Washington HOA Flag and Flagpole Display Rights

RCW 64.38.033 sits in the Washington Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW, which stops applying only to communities that have not moved to the newer Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, chapter 64.90 RCW. Under RCW 64.90.360(2)-(3), chapter 64.90 automatically covers common interest communities created on or after July 1, 2018, and any older community that amends its declaration to opt in; once a community becomes subject to chapter 64.90, chapter 64.38 stops applying to it. Everything here governs pre-2018 associations that have not opted in.

Subsection (1) forbids governing documents, declarations, bylaws, rules, from prohibiting a resident from flying the U.S. flag outdoors on the resident's own property, so long as the display follows the federal flag code, 4 U.S.C. Sec. 1 et seq. The same subsection lets the association write reasonable rules on placement and manner of display, consistent with that federal code. Subsection (2) applies the identical structure to flagpoles: an HOA cannot ban installing one for flying the flag, but it may set reasonable rules on the pole's location and size. Subsection (3) defines "flag of the United States" narrowly: physical fabric, cloth, or paper flags flown from a staff, flagpole, or window. A flag rendered in lights, paint, roofing, siding, pavers, plantings, or balloons does not count and gets no protection.

Subsection (4) makes the section retroactive to June 10, 2004: any covenant or rule already on the books that conflicted with these rights on that date is void and unenforceable, with no grandfather clause for older declarations. Communities that later shift to chapter 64.90 pick up the parallel flag protection at RCW 64.90.510(1)(a), which also covers the Washington state flag and adds a substantial-interest standard for restrictions.

Chapter 64.38 carries no fine schedule specific to flag rules. Instead RCW 64.38.050 lets any 'aggrieved party,' a homeowner blocked from flying the flag or installing a flagpole, sue for 'any remedy provided by law or in equity,' meaning damages or a court order forcing the association to comply. Courts may also award 'reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party,' so an HOA that enforces a void flag ban risks paying the homeowner's legal costs on top of losing the case.