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…
By David Swedelson, Esq., SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys A manager at a planned development community association we represent contacted me regarding a dispute with an owner. The board was refusing to allow the owner to make a change to the common area solely because the owner had made a change…
SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Partner Sandra Gottlieb was recently honored by the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Community Associations Institute with a nomination for the chapter’s award for Excellence in Education. Sandra was nominated as a result of her January 2014 presentation, Hoarders, Board Member Hostility & Controlling Rental Tenants. Slides…
Brown v. Professional Community Management, Inc., Berryman v. Merit Property Management, Inc., and Fowler v. M & C Association Management Services, Inc. A question that we are often asked is, “How much can the association or its management company charge for the work done to complete the association’s escrow disclosure…
It’s that time of year again — time to get the community association’s budget together and ensure you’re making all the proper disclosures under the Annual Budget Report and Annual Policy Statement, as required by the California Civil Code. In order to assist you with this process and other required…
By: SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys On October 7, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to legalize the use of residences in San Francisco for short-term vacation rentals, by passing what has been dubbed as the San Francisco “Airbnb law”. Follow this link to a news article. This new…
By David Swedelson, Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys In a blog post by Donna DiMaggio Berger, a Florida Community Association Attorney, she discuses exceptions or variances granted to owners. Apparently in Florida they deal with some of the same issues we do. As Donna states, many boards want the leeway…