HOA Law Blog

SB 392: Dude, Where’s my Ballot?

12/7/2021

Section 4041 of the Davis-Stirling Act requires homeowners to annually disclose their current mailing address and their HOA to annually solicit the same. These important disclosure and solicitation requirements help ensure associations can effectively communicate with their constituent members, a necessary aspect of good governance.

Effective January 1, 2022, Senate Bill 392 will amend Section 4041 to instead provide that owners must disclose their “preferred delivery method,” which must include the options of receiving notices at a mailing address, an email address, or both. Then, effective January 1, 2023, the bill will amend Section 4040 to provide that HOAs must deliver all individual notices by each member’s preferred method.

SB 432: Who Maintains Custody of HOA Election Materials?

11/30/2021

Section 5200(c) of the Davis-Stirling Act defines “association election materials” as the “returned ballots, signed voter envelopes, [voter list], proxies, and … candidate registration list.”

Section 5125 provides that association election materials “shall at all times be in the custody of the inspector … or at a location designated by the inspector … until after the tabulation of the vote, and until the time allowed by Section 5145 for challenging the election has expired, at which time custody shall be transferred to the association.” Section 5145 requires election challenges to be brought within one year, so Section 5125 is generally interpreted as requiring inspectors to maintain custody for one year then transfer the association election materials to the HOA.

Pending AB 502: an HOA Acclamation Bill I Can’t Cheer For

9/23/2021

In her 1996 hit single “Ironic,” Canadian pop star Alanis Morissette bemoans traffic jams when you’re already late, free rides when you’ve already paid, and a laundry-list of other unfortunate events, none of which are actually ironic. Thus - ironically - the only irony in her song is its title.

In its 2021 pending Assembly Bill 502, the California Legislature hits a similar note. Ostensibly introduced to permit election by acclamation for all HOAs, AB 502’s laundry-list of legal malapropisms will reduce the practice for most, bar it for some, and add yet more cost and complexity to board elections. The bill is currently on the Governor's desk awaiting his seemingly-inevitable signature.

Edit: the Governor signed AB 502 on October 5th. The bill will take effect on January 1st.

Assembly Bill 3182: another disaster for California's HOAs.

10/22/2020

Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 3182. Like last year’s Senate Bill 323, this new law is a disaster for California’s HOAs. Effective January 1st, AB 3182:

voids CC&R and other governing document provisions that require minimum rental terms of longer than 30 days, such as provisions that require minimum six month or one year leases;
voids provisions that cap rentals at less than 25% of the homes, with accessory and junior accessory dwelling units exempt from higher caps;
voids provisions that prohibit new owners from leasing;
voids provisions that “unreasonably restrict” renting or leasing, which could include any provision that interferes with an owner’s ability to exercise those rights; and
requires HOAs to amend their CC&Rs and other governing documents by December 31, 2021 to remove voided provisions or face damages claims and civil penalties of up to $1,000.

Senate Bill 323: a cautious new timeline for director elections.

10/5/2020

As discussed in other blog posts, Senate Bill 323 ("SB 323") took effect on January 1, 2020. Prior to SB 323, a typical HOA board election would require 60-75 days to complete. SB 323 extends that timeline to at least 105 days - more like 120 in practice - and imposes complex new notice requirements on associations.

The following represents a prudent 130-day timeline for conducing SB 323 compliant board elections. This timeline is longer than that required by law, but its length ensures sufficient time for boards to understand SB 323's complex new requirements, select workable dates, retain a qualified inspector, and prepare SB 323's multiple new forms.

<<Previous

SB 392: Dude, Where’s my Ballot?

SB 432: Who Maintains Custody of HOA Election Materials?

Pending AB 502: an HOA Acclamation Bill I Can’t Cheer For

Assembly Bill 3182: another disaster for California's HOAs.

Senate Bill 323: a cautious new timeline for director elections.

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