For more than a decade, the California Legislature has passed laws making it easier for residents to install electric vehicle (“EV”) charging stations within HOAs. For example, in 2011, the Legislature enacted what is now Civil Code section 4745, which nullified any provision in an HOA’s governing documents which prohibited…
*New Legislation Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) was recently signed into law making revisions to the California Government Code effective January 1, 2022. This bill is touted as a major step in California’s efforts to address the housing crisis by re-zoning single family lots to allow for duplexes and more.…
*New Case Law In the case of Aldea Dos Vientos v. CalAtlantic Group, Inc., the Second District Court of Appeals overruled the Fourth District’s previous holding in Branches Neighborhood Corp. v. CalAtlantic Group, Inc. The Branches case found that homeowners associations forfeit their rights to pursue construction defect claims unless…
**New Legislation For the third time in past seven (7) years, the California Legislature has modified the laws governing the installation and use of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations within homeowners associations (“HOAs”). The first time was in 2011 when the Legislature enacted a new statute (now contained at Civil…
*Unpublished Opinion Homeowners Association (“HOA”) Boards of Directors and management professionals often encounter disputes with homeowners as to who has the right to use common areas parking spaces within a condominium development. Homeowners often believe that such spaces are part of their separately owned units (their separate property or “separate…
*New Legislation Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Developments (“Commercial CIDs”) in California have historically been governed by the same provisions that apply to planned residential developments and condominiums: the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (“Davis-Stirling”). However, some of those provisions have resulted in unnecessary burdens and requirements for Commercial CIDs…
The problems posed by second-hand smoke have become a burning issue for California homeowners associations (“HOAs”), expecially condominium developments. A HOA typically does have the authority to adopt operating rules that prohibit smoking in common areas and exclusive use common areas; however, those rules may be insufficient to address problems…
*New Case Law California’s 1st District Court of Appeal recently ruled that “design professionals” may be liable under both common law and Senate Bill No. 800 (“SB 800”) to third party purchasers for construction defects. In Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP et al., the defendants…
Our annual “Legislative & Case Law Update” newsletter for the year 2013 is now available in our library! The Legislative & Case Law Update provides an overview of the new legislation and case law impacting California Homeowners Associations (“HOAs”) as we head into 2013. The new legislation includes, among other…
Homeowners in California should be expecting a new bill in their mailbox for the calendar year 2011 and onward. The California legislature has passed a controversial new Fire Prevention Fee which will aim to defray the State’s costs for fire prevention services. The new fee–argued by some to be a…