Overview

I’ve written several Fact Sheets on AB 130, covering both its virtues and its abundant defects. This Fact Sheet addresses another defect, one that frustrates the good HOAs and the homeowners who want their HOAs to enforce the rules.

AB 130 capped most HOA fines at $100 per violation. That was one of the few good things about that law. But one of AB 130’s other changes, codified at Civil Code 5855, barred HOAs from imposing any discipline on homeowners who cured a violation before the disciplinary hearing. To most people, that sounds like a good thing. But in practice, that hasn’t been the case, and in fact, that provision has turned into a real problem. After all, that safe harbor provision sought to protect homeowners from fines over problems that were easily fixed (provided, of course, that they were actually fixed).

Instead, it created a loophole that the Legislature apparently didn’t anticipate. Many rule violations are temporary by nature, and the people committing them can end them in seconds. Civil Code 5855 asks only whether the member cured the violation before the hearing, so those violations never result in a fine. The statute makes no exception for repeat offenders.

Under a literal reading of Civil Code 5855, a resident can park in a neighbor’s space every day, leave their trashcans out until they receive a hearing letter, or commit dozens of other rule violations that annoy their neighbors. All of those violations are, by definition, temporary in nature. The bad resident, however, can avoid discipline every time by stopping the conduct before a disciplinary hearing, and then starting right up again after the hearing date passes. For HOAs, and for the neighbors who live next to these chronic violators, the threat of a fine means nothing for an entire category of rules.

There’s one possible limit on the loophole. Some violations, like speeding through the community, end the moment they happen and leave nothing to cure. HOAs have a fair argument that Civil Code 5855 doesn’t protect members who commit those violations, but no court has decided the question yet. Beyond that argument,  HOAs and homeowners do have tools that don’t depend on fines, like towing and lawsuits to enforce the governing documents. For violations this small, though, those tools are rarely practical. Towing costs the HOA money and time, and few HOAs or homeowners will spend thousands of dollars suing a neighbor over trash bins.

The Legislature never meant to protect residents who break the same rules over and over, but AB 130’s cure provision did exactly that. This Fact Sheet explains how that unintended consequence often plays out, what HOAs and homeowners can still do about chronic violators, and why only the Legislature can close the loophole for good.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about AB 30, my other Fact Sheets cover the law from several angles.

1. “California HOA Issues in 2026: AB 130, Insurance, Special Assessments, ADUs, Recalls.” Previews the five disputes most likely to dominate California HOAs in 2026, including AB 130 fine enforcement.
2. “AB 130 in California: Table of Statutory Changes Affecting HOAs and Homeowners.” Lays out, in a single table, every statute AB 130 added or amended and what each change does.
3. “Why Celebrating AB 130 Is a Mistake: The Still Obvious Risks of California’s $100 HOA Fine Cap.” Explains why the $100 fine cap creates confusion and higher costs for good HOA members and good HOAs alike.
4. “California HOA Fines After AB 130: $100 Limit, Repeat Violations, and Predictions Coming True.” Tracks how AB 130 has played out in practice, including the fights over continuing and repeat violations.
5. “Can My California HOA Fine Me for a Violation I Fixed Before the Hearing?” Examines the same cure provision discussed in this Fact Sheet, but from the other side, by showing how Civil Code 5855 protects homeowners who fix a violation before the hearing.
6. “What Qualifies as a Health and Safety Violation Under California’s $100 HOA Fine Cap?” Explains the narrow health and safety exception to the $100 cap and how bad HOAs constantly abuse it.

Key Points

The cure provision in Civil Code 5855 does its job when homeowners acting in good faith fix a real problem before the date of a scheduled disciplinary hearing, and then the problem stays “fixed.” But it breaks down when members acting in bad faith commit the same small violations week after week and stop just long enough to clear each hearing to avoid the fines. HOAs can’t fine their way out of that cycle, and the alternatives cost far more than the violations themselves. The points below explain where the loophole comes from, which enforcement options survive it, and why only the Legislature can close it.

• Civil Code 5855 bars HOAs from disciplining members who cure a violation before the hearing. Under Civil Code 5855, HOAs have to give members at least 10 days’ written notice before a disciplinary hearing. Under AB 130, that same statute allows members to cure the violation at any point before the hearing takes place. Once a member cures it, the HOA can’t impose a fine, suspend privileges, or impose any other discipline. In theory, that sounds like a great idea. The problem lies with people who seek to game the system. For instance, Civil Code 5855 doesn’t look at how many times the member has committed and cured the same violation before. So, under a literal reading, a resident could park in a neighbor’s space every week for a year and never be fined for the conduct simply by temporarily ceasing the conduct prior to any set hearing dates (and then resuming the behavior again after).
• Violations that end the moment they happen may fall outside the cure provision altogether. Civil Code 5855 gives members the opportunity to “cure” a violation. But the ability to “cure” something implies that there’s something to cure. That works for ongoing conditions. A car left in someone else’s space or trash bins left at the curb stay in violation until the member moves them, and moving them cures the violation. Speeding through the community works differently. Once the driver slows down, nothing remains to cure. That gives HOAs a fair argument that the cure provision doesn’t reach completed acts and that they can still fine members or suspend privileges for them. [Because no court has yet decided this question, nobody knows how these types of violations fit into the cure scheme.]
• Towing sidesteps the cure provision, but it rarely works as a practical fix. A tow under Vehicle Code 22658 doesn’t depend on a disciplinary hearing, so moving the car before a hearing does nothing to prevent a tow. In practice, however, towing demands more than a lot of HOAs are willing to give. HOAs have to post compliant towing signs at every entrance, and in most situations, someone with authority has to give written authorization, be present for the tow, and verify the violation. HOAs can’t simply have a tow company patrol the community and tow at will. Those requirements cost HOAs money and staff time, and by the time the tow truck arrives, the car is often gone. [To learn more about when HOAs can lawfully tow, read my Fact Sheet, “Can a California HOA Tow Your Car or Ban Street Parking?”]
• Lawsuits to enforce the governing documents also sidestep the cure provision, but few HOAs or homeowners will file one over trash bins. Civil Code 5855 limits discipline at a hearing. It doesn’t limit the right to sue, and Civil Code 5975 lets HOAs and homeowners sue chronic violators to enforce the CC&Rs. The cost of such lawsuits, however, dwarfs the violations that they target. Even a simple enforcement lawsuit could cost six figures and take a couple of years to resolve, all to stop a neighbor from parking in the wrong space or leaving bins at the curb. In practical terms, lawsuits like these will rarely be viewed as worth the trouble or expense.  
• Only the Legislature can close the loophole. HOAs can’t fix the problem themselves. An HOA rule that denies the cure to repeat offenders conflicts with Civil Code 5855, and a rule can’t override a statute. Workarounds like relabeling an ordinary violation as a health and safety issue to escape the $100 cap, or sending a new violation notice every day for the same conduct, invite challenges that have already backfired on HOAs. The Legislature should amend Civil Code 5855 so that the cure defense doesn’t apply when the same member repeats the same violation a set number of times within a set period of time after curing it (e.g., 3 times within a 12-month period).
• If your HOA refuses to act against a neighbor who keeps breaking the rules, call the HOA attorneys at MBK Chapman. The HOA attorneys at MBK Chapman are California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA lawyers. They have experience forcing HOAs that won’t even issue violation notices to enforce their governing documents, and they can push HOAs to fine violations that fall outside the cure provision altogether (like speeding through the community), and come up with alternative avenues of liability, such as pleading such violations as nuisances.

AB 130 set out to stop HOAs from fining homeowners over problems they’d already fixed. For one category of rules, it also stopped HOAs from fining the residents who never stop breaking them. Completed acts like speeding may still draw fines, and towing and lawsuits remain available, but none of those options offers a practical answer to the parking and trash bin violations that make up most of the problem. Until the Legislature amends Civil Code 5855, the cure provision protects chronic violators exactly as written.

FAQs

About Michael Kushner

Michael Kushner is a California attorney with over 30 years of experience representing homeowners in disputes with their HOAs. He is widely regarded as California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, and has built one of the state’s most prominent law practices dedicated to holding HOAs accountable under the Davis-Stirling Act and California law.

In addition to his law firm’s work, Michael is a recognized lecturer, author, and the host of the hit HOA HELL podcast, where he provides homeowners living in HOA-governed communities with clear, practical strategies for dealing with bad HOAs. He’s also the author of the best-selling book, HOA HELL | California Homeowners’ Definitive Guide to Beating Bad HOAs, which has become a go-to resource for both homeowners seeking real-world solutions to their HOA disputes, as well as those good HOA board members who are interested in doing a good job.

About MBK Chapman Fact Sheets

Homeowners searching for answers online will often come across articles that appear authoritative, but are actually written as search-engine marketing content rather than by an experienced HOA lawyer. These pieces tend to prioritize keyword density over clarity, accuracy, or legal context, which often leaves homeowners more confused than informed.

At MBK Chapman, our Fact Sheets are part of our HOA Law Library and are written by Michael Kushner, an HOA lawyer with decades of hands-on experience representing California homeowners. In fact, Michael Kushner is the HOA lawyer who pioneered the systems and strategies used by some of California’s most successful homeowner-side HOA law firms.

Each Fact Sheet is deliberately concise, statute-based, and designed as a quick-reference guide to help homeowners understand key HOA laws and enforcement rules at a glance.

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