California’s new law restricts HOA fees to $ 100 for violation

From LatanCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

A richly decorated balcony or bizarre garage door can reach more Californians, as housing owners’ associations throughout the country are forced to manage without the power of excessive fees for applying regulations.

Millions of California residents could get a break if they violate the housing owners’ association due to a new law that limits the fines to $ 100, which is less than hundreds to thousands of dollars. Against the background of the accessibility crisis, legislators and groups representing homeowners characterized the cap that came into force on July 1, as a protection of the pocket books of the residents of the middle and low incomes. However, HOA’s advice is worried that the new restriction will limit their power to apply rules.

Housing and HOA lawyers say it will get rid of extreme cases where board members impose dishonest and outrageous fines to avenge the homeowners they do not like.

“I saw the biggest of the oldest and Hoas fines thousands of dollars and I have foreclosed on these homes,” said Edward Susolik, Callahan & Blaine CEO and president, which represents both homeowners and Hoas. “Generally speaking, this seems to be reasonable to reduce this because it is one of the biggest problems living in California because Hoas have very broad powers to apply their rules.”

Hoa fines was quietly inserted into an unrelated mainly a housing reform legislation, Assembly Bill 130This releases most new dwellings From an environmental examination And he was led by democratic Seni. Wiener of San Francisco. The language of a separate bill of democratic Seni. Aisha Wahab of Fremont, Senate Bill 681The restriction of the HOA fee was included in the bill on the home reform just days before the governor signed it to law, attracting little attention.

“We were in active negotiations with the staff of Senator Wahab and in fact we also made changes to the office of the professionals. What we promoted was more transparency and notice when the fines were held at associations and avoid the cap in general,” says Louis Brown, a lawyer who presents HOA with the Institute of Association. “We were very surprised when the language appeared in AB 130.”

Senator Wiener’s service did not reply to an email asking for a comment.

Hoa are spread throughout the country

Hoas are an almost inevitable reality for home buyers. Their rise continues to grow as 67% of all new single -family homes Built in 2024 throughout the country, they were in communities with Hoas, according to the US Bureau of the US, compared to 46% in 2009 in California, over 50,000 HOAs run about 65% of the owners of the state housing, according to the California Association of Housing Owners. California residents paid a median of $ 278 for monthly fees – among the largest in the country, according to data from CensusS

They create and apply rules for homeowners, apartments and condominiums and are controlled by the residents themselves, who choose and can recall the members of the board. Hoas face the fury and powerlessness of some Californians for decades, and legislators have proposed legislation Searching for more transparency of management tips.

Most disputes about the neighborhood are resolved through a random conversation and ended heartily, without having to be well required, according to David Zeponi, CEO of the Executive Board of Housing Owners and Lobbyist of HOA. In cases requiring more formality, the Council must hold a hearing where residents can be explained before a fine is required. But there are extreme cases where situations escalate and become expensive disputes between residents.

The new state law prohibits Hoas from charging delayed fees or interest in addition to the $ 100 cap, except for the rules that affect public health or safety. It also gives residents more freedom to exempt fees after being charged.

Legislators said this was a step towards dealing with the prevailing fees distributed in some HOAs.

“With nearly 65% ​​of homeowners in California living in HOA, excessive fees have quietly drained family finances too long,” says Wahab, who heralds efforts, in an email statement. “By limiting fines – – except for health and safety – we set fair standards, protect the wealth of generations, and finally set homeowners and Hoa dashboards on the same basis.”

“They are guilty while the homeowner proves their innocence”

Some homeowners also consider new restrictions as a necessary check -ups that abuse their power due to unnecessary violations, such as dyeing a bold color.

“Our concern about fines for a violation in the past is that there was no procedure to determine whether a violation had occurred,” says Marjorie Murray, a defender of housing owners at the Center for the California Housing Association Act. “The council tells the homeowner that they are guilty until the homeowner proves his innocence.”

Many board members are afraid of the consequences of their reduced power and worry how this will affect their ability to apply the rules of the neighborhood, Zeponi said.

“You no longer have the lever to make people change bad behavior,” Zeponi said. A neighbor who leaves RV parked on the alley in violation of the association rules can just eat $ 100 rather than pay for RV storage, which is more expensive, he said.

“It takes a tool from the board to make the behavioral changes that are needed,” he said.

Board members also claim that a shorter fine can cost the whole community more if the neighbor continues to violate the rules and refuses to pay its fees, forcing the advice to continue the only alternative available – expensive litigation – more often.

The change is not expected to financially affect HOA, as fines are not a significant amount of their revenue flow, according to the Law Brown Institute’s Lawyer for Association of Community Association.

“The days of housing owners who tell you that your garage door should be painted can be completed,” says Susolik, the lawyer who represented the homeowners and Hoa’s advice. “This is probably a nice thing.”

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.