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...
What If Your California HOA Ignores Safety Issues or Dangerous Conditions?
Overview Safety issues in an HOA are not something boards get to ignore or delay. When a homeowner reports a dangerous condition, whether it involves structural problems, lighting failures, water intrusion, or other hazards, the expectation is simple: the HOA...
Can a California HOA Ignore Homeowner Complaints?
Overview Homeowners often reach a breaking point with their HOA not because of a single bad decision, but because of silence. They report a safety issue. They raise concerns about maintenance. They complain about a neighbor violating the rules. And nothing happens. No...
Can a California HOA Limit or Ignore Homeowner Emails to Management?
Overview Homeowners frequently ask a version of the same question: Can my HOA just refuse to deal with me if I send too many emails? The issue comes up when a homeowner starts pressing management for answers about finances, maintenance problems, or board decisions,...
Can a California HOA Tow Your Car or Ban Street Parking?
Overview This Fact Sheet addresses two related enforcement issues that frequently arise in California HOA parking disputes: when an HOA may tow a vehicle parked in violation of the community’s rules, and when an HOA may regulate parking on public streets located...
Can a California HOA Control Parking in Your Garage, Driveway, or Assigned Parking Space?
Overview Parking disputes are one of the most common sources of conflict between homeowners and their HOAs, and the reason for that isn’t too much of a mystery. Parking rules affect everyday life inside an HOA community. Homeowners deal with those rules every day when...
Is It Illegal to Record Audio on Security Cameras in California HOAs?
Overview Security cameras have become a normal feature of HOA communities across California. Most of these systems function as simple video surveillance tools, recording activity in both members’ private properties and common areas (e.g., yards, driveways, entrances,...
California HOA Statutes of Limitations in California: Correcting More Errors by a Bad HOA Attorney
Overview Understanding the correct statute of limitations matters in HOA disputes. These deadlines determine when claims may be filed and when they become legally barred. Because different legal theories trigger different statutes of limitations under California law,...
Can a California HOA Use Biometric Surveillance in Common Areas?
Overview Security cameras have become common in HOA communities, and in the prior Fact Sheet in this series, I examined when an HOA may lawfully install ordinary surveillance cameras in common areas such as hallways, entrances, garages, and elevators. But...
Can a California HOA Install Security Cameras in the Common Areas?
Overview Security cameras have become a common feature in HOAs across California. Cameras installed in building entrances, common area hallways, parking structures, elevators, and other shared spaces are widely used to deter crime, monitor property, and improve...
Can a California Condo Owner Install a Video Doorbell Outside Their Unit?
Overview Video doorbells, such as Ring’s doorbell cameras, have become one of the most popular forms of homeowner-installed security cameras. Homeowners use them to monitor visitors, track deliveries, and deter theft at their front doors. In condominium developments,...
Can My California HOA Stop Me From Installing Security Cameras on My Property?
Overview Home security cameras have become a normal part of residential life in California. Cameras mounted near a front door, pointed toward a driveway, or monitoring a backyard are now more common than alarm systems and motion-activated lighting. As a result, many...
What Should California Homeowners Do If They Suspect HOA Embezzlement?
Overview Discovering signs that HOA funds may be missing or misused can leave homeowners unsure how to respond. Embezzlement inside an HOA is serious misconduct, but suspicions alone do not establish what actually happened. Escalating too quickly can create...
How to Tell if Your California HOA Is Embezzling Money
Overview HOA embezzlement rarely announces itself openly. Most homeowners never see someone literally taking money from the association’s accounts. Instead, the problem usually reveals itself through patterns that stop making sense. Dues keep rising even though the...
What Are the Most Common Ways Bad California HOAs Embezzle Money?
Overview Most homeowners assume HOA embezzlement must involve complicated financial tricks or sophisticated accounting fraud. In reality, the opposite is usually true. HOA embezzlement almost always relies on simple tactics that work because nobody is paying close...
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