Rhode Island Condominium Quorum & Supermajority Calculator — 20% Quorum, 67% Amendment, 80% Termination (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1)

How this calculator works

This is a quorum-and-threshold validator for Rhode Island condominium unit-owner votes under the Rhode Island Condominium Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-1.01 et seq., UCIOA-derived framework). Given the total units, in-person attendance, proxy count, mail or electronic ballot 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 R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.09 or the declaration-specified override).
2. The yes votes required to pass for the vote type — 67% of total for declaration amendments under § 34-36.1-2.17, 80% of total for termination under § 34-36.1-2.18, majority of those present for board removal under § 34-36.1-3.03, majority of quorum at the rejection meeting for budget rejection under § 34-36.1-3.15, and majority of quorum for regular votes.
3. The current outcome (PASSED, FAILED, PENDING, or NO-QUORUM) based on the supplied vote tally.

The budget-rejection vote type uses an inverse-vote convention: yes votes are treated as REJECT votes, and the outcome label changes accordingly. If the rejection threshold is met, the budget is REJECTED; if not, the budget is RATIFIED automatically under § 34-36.1-3.15.

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's minutes.

The relevant R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1 statute

The Rhode Island Condominium Act lives at R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-1.01 et seq. and uses a UCIOA-derived framework — including the section numbering. The Rhode Island Condominium Act applies in full to condominiums created on or after July 1, 1982. Older condominiums (pre-1982) remain under the Rhode Island Horizontal Property Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36) with a parallel but separately-cited voting framework, though § 34-36.1-1.02 applies portions of the Condominium Act to pre-1982 projects as well. This calculator covers the Rhode Island Condominium Act voting framework.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.09 — Default quorum at unit-owner meetings is 20% of the votes in the association unless the declaration or bylaws specify otherwise. The 20% default is UCIOA verbatim and matches Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, and the other UCIOA-adopting states.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-2.17 — Declaration amendment requires at least 67% of the votes in the association. This is a TOTAL-VOTES threshold (not 67% of those voting). The declaration may specify higher; it cannot specify lower than 67% for general declaration amendments.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-2.17(d) — Certain declaration amendments require a higher threshold or UNANIMOUS consent: changes to allocated interests, unit boundaries, conversion of a unit into common elements, increase in the number of units, and similar property-affecting changes. These are the highest-threshold actions under the Rhode Island Condominium Act.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-2.18 — Termination of the condominium requires 80% of the votes in the association. The declaration may specify higher (some require 90% or unanimous consent). Termination dissolves the condominium.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.03 — Executive board member removal by a majority of unit owners present and entitled to vote at a meeting where a quorum is present. The "majority of those present and voting" standard is materially easier than the OF-TOTAL thresholds.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.06 — Bylaws amendment per bylaws specification; absent specification, the default majority of quorum applies.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.15 — Budget ratification by REJECTION mechanism. Board adopts the budget; unit owners may REJECT by majority of unit owners present at the rejection meeting; no rejection equals automatic ratification.

Rhode Island-specific gotchas (dual judicial/nonjudicial foreclosure, no statutory redemption)

MAJORITY OF TOTAL vs MAJORITY OF QUORUM. The two thresholds produce different outcomes when turnout is low. The Rhode Island Condominium Act uses OF-TOTAL for declaration amendments (§ 34-36.1-2.17 at 67%) and termination (§ 34-36.1-2.18 at 80%). The Act uses OF-QUORUM (or "of those present and voting") for board removal (§ 34-36.1-3.03), budget rejection (§ 34-36.1-3.15), and regular governance. The OF-TOTAL thresholds are intentionally hard to reach for property-affecting changes; the OF-QUORUM thresholds make governance practical at typical Rhode Island turnout levels (often 30-40%).

A DECLARATION AMENDMENT CAN FAIL EVEN WITH 100% OF VOTERS APPROVING. In a 64-unit association with 50% turnout (32 voters), 32 yes votes (100% of voters) is only 50% of total — well short of the 43-vote (67%) 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 this error.

DUAL JUDICIAL/NONJUDICIAL FORECLOSURE INTERACTS WITH GOVERNANCE TIMING. Rhode Island authorizes both judicial and nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure under R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.16(j) and § 34-27. The nonjudicial pathway typically completes in 90-120 days, materially faster than Delaware's judicial-only 12-15 month timeline. The faster foreclosure cycle means delinquent units resolve faster and the membership roster stabilizes faster between consequential governance votes. While this calculator does not directly model foreclosure timing, governance votes (declaration amendments, special assessments) often interact with the collection cycle — Rhode Island's faster foreclosure cycle generally helps boards plan consequential governance votes against a more predictable membership roster.

NO STATUTORY POST-SALE REDEMPTION REINFORCES GOVERNANCE STABILITY. Because Rhode Island imposes no statutory post-sale redemption period for nonjudicial foreclosure sales, foreclosed units pass title to the foreclosure buyer immediately and the new owner steps into the governance role. This is structurally different from Minnesota (180-day redemption) or Vermont (180-day or 1-year owner-occupied redemption), where the former owner can re-acquire the unit and create governance uncertainty. The clean Rhode Island title transfer makes governance vote allocation more predictable.

THE 20% QUORUM DEFAULT IS LOW BY NATIONAL STANDARDS BUT TYPICAL FOR UCIOA STATES. Rhode Island's 20% default quorum matches the UCIOA model adopted by Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Colorado, and is 5 percentage points lower than Washington's WUCIOA at 25%. California's default under Cal. Civ. Code § 4070 is 50%. The 20% Rhode Island / UCIOA floor reflects the model's accommodation of low-turnout community-association practice. Practical effect: regular Rhode Island votes can be conducted with modest turnout, but ambitious thresholds (declaration amendment at 67% of total) still require aggressive outreach.

RHODE ISLAND DOES NOT LICENSE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS. Florida (LCAM), Illinois (CAM), Nevada (CAM), and Virginia (CIC manager) all require state licensure of CAMs. Rhode Island does not. The Rhode Island Condominium Act compliance work falls to the association attorney and the managing agent under contract. Boards in Rhode Island condominium projects should expect to engage the association attorney earlier in the meeting-planning cycle than in states with licensed CAMs because there is no state-licensed manager handling procedural compliance independently. Industry associations (Community Associations Institute New England chapter) offer professional designations (CMCA, AMS, PCAM) on a voluntary basis but they are not state licenses.

BUDGET REJECTION FAVORS THE BOARD. Under § 34-36.1-3.15, the board's proposed budget is RATIFIED unless a majority of unit owners PRESENT at the rejection meeting affirmatively reject. The Rhode Island threshold of "majority of attendees at the rejection meeting" is the UCIOA standard and is more achievable than Connecticut's "majority of all unit owners" under CGS § 47-261b but still favors the board's proposal. Boards should anticipate that their budgets typically pass unless owners actively organize opposition.

BOARD REMOVAL IS EASIER THAN DECLARATION AMENDMENT. A board member can be removed by a majority of those present at a properly noticed meeting with quorum (typically 7 votes in a 64-unit, 20%-turnout meeting). A declaration amendment requires 43 of 64 votes. The threshold contrast is intentional — the Rhode Island Condominium Act treats governance (board composition) as more accountable to active engagement and property rights (declaration content) as requiring broad consent.

LISTED DECLARATION AMENDMENTS REQUIRE HIGHER OR UNANIMOUS CONSENT. § 34-36.1-2.17(d) lists categories of declaration amendments that require a higher threshold or UNANIMOUS consent — changes to allocated interests (a unit's vote allocation or common-expense allocation), unit boundaries, conversion to common elements, increase in the number of units, and similar property-affecting changes. The calculator does NOT model these heightened-threshold categories separately; if your vote type falls into a § 34-36.1-2.17(d) category, the 67% threshold understates the requirement.

PROXIES ARE COMMON BUT MUST BE CURRENT. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.10 permits proxies for unit-owner voting unless prohibited. Rhode Island bylaws commonly specify an 11-month maximum proxy validity (the UCIOA model period). Proxies older than the period are invalid even if all other elements are met. For OF-TOTAL threshold votes, aggressive proxy campaigns are typically necessary to reach the threshold.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the Rhode Island Condominium Act QUORUM-AND-SUPERMAJORITY math. It does NOT:

• Model the heightened-threshold and unanimous-consent categories under § 34-36.1-2.17(d) (unit-boundary changes, allocated-interest changes, conversion to common elements). If your vote type falls into one of these categories, the 67% threshold understates the requirement; consult counsel.
• Model the bylaws-amendment procedures under § 34-36.1-3.06 in detail — the bylaws specify the threshold and the calculator uses a default majority-of-quorum if no declaration override is supplied.
• Validate the form of proxies (signature, witness, expiration, delegation chain) under § 34-36.1-3.10.
• Model the executive-board meeting procedures (board meetings have separate quorum and notice requirements).
• Model the special-assessment ratification mechanics under § 34-36.1-3.15 — special assessments above a declaration-specified threshold typically go through the rejection mechanism.
• Validate compliance with the § 34-36.1-3.09 notice requirements that gate the meeting.
• Cover voting under the older Rhode Island Horizontal Property Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36) provisions that are not displaced by § 34-36.1-1.02.

For any consequential vote, retain Rhode Island counsel with Rhode Island Condominium Act experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1 (Rhode Island Condominium Act — UCIOA-derived framework).
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.09 — 20% default quorum.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-2.17 — declaration amendment 67% of total default; heightened-threshold categories under subd. (d).
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-2.18 — termination 80% of total default.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.03 — executive board removal.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.06 — bylaws amendment.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.10 — proxy authorization.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.15 — budget adoption and rejection mechanism.
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36 — Rhode Island Horizontal Property Act parallel voting framework for pre-1982 condominiums.
• Community Associations Institute New England chapter practitioner materials on Rhode Island Condominium Act governance.