We are proud to announce that Pentridge Cove II Community Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Pentridge Cove II is a condominium community located in the South Coast Metro area of Costa Mesa. Residents enjoy a pool, spa, lakes and streams.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Pentridge Cove II’s Board and management. |
New Civil Code 4515 will be added to the Davis-Stirling Act to ensure that homeowners association residents may exercise their rights of peaceful assembly and political speech.
HOAs are playing an increasing role in the lives of California’s residents as compared to the roles traditionally played by cities and counties. HOAs are growing in number, size and sophistication. As a result, a HOA’s actions and governance structure often have more immediate effects on the issues homeowners feel “closest to home,” such as property values and community services. This is why California law will at times hold HOAs—which are private corporations—to the standards of “quasi-governmental entities.”
An example of this was seen several years ago when legislation was enacted to grant every HOA member the right to use common area meeting spaces for purposes related to a HOA’s election. The intent was to promote constitutional principles of freedom of speech and assembly; to allow HOA members to meet for purposes related to an ongoing HOA campaign (i.e., a HOA board election), and to do so without any unreasonable impediment imposed on them by their HOA.
SB 407 (Wieckowski) is a newly signed bill that takes this idea much further. It was introduced in response to what California’s legislators felt to be a continuing abuse of power by HOAs in using non-solicitation rules to prohibit non-commercial free and political speech:
“Blanket prohibitions on commercial solicitation are often so broadly written that they could be interpreted to prohibit non-commercial free and political speech.”
“Significant anecdotal evidence demonstrates that HOAs have extended the restrictions of door-to-door solicitation to political speech.”
“Overly broad rules and policies discourage the civic participation of HOA members and criminalize free political expression.”
We are proud to announce that Madiera at Coronado Ranch Homeowners Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Madiera is a condominium community located in San Marcos. Residents enjoy a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, and playground.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Madiera’s Board and management. |
We are proud to announce that Isle Cove Homeowners Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Isle Cove is a condominium community located in Foster City. Residents enjoy a large lagoon, pool, tennis courts and clubhouse.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Isle Cove’s Board and management. |
On July 31, 2017, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1139 (“AB 1139”) into law. AB 1139 amends California Civil Code Section 1098.5 with regard to deed-based transfer fees (“Private Transfer Fees” or “Fees”). Prior to AB 1139 becoming law, any individual or entity who imposed a Fee on real property on or after January 1, 2008, had to record a document that provided limited notice of the Fee on or before January 1, 2009.
AB 1139 now requires any individual or entity who imposes a Fee on real property on or after February 8, 2011, to record a document that contains very specific language with regard to notice. The notice must now state that federal housing agencies are prohibited from dealing in mortgages on properties encumbered by private transfer fee covenants that do not provide a “direct benefit” to real property encumbered, and that if a person purchases such a property, that person may have difficulty obtaining financing.
Brief Background
Private Transfer Fees are fees paid by a purchaser when real property is resold. The Fees are typically one percent (1%) of the sale price of the real property and specified in the original purchase documents. The Fees are typically paid from the purchaser to one of four groups: 1. the HOA, 2. tax-exempt groups that provide a direct benefit to the HOA, 3. tax-exempt groups that don’t provide a direct benefit to the HOA, and 4. third-party developers or investors.
We are proud to announce that Central Park West Community Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Central Park West is Irvine’s first urban master planned community developed by Lennar. This beautiful 43-acre community encompasses urban-styled residences, verdant parks and landscaped paseos, resort-style clubhouse, barbecue areas, state-of-the-art health and fitness center, exercise/yoga studio, and Junior-Olympic-size saline pool and spas.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Central Park West’s Board and management. |
The Governor has signed AB 690 into law, which modifies several Code sections and adds two new Civil Code sections to the Davis Stirling Common Interest Development Act. Here is what you need to know about the new requirements:
New Civil Code Section 5376 provides that the manager, management firm, or third-party contractor must facilitate the delivery of escrow documents pursuant to Civil Code Section 4530, as required by the management contract.
New Requirements: Escrow Document Disclosure Form
The “Charges for Documents Provided” form described in Civil Code Section 4528 must be modified to include the following:
New Manager and Management Company Disclosures
Business & Professions Code Section 11504 and Civil Code Section 5375 have been amended to provide that, in addition to a CID manager’s disclosure within 90-days of providing management services of their name, address, certification, real estate license, and fidelity insurance coverage, managers and management firms must annually disclose, in writing, to HOA boards the following:
New Civil Code Section 5375.5 provides that, when presenting a bid for vendor services to a board, the manager or management firm must disclose, in writing:
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Although managers have long been advised to disclose any potential conflicts of interest to an association’s board of directors, AB 690 now codifies how and when a manager or management company must make that disclosure. |
-Blog post authored by TLG Attorney, Terri A. Morris, Esq.
We are proud to announce that Belamaria Community Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Located in Ontario, Belamaria is a brand new planned development by Frontier Communities. Residents will enjoy a clubhouse, splash pad, dog park, and tot lot.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Belamaria’s Board and management. |
We are proud to announce that Broadmoor Hills Community Association has selected Tinnelly Law Group as their associations’ legal counsel.
Broadmoor Hills is a planned development located in Corona Del Mar. Residents enjoy a community pool, picnic area, and ocean views.
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Our HOA attorneys and staff look forward to working with Broadmoor Hills’ Board and management. |
Vendor professionals frequently provide a variety of services on behalf of community associations and individual homeowners. Under California’s Constitution, unpaid vendors possess a legal right to lien the property upon which they work for the value of their rendered services or furnished material.
AB 534 (Gallagher), effective January 1, 2018, seeks to clarify how mechanic’s liens are to be used in common interest developments by amending Civil Code Section 4615 and by adding new Civil Code sections.
Under existing law, if a vendor intends to preserve the ability to impose a mechanic’s lien at a later time for work performed at a property, then such entity must first secure advance authorization from the property owner. Similarly, under existing law, a vendor seeking to enforce its claim to payment by way of a mechanic’s lien must notify the owner of the property which will be subject to a lien.
In the context of community associations, ownership of common area property can take a variety of forms: that property can be owned by the association, or it can be owned by all of the homeowners jointly, as tenants in common. As such, the vendor is often burdened by the obligation to identify the legal owner of the common area property when attempting to obtain that advance authorization and when seeking to provide legal notice of an impending lien.
AB 534 circumvents the challenges associated with identifying property ownership by imputing association authorization for a common area improvement to all members, and by making the association the agent for the members for purposes of receiving notices and claims during the lien enforcement process.
HOA Lawyer Blog