California HOA Laws: What Homeowners Need to Know in 2026

California governs condos, planned developments, stock cooperatives and community apartment projects under one statute, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §§ 4000–6150). Its best-known owner protection: an association cannot foreclose over less than $1,800 in delinquent assessments unless they are more than 12 months overdue.

Davis-Stirling covers all four kinds of residential development

Civil Code § 4100 defines a common interest development as a community apartment project, a condominium project, a planned development or a stock cooperative. Under § 4200 the act applies once a separate interest paired with common area or association membership “is, or has been, conveyed,” provided the declaration, any condominium plan and any required subdivision map are recorded. Two carve-outs: a development with no common area (§ 4201), and a commercial or industrial development (§ 4202), which falls under the separate Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act beginning at § 6500.

How much the board can raise dues on its own

Without a vote of a majority of a quorum of members, the board can’t raise the regular assessment more than 20 percent over the prior fiscal year or levy special assessments that together exceed 5 percent of budgeted gross expenses for the year (§ 5605(b)). Any annual increase also requires the budget steps in § 5605(a) or member approval; the budget report goes out 30 to 90 days before the fiscal year ends (§ 5300).

Falling behind: late charges, the lien and the $1,800 line

An assessment is delinquent 15 days after it’s due unless the declaration allows longer. The association may then add reasonable collection costs, a late charge of up to 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater (or a smaller figure in the declaration), and interest of up to 12 percent a year starting 30 days after the due date (§ 5650).

A lien needs a certified-mail notice at least 30 days ahead, with an itemized statement and your dispute rights (§ 5660), and a board majority vote in an open meeting (§ 5673).

For debts that arose on or after January 1, 2006, § 5720 bars judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure on delinquent assessments under $1,800, not counting accelerated assessments, late charges, collection costs, attorney’s fees or interest. Below that line the association can sue in small claims court, record a lien it may not foreclose until the debt reaches $1,800 or is more than 12 months delinquent, or use any other lawful method except foreclosure. The $1,800 floor doesn’t protect assessments more than 12 months delinquent, time-share owners, or the developer.

Before foreclosing, the association must offer internal or alternative dispute resolution of the owner’s choosing (no binding arbitration if it plans a judicial foreclosure). The board votes in executive session at least 30 days before any sale (§ 5705). A nonjudicial sale leaves the owner 90 days to redeem (§ 5715). A fine cannot be turned into an assessment lien enforceable by sale (§ 5725(b)).

Fines: $100 per violation since June 30, 2025

Assembly Bill 130 (Stats. 2025, ch. 22) rewrote § 5850, effective June 30, 2025. A fine now can’t exceed the lower of the amount in the association’s published penalty schedule or $100 per violation. The board may go higher only when a violation could have an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member’s property, and only after a written finding at an open board meeting. No late charges or interest may be added to a fine.

The same act changed § 5855. You get written notice at least 10 days before the hearing and can cure beforehand; if you cure, or show a financial commitment to cure when the fix takes longer than the notice period, no discipline can be imposed. The decision must reach you in writing within 14 days.

Records: 10 business days or 30 calendar days

Under § 5210, records from the current fiscal year must be produced within 10 business days of the request; records from the two prior fiscal years, within 30 calendar days. Minutes of member and board meetings stay open permanently. Redaction of “enhanced” records such as invoices and bank statements is billed at no more than $10 an hour, $200 per request, on top of copying and mailing (§ 5205(g)).

Section 5215 lets the association withhold or redact information only when release is reasonably likely to lead to identity theft or to fraud against the association, when it is privileged, when it would compromise an individual member’s privacy, or when it falls into six named categories: à la carte services bought by individual members; other members’ discipline, collection or payment-plan records; personal identification numbers; executive-session minutes (but not executed, non-privileged contracts); personnel records other than payroll; and interior plans of individual homes. What employees, vendors and contractors are paid can be withheld only under attorney-client privilege.

Selling a unit: the § 4525 packet

A seller must give the buyer, as soon as practicable before title transfers, the governing documents (with a statement if the association isn’t incorporated); any age-restriction statement tied to § 51.3; the latest documents distributed under the annual-report article (§ 5300 and following); the association’s written statement of current regular and special assessments, fees and anything unpaid, including fines, late charges, interest and collection costs; unresolved violation notices; the initial construction-defect list under § 6000 (unless the matter was resolved and § 6100 complied with) and the latest § 6100 information; approved but not yet due assessment changes; any rental prohibition; the past 12 months of approved board minutes if the buyer asks; and, since January 1, 2026 under Senate Bill 410, the latest balcony and walkway inspection report under § 5551. The section doesn’t apply to an owner subject to Business and Professions Code § 11018.6.

The association has 10 days from the request to deliver (§ 4530). Its fee must be reasonable and based on actual cost, itemized on the § 4528 form, with no extra charge for electronic delivery. Ask for it early, while your contract contingencies are still open.

Balcony inspections and reserve studies

Every three years the board must have the major components visually inspected for the reserve study, if their replacement value is at least half the association’s gross budget (§ 5550). Condominium associations in buildings with three or more attached units add § 5551: a licensed engineer or architect inspects a random sample of wood-supported balconies, decks, stairways and walkways more than six feet above ground at least once every nine years.

Rights the CC&Rs can’t override

• A U.S. flag of cloth, fabric or paper on your separate interest or exclusive-use common area, except as required for public health or safety (§ 4705).
• Noncommercial signs, posters, flags and banners of paper, cardboard, cloth, plastic or fabric on your separate interest, unless health, safety or another law forbids; signs over 9 square feet and flags or banners over 15 may be banned (§ 4710).
• Renting out your unit: no ban or unreasonable restriction, no cap below 25 percent of units, though stays of 30 days or less can be prohibited (§ 4741).
• An EV charger in your unit or designated parking space, subject to reasonable restrictions that don’t significantly raise its cost or cut its efficiency; if the association sends no written denial within 60 days of receiving the application, it counts as approved, unless the delay stems from a reasonable request for more information (§ 4745).

Internal dispute resolution comes before court

The association’s internal dispute procedure must let either side invoke it in writing, and a member can’t be charged a fee to take part (§ 5910). Before filing a superior-court enforcement action for declaratory, injunctive or writ relief (alone or with damages within small-claims limits), the parties must try alternative dispute resolution. Small claims and assessment disputes are excluded (§ 5930).

California HOA questions, answered

Can my association foreclose because I owe $1,200?

Not while the debt is under $1,800 and no more than 12 months delinquent. It can record a lien or sue in small claims, and your right to redeem after a nonjudicial sale lasts 90 days.

The board fined me $500 for a patio umbrella. Is that legal?

Only if the umbrella could have an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or a neighbor’s property, the $500 is in the published schedule, and the board wrote that finding down at an open meeting. Otherwise $100 is the most it can charge per violation.

How fast must the board show me last year’s bank statements?

Within 30 calendar days, since they are prior-year records; current-year records are due in 10 business days.

Where else should a buyer look?

At the California closing costs guide, the California homeowner insurance guide, selling a house with an HOA, the HOA glossary entry and the California hub. Buying across the state line? Read the Nevada page.