Overview

In California, the recall petition is the document that forces an HOA board to schedule a recall election. It is not an informal letter of complaint. Rather, it is a legally binding demand under both the Davis-Stirling Act and the California Corporations Code. To succeed, a recall petition must be drafted and executed with precision. A single procedural misstep can give the board a pretext to reject the petition or derail the recall election.

For a deeper dive into this topic, see my full article: “HOA Recalls in California: The Power to Remove Your HOA Board.” For a quick-reference guide, see my Fact Sheet: “HOA Recalls in California: How Homeowners Can Remove Their HOA Board.”

Key Points

Here are the key signature (i.e., petition) rules and requirements every California homeowner must know before starting a recall effort:

• Signature Threshold. For most HOAs, signatures from 5% of the total membership are required to compel a recall election (Corp. Code 7510(e)). For stock cooperatives, the threshold is 10%.
• Owners of Record Only. Only owners of record may sign a recall petition. Co-owners on the same title count as one signature. The signatures of tenants, non-owner spouses, and other residents not on title will not count. An owner with multiple units may sign once for each unit.
• Pocket Deeds. An unrecorded deed (sometimes called a “pocket deed”) does not establish ownership rights under the Davis-Stirling Act. Consequently, a grantee on an unrecorded deed cannot sign. Boards will challenge these signatures, and they will not count toward the threshold.
• Petition Content. A valid petition must clearly state which director(s) (or the entire board) are subject to recall. It must include printed names, property addresses, and original signatures. Extra language, narratives, or personal attacks create opportunities for the board to argue that the petition is defective.
• Original Signatures Required. Photocopies, scans, and e-signatures do not meet the statutory requirement. Best practice is to collect blue-ink signatures to avoid disputes.
• Delivery of the Petition. Delivery must be made either in person or by certified mail to the board, a director, or the managing agent (Corp. Code 7511(a)-(b)). Certified mail provides a reliable paper trail. In-person delivery should be documented with a signed acknowledgment. You should also always email the completed petition, with a note referring to the other delivery method.

When drafting and circulating a recall petition, precision is critical. Each of these requirements must be met for the petition to be considered valid. Remember, HOA boards from Hell will often look for technical defects as a way to disqualify signatures or reject the petition.

FAQs

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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