the method of attendance for a condominium and any removal proposal on the agenda. A secretary's certificate that notice was given is prima facie evidence of it (§48-57-105(f)).
- 4Collect proxies and ballots. Reject undated condominium proxies, and put the quorum number, the approval percentage and the deadline on every ballot solicitation.
- 5Check quorum.
- 6Count. Directors by plurality in an incorporated association; other matters pass when the votes for exceed the votes against, unless the documents require more (§48-57-204). An association may appoint inspectors to determine who is present, rule on proxies and ballots, count the votes and determine the result, and a candidate may not be one (§48-57-209).
- 7Keep the record. A condominium's financial and other records must be reasonably available to owners (§66-27-417).
Counting is walked through in how to count HOA ballots.
Running a Tennessee Vote on vote.direct
On vote.direct each owner receives a private ballot link by email or text with a code per voter, owners without an email address can be sent a mailed packet returned in a prepaid envelope, and the organizer sees turnout against the quorum while voting is open. Each election ends with a result certificate and an exportable audit record.
A 150-unit association pays $19.99 per election, elections of up to 25 voters are free, and a free test election with up to 5 test voters lets the board try the ballot first. The citations are collected on Tennessee HOA voting rules.
FAQ
Q: Does Tennessee law allow online voting for an HOA?
For an incorporated association, the Nonprofit Corporation Act allows a ballot without a meeting unless the charter or bylaws restrict it (§48-57-108), counts an electronic record as a document (§48-51-201), and allows remote attendance at meetings with voters verified (§48-57-109). Electronic delivery needs the member's consent (§48-51-202(f)).
Q: What is the quorum for a Tennessee condo or HOA meeting?
For a condominium under the 2008 Act, 20 percent of the votes present in person or by proxy at the start, unless the bylaws say otherwise (§66-27-409(a)). For an incorporated HOA, 10 percent of the votes entitled to be cast, unless the charter or bylaws say otherwise (§48-57-203(a)).
Q: How much notice does a Tennessee condo association have to give for a meeting?
Not less than 10 nor more than 60 days, stating the time, place, method of attendance and agenda (§66-27-408). An incorporated HOA's safe harbor is 10 days to two months (§48-57-105(c)).
Q: How long is a proxy good for in Tennessee?
Eleven months unless the appointment form expressly provides another period (§48-57-205(c)). The Condominium Act of 2008 sends proxy duration to that section, and a condominium proxy is void if it is not dated (§66-27-410(b)).
Q: How do you remove a condo board member in Tennessee?
Under the 2008 Act, by a two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote at a meeting with a quorum, with or without cause, other than a developer appointee (§66-27-403(f)).
Q: Does the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008 apply to an older condominium?
Only a short list of its sections, which does not include the meeting, quorum and proxy sections, unless the condominium amends and restates its master deed, bylaws and plats to elect in (§66-27-202(a), (c)).
The Bottom Line
Start by naming your law. A post-2008 condominium has statutory numbers: 10 to 60 days of notice, a 20 percent quorum taken at the start, dated proxies, and a two-thirds removal vote of those present. An older condominium has its recorded bylaws. An incorporated HOA has the Nonprofit Corporation Act's 10 percent quorum, 11-month proxies, ballots without a meeting and remote attendance. And an HOA owes a vote record on a rental ban and needs two-thirds of all members for an amenity assessment.
Sources: Tennessee Code Annotated, Horizontal Property Act: §66-27-101, §66-27-102, §66-27-112; Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008: §66-27-202, §66-27-401, §66-27-403, §66-27-406, §66-27-408 to §66-27-410, §66-27-417; Homeowners' Association: §66-27-701 to §66-27-706; Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act: §48-51-201, §48-51-202, §48-57-102, §48-57-105, §48-57-108, §48-57-109, §48-57-201, §48-57-203 to §48-57-206, §48-57-209, §48-58-104, §48-58-105, §48-58-108, §48-58-111. Section text read from a republished copy and each rule checked against the official code's public-access search on November 12, 2026.
Every rule on one page: Tennessee HOA voting rules, with quorum, notice, proxy and electronic voting at a glance.
This article is general information, not legal advice. We recommend you do your own research and confirm anything you plan to act on. Where this article states law, the section is cited so you can read the primary source yourself rather than take our word for it. That is what the citations are for. Election requirements also turn on your own governing documents, which we have not seen, and statutes are amended. For advice about your community, consult a qualified attorney licensed in your state.
We work hard to verify every citation against the primary source, but laws change and errors happen. If you spot an inaccuracy, email support@vote.direct and we will correct it. See our editorial standards for how these pages are researched and checked.
