HOA Law Blog

The notice provided pursuant to Section 1369.590 shall include a description of the internal dispute resolution process provided pursuant to this article.

A fair, reasonable, and expeditious dispute resolution procedure shall at a minimum satisfy all of the following requirements:

(a) The procedure may be invoked by either party to the dispute. A request invoking the procedure shall be in writing.

(b) The procedure shall provide for prompt deadlines. The procedure shall state the maximum time for the association to act on a request invoking the procedure.

(a) This article applies to a dispute between an association and a member involving their rights, duties, or liabilities under this title, under the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code), or under the governing documents of the common interest development or association.

(b) This article supplements, and does not replace, Article 2 (commencing with Section 1369.510) of Chapter 7, relating to alternative dispute resolution as a prerequisite to an enforcement action.

(a) A member of an association may bring a civil action for declaratory or equitable relief for a violation of this article by an association of which he or she is a member, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, restitution, or a combination thereof, within one year of the date the cause of action accrues. Upon a finding that the election procedures of this article, or the adoption of and adherence to rules provided by Article 4 (commencing with Section 1357.100) of Chapter 2, were not followed, a court may void any results of the election.

(b) A member who prevails in a civil action to enforce his or her rights pursuant to this article shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, except that each identical violation shall be subject to only one penalty if the violation affects each member of the association equally. A prevailing association shall not recover any costs, unless the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.

(c) A cause of action under Section 1363.03 with respect to access to association resources by a candidate or member advocating a point of view, the receipt of a ballot by a member, or the counting, tabulation, or reporting of, or access to, ballots for inspection and review after tabulation may be brought in small claims court if the amount of the demand does not exceed the jurisdiction of that court.

(a) A common interest development shall be managed by an association that may be incorporated or unincorporated. The association may be referred to as a community association.

(b) An association, whether incorporated or unincorporated, shall prepare a budget pursuant to Section 1365 and disclose information, if requested, in accordance with Section 1368.

(c) Unless the governing documents provide otherwise, and regardless of whether the association is incorporated or unincorporated, the association may exercise the powers granted to a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, as enumerated in Section 7140 of the Corporations Code, except that an unincorporated association may not adopt or use a corporate seal or issue membership certificates in accordance with Section 7313 of the Corporations Code.

To the extent existing funds are available, the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Real Estate shall develop an on-line education course for the board of directors of an association regarding the role, duties, laws, and responsibilities of board members and prospective board members, and the nonjudicial foreclosure process.

Unless the declaration otherwise provides:

(a) In a community apartment project and condominium project, and in those planned developments with common areas owned in common by the owners of the separate interests, there are appurtenant to each separate interest nonexclusive rights of ingress, egress, and support, if necessary, through the common areas. The common areas are subject to these rights.

(b) In a stock cooperative, and in a planned development with common areas owned by the association, there is an easement for ingress, egress, and support, if necessary, appurtenant to each separate interest. The common areas are subject to these easements.

(a) No governing documents shall prohibit the owner of a separate interest within a common interest development from keeping at least one pet within the common interest development, subject to reasonable rules and regulations of the association. This section may not be construed to affect any other rights provided by law to an owner of a separate interest to keep a pet within the development.

(b) For purposes of this section, “pet” means any domesticated bird, cat, dog, aquatic animal kept within an aquarium, or other animal as agreed to between the association and the homeowner.

(c) If the association implements a rule or regulation restricting the number of pets an owner may keep, the new rule or regulation shall not apply to prohibit an owner from continuing to keep any pet that the owner currently keeps in his or her separate interest if the pet otherwise conforms with the previous rules or regulations relating to pets.

(a) Subject to the provisions of the governing documents and other applicable provisions of law, if the boundaries of the separate interest are contained within a building, the owner of the separate interest may do the following:

(1) Make any improvements or alterations within the boundaries of his or her separate interest that do not impair the structural integrity or mechanical systems or lessen the support of any portions of the common interest development.

(2) Modify a unit in a condominium project, at the owner’s expense, to facilitate access for persons who are blind, visually handicapped, deaf, or physically disabled, or to alter conditions which could be hazardous to these persons. These modifications may also include modifications of the route from the public way to the door of the unit for the purposes of this paragraph if the unit is on the ground floor or already accessible by an existing ramp or elevator. The right granted by this paragraph is subject to the following conditions:

(a) In a community apartment project, any conveyance,

judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the community apartment project. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.

(b) In a condominium project the common areas are not subject to partition, except as provided in Section 1359. Any conveyance,