Snohomish County, WA HOA Rules: Assessment & Dues (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SCC 30.41A.675
- Applies to
- Subdivisions with an HOA-owned tract
- Obligation
- Dues/assessments run with the lot
- Recorded with
- Snohomish County Auditor
- Parallel rule
- SCC 30.41B.650 (short subdivisions)
Summary
In unincorporated Snohomish County subdivisions with a homeowners association, SCC 30.41A.675 makes membership and payment of dues or other maintenance assessments a mandatory condition of owning a lot, not an optional membership you can decline or drop.
In any subdivision containing a homeowners association approved pursuant to this title, membership in the homeowners association and payment of dues or other assessments for maintenance purposes shall be a requirement of lot ownership and shall remain an appurtenance to and inseparable from each lot. (Added by Amended Ord. 02-064, Dec. 9, 2002, Eff date Feb. 1, 2003).
30.41A.700 Subdivision alteration.
(1) A recorded final subdivision may be altered pursuant to SCC 30.41A.710 through 30.41A.750. These provisions apply to the reconfiguration of any element graphically portrayed on a recorded final plat and to the alteration of conditions, restrictions, easements, or other textual materials on the plat or with a recorded final subdivision.
(2) Any change to a recorded final plat where an additional lot(s) is proposed shall not be considered a subdivision alteration and shall be processed as a new subdivision or short subdivision.
(3) The subdivision alteration provisions do not apply to corrections to recorded final plats, revisions to lot boundaries authorized pursuant to the boundary line adjustment provisions of chapter 30.41E SCC, or to alterations of final short subdivisions pursuant to SCC 30.41B.700. (Added by Amended Ord. 02-064, Dec. 9, 2002, Eff date Feb. 1, 2003).
30.41A.710 Application for subdivision alteration.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
675 ties financial support of that association directly to the deed. ' That means the assessment obligation is not a separate contract a lot buyer signs and can later walk away from; it attaches to the property itself and passes automatically to every successive owner, the same way an easement would. ' Snohomish County's Department of Planning and Development Services (PDS) reviews the recorded covenant establishing these maintenance obligations before it will approve a final plat, and the covenant is recorded with the County Auditor so it runs with title.
Because the obligation is baked into the recorded plat covenant rather than left to a separately negotiated CC&R, a homeowner cannot resign from the association to stop paying dues while keeping the lot; the assessment duty stays with whoever holds title. Disputes over the amount or use of assessments are handled as private civil matters between the association and its members under the recorded covenant and, where applicable, Washington's homeowners' association statutes, since the county's review role ends at plat approval.
Violations & Fines
SCC 30.41A.675 does not set a fine schedule; the assessment duty is enforced through the recorded covenant and by the homeowners association itself, typically through liens or civil collection action against a delinquent lot owner rather than county code enforcement. A lot owner cannot avoid the obligation by declining membership, since the code makes both membership and payment inseparable from the lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I opt out of HOA dues if I don't use the common tracts?
Where is the HOA assessment requirement recorded?
Does this rule apply to short plats too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
Compare Snohomish County to another location·View the Washington hoa rules overview
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