HOA Law Blog

March 29, 2016

California HOA/Condo Owners Do Not Have The Right To Have Their Attorney Attend The Association’s Board Meetings — SB Liberty, LLC, v. Isla Verde Association, Inc.

By David Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

It is a common scenario. A homeowner (usually disgruntled or in trouble with their association) either wants their attorney to attend a board meeting with them or in their place. Often, we hear about it after the meeting where the attorney appeared on behalf of their client and intimidated the board. This situation raises three hotly contested issues: (1) Do homeowners have the right to have their attorney present at board meetings? (2) Can homeowners delegate their right to attend board meetings to nonmembers? and (3) Does it make a difference in delegating powers to attend board meetings if the owner of a unit is a natural person or an entity? We have not had a solid answer to these questions. That is, until the Court of Appeal came down with its decision in the case of SB Liberty, LLC, v. Isla Verde Association, Inc. Based on this decision, we can definitively say that the answer to all three questions is NO.

The Court ruled in SB Liberty (in May of 2013) that Section 1363.05 of the California Civil Code (now found in Civil Code Section 4925) specifically states that members may attend an association’s board meetings. This means that owners cannot have their attorney, or any other nonmember, attend in their place.

February 4, 2016

Is Sunday’s Super Bowl Game Impacting Employee Performance At Your HOA/Condo Association?

by David C. Swedelson

By David C. Swedelson, Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

Many of our condo and HOA association clients have employees. Some have many employees. And this week, many of those employees are talking about and betting on the game, oftentimes while at work. In fact, some employees have set up betting pools encouraging other staff members to place wagers on various aspects of the game. Legal? What about all that cash that is being passed amongst employees? And what about the lost productivity?

And talking about productivity, leading up to the game, employees will be reading articles about the game, texting friends about the game, etc. Many will be communicating with friends regarding Super Bowl parties. And they will be doing this while they should be working. Can or should your association enforce productivity standards?

February 4, 2016

Good News For California Condo Associations; U.S. House Votes to Improve FHA Approval Process

by David C. Swedelson

By Mark Petrie, Marketing Coordinator at SwedelsonGottlieb

H.R. 3700 has passed the House of Representatives and now moves on to the Senate, to the cheer of affordable housing advocates and Community Associations Institute, which issued this letter of support to the bill’s sponsors. This is a positive development for condominium associations, as part of the bill directs the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement and consider reasonable changes to the certification and recertification process for condominium FHA approval.

Although the details of exactly how the FHA approval requirements will be revised are largely to be determined by the Secretary, if the bill becomes law in its current form, it would likely be much easier to obtain and retain FHA approval. The bill directs the Secretary to:

January 19, 2016

View Law in Laguna Beach Provides Some Good Ideas For California HOAs

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

The City of Laguna Beach has for a long time had an ordinance that provided homeowners in that city some protection of their ocean and mountain views. According to a recent LA Times article, the City adopted a new view ordinance in 2014 that allows its residents “to use the date they purchased the home or Nov. 4, 2003, [the date used in the prior law] whichever is earlier, to establish a record of a view, usually through photographic evidence. Offending vegetation must be within 500 feet of the claimant’s property line and at least 6 feet tall to be subject to a claim.”

The city’s new ordinance requires a property owner claiming an obstructed view to first attempt to work out a solution with his or her neighbor on whose property the trees/vegetation are located before the city has to get involved. If the homeowners can’t reach an agreement to resolve the view issues, then the property owner pays $500 for a city-hired mediator to step in. This is a great idea and one that we have recommended to many of our clients. Mediation has proven to be a very effective tool for resolving owner-to-owner disputes such as view obstructions. According to the Times article, “[o]f the 25 view mediation applications (the city was expecting more, see below), a mediator resolved five cases while parties in two other cases worked out issues by themselves. Other cases are pending.”
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December 14, 2015

HAM Radio Legislation Passes the Senate Committee

by David C. Swedelson

We received an urgent message from the office of Government Affairs at Community Associations Institute’s national office regarding the federal legislation on HAM radios, H.R. 1301. We previously reported on this legislation but it has passed another hurdle, so we are again requesting that you contact your representative to voice your opposition to this legislation. The following is the message we received from CAI:

As you may recall, last month the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 (S. 1685) passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Your action is needed today, as the bill will likely be referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee for debate.

H.R. 1301 invalidates community association rules and architectural standards that govern the installation and use of amateur radio towers and antennas. If this bill should become law, Congress will be able to rewrite the private, contractual agreement that you signed upon buying into your community association.

November 12, 2015

Culver City Smoking Ordinance Impacts Condos; Upcoming Deadline & Questions of Enforcement

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson and Kevin McNiff, Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb

No_Smoking_By_City_Ordinance_Sign_NHE-12045_No_Smoking.png
In August of 2014, we wrote about Culver City’s no-smoking ordinance that would affect common interest developments. The full text of the ordinance may be read through the city’s website here. We have recently received questions from concerned association managers and board members as to whether Culver City condo associations would be responsible for enforcing the ordinance. As the time nears for the smoking ban to go into effect, such questions and concerns will likely be more common for condo boards and managers who are affected. The short answer is yes, Culver City seems to have attempted to make the associations responsible for enforcing the City’s ban on smoking in buildings with multiple units, although it remains to be seen what level of enforcement will be required.
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October 30, 2015

Aretha Franklin Sings The Blues Over Lawsuit Filed To Collect Her Unpaid HOA Assessments

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson, Partner, Swedelson Gottlieb, California Community Association Attorneys

B99318139Z.1_20151027165337_000_GI0KKHP2.1-0.jpeg I was alerted to a news story out of Detroit where legendary singer Aretha Franklin is being sued for her failure to pay more than $11,563 to the Hills of Lone Pine Association.

Interesting quotes from Ms. Franklin: “It is my property. I don’t live there and feel I have (been) overcharged for years,” Franklin said. “My attorney has been discussing this with them. And I have paid what I felt was credible and legitimate.” She has been “overcharged for years.” She has paid what she “felt was credible and legitimate.” Seriously?! She sounds like many of the delinquent owners we have had to deal with over the years.

October 21, 2015

California HOAs Cannot Restrict An Owner From Flying The American Flag

by David C. Swedelson

Interesting article on restrictions on flying the American flag in Utah. Follow this link to read attorney Peter Harrison’s article that addresses this issue. His article references the great respect that many of us share for our flag and what it stands for. According to Harrison’s article, the Freedom to Display the Flag Act of 2005 (federal law) does not “completely override an HOA’s CC&Rs.”

Things are different here in California. Our Civil Code/Davis Stirling Act expressly prohibits California Community Associations from limiting or prohibiting the display of the flag of the United States on a member’s separate interest or within their exclusive use common area. Follow this link to read our Civil Code Section 4705. We in California do respect our Flag and what it stands for, and no California community association should restrict any owner from flying the flag so long as it meets the requirements of the Code.

David Swedelson is a senior partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

October 20, 2015

Governor Brown Signs New Law Prohibiting Restrictions On Clotheslines

by David C. Swedelson

California homeowner associations can no longer prohibit the drying of clothes on outdoor clotheslines after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill restricting homeowners associations from banning same. This legislation was opposed by a number of groups who felt that clotheslines are unsightly additions to neighborhoods.

Assemblywoman Patty López (D-San Fernando) announced Brown signed her bill, AB 1448, which will allow line drying for people once restricted by their property management organizations or homeowner associations.

“Growing up, my family and many of my neighbors used clotheslines as the way to dry their clothes and other laundry,” López said in a statement. “Californians can now do their part for the environment while saving money on their electric bill by using the sunlight to dry their laundry.”

September 16, 2015

It’s 2015 – How Are You Communicating in Your Community?

by David C. Swedelson

Join SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Partner David Swedelson, co-presenter Karen Kokowicz of Coro Community Management & Consulting and the Channel Islands Chapter of Community Associations Institute on September 22, 2015, and learn how to communicate better in your association.

Follow this link to register for this event.

This program will cover: