HOA Law Blog

February 2, 2012

Legislative Update: CAI Monitors New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

The following was reported by Community Associations Institute (CAI) by Andrew S. Fortin, Esq., CAI’s vice president of government and public affairs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which officially opened for business in July, was created by Congress to enforce most federal financial consumer protection laws and to protect consumers from harmful financial products.

The CFPB has the authority to set standards that govern almost every aspect of the mortgage lending and closing process. Because CAI members have a keen interest in the development of CFPB’s rules and regulations that could affect community associations, CAI recently added a special section about the CFPB to our Mortgage Matters program. CAI is particularly interested in the CFPB’s actions on transfer fees, association assessments, foreclosure prevention, mortgage servicing standards and the definitions of qualified mortgage and real estate settlement fees.
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January 26, 2012

SwedelsonGottlieb Attorneys Are On Their Way To The CAI Law Seminar

by David C. Swedelson

All of the attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb will be attending the 2012 Community Associations Institute Law Seminar in Palm Springs. The Law Seminar provides a unique learning opportunity to discuss emerging trends and legislative issues important to the practice of community association law-as well as excellent opportunities for professional networking.

And when they get back, they will be blogging about what they have learned. So be sure to visit https://www.hoalawblog.com for blog postings on new law, emerging trends and what is going on nationally and in California in community association law.

January 26, 2012

SwedelsonGottlieb Attorneys Nominated for CAI-OCRC Awards

by David C. Swedelson

Once again, the Orange County Regional Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) has recognized the contributions of several SwedelsonGottlieb attorneys to the community association industry in Orange County with nominations for awards in three categories:

Author of the Year (David Swedelson, Esq., nominee)

Speaker of the Year (Sandra Gottlieb, Esq., nominee)

January 25, 2012

Therapy Playhouse Creates Controversy at HOA

by David C. Swedelson

Blog posting by SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Partner David Swedelson, Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney

We have had to deal with our share of unauthorized playhouses in the past. And we have dealt with therapy pets in the past. But a therapy playhouse? Really!? As reported in Community Association Institute’s FastTracks email newsletter, a Lexington, Kentucky family’s legal battle with their homeowner’s association over the right to keep their disabled son’s “therapy playhouse” which was not approved by the association has “caused quite the stir, and is heating up as Kentucky’s legislature and a non-profit advocacy group get involved with the dispute.”

January 19, 2012

David Swedelson Will Be A Speaker At HOA Board Member Orientation on January 21, 2012

by David C. Swedelson

Senior Partner David Swedelson will be a speaker on legal issues at the Los Angeles Chapter of Community Associations Institute’s upcoming HOA Board Member Orientation, Essentials of Community Association Leadership to be held this Saturday, January 21st. If you’re new to community association governance, this 8 hour Saturday orientation for association leaders is a must. This course will be given on Saturday, January 21st in Redondo Beach. For more information, follow this link.

January 19, 2012

Pasadena’s No Smoking Ordinance Went Into Effect January 1st; Impacts Condos and Homeowners Associations in the City

by David C. Swedelson

By Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq., Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb

On July 11, 2011, the City of Pasadena passed a “no-smoking” ordinance for multi-family homes, defined as two or more units, applicable to both those now existing and to be built, effective January 1, 2012. The ordinance provides that it will be unlawful to smoke in any common area (broadly defined in the statute to include all areas other than a unit), patio, balcony or inside a unit within any multi-family building, and yes, this applies to condominiums.

As of January 1, 2012, owners and/or their community managers must post “No Smoking” signs, in capital letters, not less than one inch in height, on a contrasting background or, as an alternative, the association may post the international “no smoking” symbol instead of the written words, in the common areas of the association’s building(s) at first floor entrances and exits, lobbies, restrooms and elevators. The international “no smoking” symbol consists of a picture of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it:

January 13, 2012

Summary Of Important New Legislation Affecting California Homeowner, Condominium And Stock Co-Op Associations/Common Interest Developments In 2012

by David C. Swedelson

Prepared by the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb

As they do almost every year, the California Legislature has yet again changed the Davis-Stirling Act (there have been approximately 50 amendments to the Act since its inception in 1985). We have summarized the most significant changes which impact how boards will hold meetings including executive session meetings, how boards communicate with one another, fees at escrow, electric charging stations, and rental restrictions. We will be preparing additional articles on these changes and posting them to https://www.hoalawblog.com. Follow this link for our summary of new legislation.

January 12, 2012

No, Boards Can’t Increase the Rate of Assessments Mid-Fiscal Year

by David C. Swedelson

By David C. Swedelson, Esq., Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb

Here is the issue: A board adopts the annual budget and notifies the owners that assessments will increase from last year by 10%. After the beginning of the association’s fiscal year, and months later, the board realizes that expenses are greater than anticipated and wants to again increase the assessments, this time by another 10% (for a total of a 20% annual increase). Some attorneys, managers and board members believe that the board has this power; others (including this writer) disagree based on the language of the Civil Code, the intent of the legislature, and common sense. Owners are entitled to know at the beginning of the fiscal year what their association’s assessments will be. The board has a fiduciary obligation to determine what the assessments will be for that fiscal year and has a right to use the remedy provided in the Civil Code if expenses are greater than anticipated. Otherwise, the legislature would not have imposed a sanction for a board’s failure to timely distribute the new fiscal year’s budget, and a board could simply send out whatever they have and finalize the budget later.
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January 3, 2012

Great Recession Impacts Court System; Expect Delays

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb; Head of Firm Litigation Team; Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney

As you have likely seen in the news, the “Great Recession” is still impacting us in ways we could not have imagined a year or two ago. Recently we have seen a number of news stories chronicling the plight of the state’s trial courts that are faced with unprecedented budget cuts, resulting in staff reductions and layoffs, and as a consequence long lines at the court house, stacks of unprocessed paperwork piling up in court clerks’ offices, and delays in getting hearing and trial dates. Justice will be delayed because there are just not enough staff persons at the courthouses to get the work done as quickly as we would like.

As reported in the Daily Journal, “Saying it had no other alternative for absorbing $350 million in budget cuts to the branch, the Judicial Council voted in July to slash trial court funding 6.8 percent. It remains to be seen how the next fiscal’s budget will shake out, but even courts that fared OK this year are bracing for the worst.”
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January 3, 2012

Revamping of Davis-Stirling Act Slated for 2013 or 2014

by David C. Swedelson

By Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq., SwedelsonGottlieb Managing Partner; Community Association Legal Counsel

In 2002, the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) was charged by then-Governor Gray Davis with clarifying ambiguities within the Davis-Stirling Act. (Civil Code Sections 1350-1378) to make it more “user-friendly” for homeowners and board members alike. After working fro many years with stakeholders, including a working group of attorneys, community managers and other industry professionals, the CLRC is behind the introduction of AB 805 (Torres), a two-year bill which must first be passed by both the Senate and Assembly and ultimately signed by the governor into law.

At this point, it is highly likely that AB 805 will make its way through both houses in 2012, with an effective date of either January 2013 or (the more likely date of) January 2014. Attorneys and managers alike will need continuing education to learn the new code provisions, sections and numbering.
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