AB 771 (Butler) Amends Civ. Code § 1368 and adds Civ. Code & 1368.2 (Billing Disclosure Form) listing documents that associations must provide to prospective purchasers. Associations may charge a reasonable fee for this service based on the association’s actual cost to procure, prepare, and reproduce these documents. This legislation requires associations to disclose these charges in advance using a statutory form that would list each item and fee separately. This bill also adds 12 months of regular board meeting minutes to the list of documents to be disclosed to a prospective buyer.Associations may charge a reasonable fee for this service based on the association’s actual cost to procure, prepare, and reproduce these documents. This legislation requires associations to disclose these charges in advance using a statutory form that would list each item and fee separately. This bill also adds 12 months of regular board meeting minutes to the list of documents to be disclosed to a prospective buyer.

SB 563 (Committee on Transportation and Housing) Amends Civ. Code § 1363.05 reducing the notice requirement for non-emergency executive session board meetings to 2 days. It allows for notice of an executive session meeting to be given electronically, if a member consents. This bill clarifies that boards are not required to notice and hold an open meeting before going into executive session. Boards cannot conduct meetings or make decisions through a series of emails except in the case of an emergency meeting on an executive session topic, which could be conducted by email with unanimous written consent pursuant to Corp Code § 7211(b).  Agendas for meetings held in executive session must be made available to the association members, if requested.

AB 657 (Gordon) Amends Civ. Code § 1363.5; Corp. Code § 8210 Incorporated associations are required to file an annual statement of information with the Secretary of State. Corporations may receive their annual renewal notice via email.

AB 887 (Atkins) Amends Civ. Code § 51 This bill refines the definition of sex and gender in the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

SB 209 Adds Civ. Code § 1353.9  Charging stations for electric vehicles may not prohibited.

SB150 Adds Civ. Code § 1360.2 and amends Civ. Code §§ 1368 and 1373. This bill prohibits the owner of a separate interest in a common interest development from being subject to a provision in the governing document, or a provision in an amendment to a governing document, that prohibits the rental or leasing of all or any of the separate interests in that common interest development to a renter, lessee, or tenant unless that governing document, or amendment thereto, was effective prior to the date the owner acquired title to his or her separate interest.

SB1211  (Silva) Amends Corp. Code §§ 7211, 7212, and 7213  The death of director excuses that seat from counting toward a quorum.  A director is prohibited from voting by proxy at a meeting. It also confirms that boards may take action without a meeting with unanimous written consent.

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• Rental Restrictions
• HUD/DOJ Anti-Discrimination Guidelines
• Electric Vehicles
• Biennial Reporting to State Agencies
• Teleconferencing
• Executive Session Requirements
• Board Meeting Requirements
• Disclosure Forms
• IRS Resolutions/Forms
• Use of Email

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• I. COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENTS 1
  • A. Types of Common Interest Developments 1
  • B. Differences Between Condominium Projects, Planned Developments, and Stock Co-ops 2
• II. HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION STRUCTURE 3
  • A. Legal Structure of Homeowners’ Associations 3
  • B. Governing Documents and Plans 4
    • 1. Subdivision Map or Condominium Plan 4
    • 2. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (often simply called the “Declaration” or the “CC&Rs”) 5
    • 3. Articles of Incorporation 5
    • 4. Bylaws 6
    • 5. Homeowners’ Association or House Rules 6
  • C. Law Governing the Governing Documents 6
    • 1. Statutory Law 6
    • 2. Case Law 7
    • 3. California Department of Real Estate Regulations 7
  • D. Other Issues Regarding the Governing Documents and the Law 8
    • 1. Binding Effect of Governing Documents 8
    • 2. Liberal Construction of Governing Documents 8
    • 3. Conflicts between the Governing Documents and Statutory Law 8
    • 4. Ambiguous or Unclear Governing Document Provisions 9
    • 5. Unreasonable or Unfair Governing Document Provisions 9
    • 6. Owner’s Right to Inspect and Copy Governing Documents and Homeowners’ Association Books, Records, Minutes and Rules 9
    • 7. Amending Governing Documents: Procedural Requirements 11
      • a. CC&Rs 12
        • (i) Eliminating Developer-Related CC&R Provisions 13
        • (ii) Court Ordered Amendment of CC&Rs 13
        • (iii) Extending Life of the CC&Rs 14
        • (iv) Special Approvals 15
        • (v) Ballot Solicitation 16
      • b. Bylaws 16
      • c. Articles of Incorporation 17
      • d. Condominium Plans and Subdivision Maps 18
    • 8. Identity of “Declarant” 18
• III. OWNERSHIP, ACCESS AND USAGE 19
  • A. Individually Owned Portions of a Condominium Project 19
  • B. Individually Owned Portions of a Planned Development 20
  • C. Ownership of Common Areas 20
  • D. Use of Common Areas 21
    • 1. By a Unit or Lot Owner 21
    • 2. By a Non-Resident Unit or Lot Owner 21
    • 3. By Guests and Tenants 21
    • 4. Restrictions on or Fees for Use of Common Area 22
  • E. Exclusive Use or Restricted Common Area 22
  • F. “Percentage Interest” or “Common Interest” 23
  • G. Party Walls 23
  • H. Partition 23
  • I. Individual Unit or Lot Split Off 24
  • J. Sale or Exchange of Portions of Unit or Lot 24
  • K. Sale or Exchange of Exclusive Use or Restricted Common Area 25
  • L. Combination of Two or More Units or Lots 25
  • M. Access 25
    • 1. Homeowners’ Association Access to Individually Owned Units or Lots 25
    • 2. Unit or Lot Owner Access to Neighboring Unit or Lot 26
  • N. Rental Restrictions 26
  • O. Transfer of Ownership 27

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Mr. Bickel has qualified as an expert witness on condominium law for the purposes of trial testimony in both California Superior Court and United States Federal District Court. He has also served as an arbitrator/mediator for the United States Federal District Court in San Francisco for over 10 years. He has acted as a private mediator to assist in the resolution of condominium disputes in more than a dozen cases. He has been retained to act as an expert consultant/witness in approximately 15 cases split equally between plaintiff and defense. Mr. Bickel has been personally responsible for handling an estimated $100,000,000 in condominium construction defect claims.

Branden Bickel is a highly respected condominium law attorney in California who advises homeowner associations throughout California and revises governing documents for associations using The Rewrite Program.  For more information on the Rewrite Program, click here.