When Is a California HOA Town Hall Meeting Subject to the Open Meeting Act?
Overview The “town hall” concept has grown in popularity over the last several years, and this fad has understandably filtered down to organizations like HOAs. Many HOA boards organize “town halls” to signal that a meeting is informal, informational, or not part of...
Can My Neighbor Take Over California HOA Common Area?
Overview Encroachment disputes in California HOAs often arise when a homeowner starts treating common area as if it were part of that homeowner’s separate interest. That happens when a neighbor fences off open space, extends a patio, installs landscaping beyond the...
What Does it Mean When Someone Encroaches on My Property?
Overview Encroachment is one of the most common sources of conflict in California HOAs, yet most homeowners misunderstand what the term actually means. At its core, an encroachment occurs when someone or something physically intrudes onto property they do not have the...
Can My California HOA Hire Unlicensed Contractors? Massive Legal Risks For Homeowners
Overview As expenses continue to rocket into the stratosphere in California, more and more bad HOAs across California have been hiring unlicensed “contractors” to perform maintenance, repairs, and sometimes even major construction work on common area components. What...
California HOA Executive Session Rules
Overview HOA boards in California do not have unlimited authority to meet in private. Civil Code 4935 allows HOA boards to meet in executive session only to discuss the specific topics identified in that statute. When a board uses executive session to address anything...
Can You Dissolve Your California HOA? What the Bad HOA Lawyer Got Wrong
Overview Homeowners frustrated with their HOA often reach a tipping point where the idea of dissolving the HOA feels like the only real solution. That instinct is understandable. When enforcement feels arbitrary, costs continue to rise, or the HOA board refuses to...
California HOAs and Noise Complaints
Overview Noise complaints are one of the most common and most frustrating issues homeowners face in California HOAs. Whether the problem involves loud music, barking dogs, late-night parties, revving engines, or constant impact noise through shared walls, these...
Buying a Home in a California HOA? 12 Red Flags to Look Out For Before You Buy
Overview Buying a home in a California HOA is not just a real estate transaction. It binds you to a legal framework that controls how you use your property, what you must pay, and how the HOA handles disputes. These risks are not hypothetical. Homeowners living in...
Can You Dissolve Your California HOA?
Overview Homeowners often ask whether they can dissolve their HOA, especially when frustration with board decisions, enforcement practices, or rising costs reaches a breaking point. The short answer is yes, but that answer is misleading without context. Dissolving an...
Can HOA Board Members in California Be Forced to Pay Back Legal Fees?
Overview Many California homeowners assume that if their HOA’s insurance or the association itself pays to defend a board member in a lawsuit, that is the end of the story. In many cases, however, that’s not true. Under the right circumstances, the law may require an...
Can I Sue My HOA Board Members Personally in California?
Overview Most California homeowners assume they can simply sue the individual directors responsible if their HOA causes harm. In reality, however, that’s not so easy to do. California law strongly protects volunteer HOA board members from personal liability, and in...
Altadena & Palisades Fires: Why California FAIR Plan Insurance Isn’t Enough to Rebuild
Overview The aftermath of the Altadena and Palisades fires has exposed a problem that many California homeowners who live in high fire zones didn’t see coming. They had insurance through California’s FAIR Plan and they’ve paid very high premiums for that insurance....
Can a California HOA Stop You from Speaking at a Board Meeting?
Overview Bad HOA boards often attempt to stifle homeowner speech during open board meetings by eliminating open forum entirely, restricting the scope of permissible topics, or deploying obstructive tactics such as claiming a comment is “not on the agenda,” cutting...
Can a California HOA Hold Secret Meetings Without Notice or Minutes?
Overview Bad HOAs don’t like to operate in the light. Instead, they prefer to operate without oversight. To hide their activities from the membership at large, bad HOA boards will frequently try to conduct business behind closed doors by calling their gatherings...
Can My HOA Force Me to Pay a Special Assessment After the Altadena and Palisades Fires?
Overview In the aftermath of the devastating fires that swept through Altadena, the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and surrounding areas in early 2025, many homeowners are now facing a second crisis: massive HOA special assessments that HOA boards imposed to repair...
California HOA Fines After AB 130: $100 Limit, Repeat Violations, and Predictions Coming True
Overview When AB 130 took effect, I made a series of very specific predictions about how it would play out in the real world. Although I’m widely regarded as California’s most groundbreaking HOA attorney on the homeowner-side (meaning that my law firm, MBK Chapman,...
Can My California HOA Ban Airbnb or Short-Term Rentals?
Overview Every spring, as the summer approaches, we start fielding questions from homeowners across California about their right to rent out their homes to vacationers on websites like Airbnb or VRBO. And we always respond with the same answer: it depends. The...
Can My California HOA Fine Me for Renting Out My Home?
Overview A California HOA’s ability to fine you for renting out your home depends first on whether the rental arrangement violates a valid restriction, and second on whether the HOA followed the procedural requirements for imposing discipline. That distinction matters...
What If Your California HOA Refuses to Enforce Its Own Rules?
Overview HOA rules and regulations only matter if they are enforced. When an HOA adopts rules governing common issues such as parking, noise, architectural standards, or use of the common areas, homeowners expect the HOA to enforce those rules and to do so fairly....
What If Your California HOA Refuses to Make Repairs to the Common Area?
Overview Common area repairs are one of the most basic responsibilities an HOA has. When something breaks, deteriorates, or becomes unusable in the common areas, homeowners expect the HOA to fix it. When the HOA refuses to act, the problem does not just sit there. It...
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