We received an urgent message from the office of Government Affairs at Community Associations Institute’s national office regarding the federal legislation on HAM radios, H.R. 1301. We previously reported on this legislation but it has passed another hurdle, so we are again requesting that you contact your representative to voice…
California homeowner associations can no longer prohibit the drying of clothes on outdoor clotheslines after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill restricting homeowners associations from banning same. This legislation was opposed by a number of groups who felt that clotheslines are unsightly additions to neighborhoods. Assemblywoman Patty López (D-San Fernando)…
By David Swedelson and Sandra Gottlieb, Partners at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys Governor Brown has signed AB 349, an urgency statute which takes effect immediately. AB 349 amends Section 4735 of the Civil Code, and it prevents associations from prohibiting the installation of artificial turf, or “any other synthetic surface…
Regular readers of https://www.hoalawblog.com may recall our prior blog post regarding the new law impacting architectural applications for and installation of solar energy systems. Since then, SwedelsonGottlieb’s new Senior Associate Attorney, Brian Moreno, joined the firm, and he penned his own in-depth look at what the new law means for…
By David Swedelson, Partner at Swedelson Gottlieb, Community Association Attorneys Federal legislators are still trying to pass new law that would allow HAM radio antenas to be installed at homeowners associations despite any restrictions on same in an association’s CC&Rs. We addressed this in a blog post in September of…
By Sandra L. Gottlieb and David C. Swedelson, Partners and Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb There was not a lot of new legislation in 2014 impacting California Community Associations, and what changes there were seemed to be focused on dealing with the drought. There were also changes to the law…
By David Swedelson, Partner and Community Association Attorney at SwedelsonGottlieb Since the inception of the Davis-Stirling Act in 1985, there has been confusion regarding owner vs. association responsibility for the repair or replacement of exclusive use common area. AB 968, legislation sponsored by the Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO), signed…
By David Swedelson, Esq. and Cyrus Koochek, Esq.; Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb AB 1738 is new law that amends Civil Code Sections 5910 and 5915 and makes two major changes to the requirements of internal dispute resolution (IDR) meetings held between an association’s board and its members. We opposed…
By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb Under Civil Code Section 714, a California community association can restrict its members’ installation and use of solar energy systems so long as the restrictions do not significantly increase the cost of the system or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified performance. “Significantly”…
By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb Most associations have provided transfer disclosures/documents to an escrow at some point when an owner is selling his or her unit/home or property in a community association to a prospective purchaser. This task is usually completed by the association’s managing agent. Sections 4528…