The Davis–Stirling Act defines the legal boundaries between board authority and individual owner rights
It’s easy to see why there may be some confusion surrounding HOA board powers. There is no state or local agency in California that directly regulates homeowners associations, and even the Department of Real Estate recognizes this.
That absence of scope puts the whole job of limiting board power on three things. These are the statutes, your governing documents, and, most importantly, your vote.
The Davis-Stirling Act sheds light on various issues on HOA board authority and homeowner rights in California HOA.
Read on to find out which decisions your board can make alone, which ones need owner approval, and which rights no board can take away.
The Davis-Stirling Act and the Laws Above It
The Davis-Stirling Act runs from Civil Code section 4000 to 6150. It governs the parts of association life that cause the most friction, namely:
Assessments and budgets
Board elections and member votes
Meetings and records
Maintenance duties
Discipline and dispute resolution
Two other bodies of law sit alongside it. Most California HOAs are nonprofit mutual benefit corporations, so the Corporations Code supplies the duties their directors owe. The Fair Employment and Housing Act bars housing discrimination, and no association is exempt.
These laws also take precedence above your paperwork and outranks the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions
In other words, when a rule conflicts with a statute in the Davis-Stirling Act, courts will rule in favor of the statute.
What Your HOA Board Can Decide Alone
Rulemaking is the clearest of the HOA board powers.
Timelines That Govern HOA Board Decisions
Before adopting or changing an operating rule, the board must give members the exact text 28 days ahead. Members can comment, and the board must consider those comments even without agreeing with them.
The only exception is an imminent threat to health or safety. In such scenarios, the board can act and make decisions at once. Rules made during this time are temporary and expire in 120 days.
Maintenance Decisions
HOA board authority extends to decisions on maintenance as long as certain conditions are met. There’s a legal precedent to this.
In Lamden v. La Jolla Shores, the California Supreme Court held that courts defer to a board that investigates reasonably, acts in good faith, and chooses among ways of meeting a maintenance duty.
Take note, however, that the deference covers how the board does the job and not how far the job extends.
Decisions That Need a Member Vote
The limits on HOA board authority get specific in Civil Code 5605.
The code stops the board from raising the regular assessment more than 20% above the prior fiscal year. In the code are also caps on special assessments at 5% of the association’s budgeted gross expenses which are counted as a yearly total rather than one at a time.
Going past either number takes the approval of a majority of a quorum, and a quorum means more than half the members. That cap holds even if your CC&Rs are stricter.
Members can also undo a rule the board adopted. A written request within 30 days of notice forces a special meeting, and a majority vote reverses the change.
When a rule is reversed, it cannot return for a year.
Rights No Board Can Vote Away
Some homeowner rights in California HOA communities come from statute, so no rule or CC&R can override them.
Records: Members can inspect financial records, contracts, invoices, agendas, and minutes under sections 5200-5240.
Meetings: Board business happens in open meetings under sections 4900-4935, and executive sessions are limited to litigation, discipline, and similar matters.
Discipline: Before a fine, you get notice, a chance to fix the problem, and a written decision within 14 days.
Solar: Under section 714, any provision that effectively blocks a solar system is void, and an application not denied within 45 days is approved.
Charging, signs, flags: EV charging bans are void under 4745, signs are protected under 4710, flags under 4705.
Where a Board’s Authority Runs Out
Boards do start with an advantage. Recorded CC&Rs are presumed reasonable, which is illustrated by the court in Nahrstedt. The ruling in the case set the precedent that buying into a development means accepting that the association’s power may benefit the community.
Responsible Exercise of HOA Board Authority
Courts warn that as a board with such considerable power, HOA boards must guard against abusing it. When an association enforces a restriction, it must:
Follow its own procedures
Apply them uniformly
Reach a reasonable decision
The Case of Fountain Valley
One board found that out in court.
In Fountain Valley, there was threatened litigation against an elderly homeowner over personal items the board called a fire hazard. The fire department found no hazard, and a jury found the board had acted unreasonably.
Reading Your Governing Documents Before the Next Dispute
Arguments between an owner and a board are often disputes about whether the board had the authority it claimed and acted reasonably. The answer is almost always sitting in the statutes and the governing documents before the argument starts.
Whether you’re a homeowner or an HOA board member, the first step to exercising your rights is by knowing current HOA laws and statutes, like those in the Davis-Stirling Act.
