Alabama Condo Quorum & Supermajority Calculator — § 35-8A-309 (20% Quorum) + § 35-8A-217 (67% Amendment) + § 35-8A-218 (80% Termination)

How this calculator works

This is a quorum-and-threshold validator for Alabama condominium unit-owner votes under the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act. Given the total unit owners, in-person attendance, proxy count, vote type, and any declaration-specified overrides, it returns:

1. Whether quorum has been met (total ballots compared against the effective quorum requirement under Ala. Code § 35-8A-309 declaration or bylaws specification, or the 20% UCA default when silent).
2. The yes votes required to pass for the vote type — 67% of total voting power for declaration amendments under § 35-8A-217, 80% of total for termination under § 35-8A-218, per bylaws for bylaws amendments, majority of quorum for board removal and regular votes.
3. The current outcome (PASSED, FAILED, PENDING, or NO-QUORUM) based on the supplied vote tally.

Use the calculator before convening a unit-owner meeting to confirm the procedural framework, during ballot counting to validate the threshold, and after a meeting to memorialize the outcome in the secretary minutes.

The relevant Ala. Code § 35-8A statute

The Alabama Uniform Condominium Act lives at Ala. Code § 35-8A-101 et seq. Voting and quorum provisions are concentrated in § 35-8A-309 (meetings of unit owners; quorum), § 35-8A-217 (amendment of declaration), and § 35-8A-218 (termination of condominium). Alabama adopted the UCA framework directly, and the default thresholds align with the UCA model-act positions.

§ 35-8A-309 — Meetings of unit owners; quorum. Quorum at unit-owner meetings is as specified in the bylaws unless otherwise provided in the declaration; when neither specifies, the UCA default is 20% of the votes in the association. Board election and removal procedures per the bylaws; most Alabama bylaws permit removal by a majority of those present.

§ 35-8A-217 — Amendment of declaration requires at least 67% of the votes in the association unless the declaration specifies a different (higher) percentage. This is a TOTAL-VOTING-POWER threshold (not 67% of those voting). The declaration may specify higher (75% or 80%); it cannot specify lower than 67% for general declaration amendments. Certain amendments require UNANIMOUS consent: changes to allocated interests, unit boundaries, conversion of a unit, and similar property-affecting changes.

§ 35-8A-218 — Termination of the condominium requires 80% of the votes in the association, or such larger percentage as the declaration specifies. The 80% threshold reflects the UCA model-act position. This is materially less strict than Ohio (ORC 5311.081 typically unanimous) but stricter than the bare-majority approach in some older horizontal-property regimes.

§ 35-8A-302 — Powers of the association. References bylaws for procedures relating to board election, fines, and rules. The bylaws control most procedural questions not addressed directly by the statute.

Alabama-specific gotchas (nonjudicial power-of-sale, one-year right of redemption under § 6-5-247, no CAM licensure)

ALABAMA DOES NOT FORMALLY LICENSE CAMs. Unlike Florida (Fla. Stat. § 468.431 LCAM), Nevada (NRS 116A CAM), and DC (CICM), Alabama has NO state-level licensure requirement for community association managers. Alabama condominium management is performed by unlicensed individuals or by management companies that hold general business and real-estate-broker licenses under Ala. Code § 34-27-30 et seq. Practical consequence: Alabama condominium boards bear primary responsibility for governance compliance and the calculator (with statute citations) is intended as a tool the board secretary can use directly without a licensed CAM intermediary.

THE 67% DECLARATION-AMENDMENT THRESHOLD IS OF-TOTAL, NOT OF-VOTERS. This is the single most common voting-threshold error in Alabama condominium practice. The 67% under § 35-8A-217 applies to TOTAL voting power, not to votes cast. In a 60-unit association with 40 voters returning ballots (67% turnout), 30 yes votes (75% of voters) is only 50% of total — well short of the 41-vote threshold and the amendment FAILS. Boards routinely announce declaration amendments as passed based on majority-of-voters math; this is wrong. The calculator distinguishes the two thresholds explicitly to prevent the error.

TERMINATION REQUIRES 80%, NOT UNANIMOUS CONSENT. Alabama aligns with the UCA termination position at § 35-8A-218 — 80% of total voting power. This is less strict than Ohio (ORC 5311.081 typically unanimous) which treats termination as a property-rights matter requiring full owner consent. The 80% threshold is reachable through aggressive proxy campaigns when the underlying economics favor termination, but still represents a meaningful supermajority that requires broad ownership buy-in. The calculator treats termination at 80% by default and accepts a declaration-specified higher threshold as an override.

THE 20% QUORUM DEFAULT IS UCA MODEL-ACT, NOT NON-PROFIT MAJORITY. The 20% default under § 35-8A-309 derives from the UCA model-act framework, not from a general non-profit corporation default. This is materially LOWER than the typical non-profit majority default in some other states (Tennessee uses a 51% non-profit gap-filler under § 48-57-205). The low quorum makes it easier to conduct routine governance meetings but also means a small minority of owners can pass measures that meet the majority-of-quorum threshold. Many Alabama declarations override with a higher quorum (33% or 50%) for important votes; always check the actual declaration and bylaws before relying on the gap-filler default.

FORECLOSURE-RELATED VOTES ARE NORMAL DECLARATION AMENDMENTS. Alabama's preferred nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure path under Ala. Code § 35-10-1 et seq. requires the declaration or mortgage to grant a power of sale. Adopting power-of-sale language in an existing declaration is a DECLARATION AMENDMENT and triggers the 67% threshold. Boards considering an amendment to add power-of-sale language must plan for the 67% threshold and time the campaign accordingly. The calculator treats this as a standard declaration-amendment vote.

PROXIES ARE COMMON BUT MUST BE CURRENT. Alabama bylaws commonly permit proxies for unit-owner voting; the calculator counts proxies once for quorum and once for the tally. Alabama bylaws commonly specify a 11-month maximum proxy validity. Proxies older than the period are invalid even if all other elements are met. For OF-TOTAL threshold votes (declaration amendments at 67%, termination at 80%), aggressive proxy campaigns are typically necessary to reach the threshold.

HOA ACT (§ 35-20) USES A DIFFERENT FRAMEWORK. The Alabama HOA Act at § 35-20-1 et seq. governs non-condominium homeowners associations and uses a different (and less prescriptive) voting framework. HOA Act associations typically defer to the declaration and bylaws for all voting thresholds; the calculator default thresholds (20% quorum, 67% declaration amendment, 80% termination) are UCA-specific and do not apply directly to HOA Act associations. For HOA Act voting, consult the declaration and bylaws or use a different tool calibrated to the § 35-20 framework.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the Alabama QUORUM-AND-SUPERMAJORITY math. It does NOT:

• Model the heightened-threshold and unanimous-consent categories under § 35-8A-217 for property-affecting amendments (unit-boundary changes, allocated-interest changes, conversion to common elements, etc.). If your vote type falls into one of these categories, the 67% threshold understates the requirement; consult counsel.
• Model the bylaws-amendment procedures under § 35-8A-309 in detail — the bylaws specify the threshold and the calculator uses a default majority-of-quorum if no declaration override is supplied.
• Model the casualty and takings exceptions to termination that permit termination without the standard threshold.
• Validate the form of proxies (signature, witness, expiration, delegation chain).
• Model the board meeting procedures under § 35-8A-309 (board meetings have separate quorum and notice requirements typically specified in the bylaws).
• Model the special-assessment ratification mechanics for assessments above a declaration-specified threshold.
• Validate compliance with the § 35-8A-309 notice requirements that gate the meeting.
• Apply the Alabama HOA Act § 35-20 voting framework where it differs from the UCA.

For any consequential vote, retain Alabama counsel with § 35-8A experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• Alabama Uniform Condominium Act, Ala. Code § 35-8A-101 et seq.
• Ala. Code § 35-8A-309 (meetings of unit owners; quorum — 20% UCA default).
• Ala. Code § 35-8A-217 (amendment of declaration — 67% of total voting power default).
• Ala. Code § 35-8A-218 (termination of condominium — 80% of total voting power default).
• Ala. Code § 35-8A-302 (powers of association — references bylaws procedures).
• Alabama HOA Act at Ala. Code § 35-20-1 et seq. (separate framework for non-condominium associations).
• Alabama State Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section practitioner materials on condominium governance.
• Comparative analysis against Ohio (ORC 5311.05(A) 75% declaration amendment; ORC 5311.081 typically unanimous termination), Massachusetts (MGL c.183A 75%), Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-27-413 75% / § 66-27-419 80%), Washington (RCW 64.90.225 80%), and Connecticut (CGS § 47-237 80%) confirming Alabama aligns with the UCA 20% quorum and 80% termination positions.