Blog Post by David Swedelson, Partner SwedelsonGottlieb As community association attorneys, we are often called upon to deal with neighbor to neighbor complaints and disputes. Well, often is probably an understatement. How about daily? These complaints generally deal with smoke from cigarettes and more lately from (medical) marijuana, hard surface…
HOA Law Blog
New Amendment to Civil Code Requires Lenders to Record Their Trustee’s Deed Within 30 Days Of The Foreclosure Sale– Or Else…Nothing! New Legislation That Really Does Not Resolve The Problem
We have been receiving a number of inquiries regarding Assembly Bill 2273 that was signed into law by the Governor, effective as of January 1, 2013, that amends Civil Code Section 2924b. This new law requires: (1) recordation of a trustee’s deed upon sale within 30 days of the sale;…
Towing Vehicles at your Community Association
We are often asked if a California condominium or homeowners association has the authority to tow vehicles from the association if the vehicle is parked in violation of the association’s Rules and Regulations. The answer is that an association has the right and authority to tow vehicles, assuming that the…
Holiday Decorations; ‘Tis the Season to Be Tolerant
The holidays are just around the corner, and it’s time for community association boards to start getting ready to address issues connected with holiday decorations. What kinds of limits should be placed on holiday decorations? How do you implement holiday rules and regulations? All that and more questions are answered…
Changes To The Davis-Stirling Act Cannot Be Implemented Until 2014
by Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq., Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys As most everyone in the community association industry knows (or should know), on August 17, 2012 California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill (“AB”) 805 which reorganizes and makes significant changes to the Davis-Stirling Common Interest…
SwedelsonGottlieb 2012-2013 Annual Disclosure Checklist
This is a busy time of year for community association managers and board members. For those associations whose fiscal year runs from January to December, and most do, it is budget time. But in addition to the budget, there are a number of other disclosure documents and notices that California…
Distribute Budget Packages and Most Annual Financial Disclosures Electronically
By David Swedelson, Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb; Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney Apparently there are many of you out there that are not aware that as of January 2010, California community associations are permitted by law to distribute budget packages and most annual disclosure documents to owners electronically so long as…
Unexplained Noise Issues in Condominiums – Is Your Condominium Association Haunted?
Blog post by David Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Condo lawyer and Community Association Attorney Okay, it is Halloween. I have been representing condominium associations for 30 years and have never heard of one that is haunted, at least not with goblins and ghosts. But apparently there are some where…
Neither a Community Association Nor its Management Have Liability under the Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
By David C. Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb; Condo lawyer and HOA attorney We have had to extricate several of our community association clients (and often their management as well) from claims or lawsuits relating to the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). It is well settled law that…
New Smoking Law Affects All Santa Monica Condos
Blog post by David Swedelson, Partner SwedelsonGottlieb Santa Monica has passed a law with new smoking rules that affect all multi-unit housing, and that includes condominiums. Follow this link to review the new municipal code. Follow this link to review a related notice from the City of Santa Monica. What…