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A Peek Inside Chapter 1: California Condominium Law- An Overview

I. Common Interest Developments
The term “common interest development” (or”CID”) describes a form of real estate where each owner holds exclusive rights to a portion of the property typically called a unit or lot, and shared rights to portions of the property called the common area.

Members of homeowners’ association are the owners of the individual units or lots, and the terms “members” and “owners” are used interchangeably in this chapter.

A. Types of Common Interest Development

The most numerous forms of CIDs, and the focus of The Condominium Bluebook, are the condominium and the planned development. The two other types of CIDs, the stock cooperative and the community apartment, are far less common and only briefly discussed in The Condominium Bluebook, although they are governed by many of the same laws. For additional information, See Civil Code 1351, in Chapter 2. A timeshare and a tenancy-in-common are not CIDs. [...]

From Pg 1 of The Condominium Bluebook. To read more excerpts, click here.

• SB 786     Ch. 65        CCP 425.16             Allows for recovery of attorneys fees by defendant on special motion to strike
• AB 899     Ch. 484      Civ. Code 1350.7; 1365.2.5; and new Section 1363.005      Clarifies delivery of records by electronic transmission; addresses long term interest and inflation rate in projections; lists disclosures required to be annually distributed to membership
• AB 1246    Ch. 520      Civ. Code 1351     Revises definition of “limited- equity Housing cooperative”
• AB 1061    Ch. 503      Civ. Code 1353.8    Any governing document provision prohibiting water efficient landscapes is void
• AB 313      Ch. 431      Civ. Code 1366.4    Prohibits assessments based on taxable value of separate interests within the association
• AB 927      Ch. 7          Civ. Code 1375       Extends expiration date of specific requirements before HOA can file construction defect litigation
• AB 285      Ch. 96        Corp. Code 20        Removes of requirements of Federal Law relating to authorized electronic transmissions
• AB 515      Ch. 322      Veh. Code 22658    New section re: docs provided to towing co. to release an impounded vehicle

We are monitoring these bills currently under consideration in the California Legislature.

AB 1726

This bill would add a provision to the Davis-Stirling Common Development Act regarding voting and quorum requirements. In the event that there is a lack of a quorum at a member meeting or for the election of directors, this bill would provide for an automatic reduction in the quorum requirement at a subsequent members’ meeting to 33% of the association membership entitled to vote.

AB 1793 Civil Code § 1353.8

was added to the Davis Stirling Act in 2009 to encourage the use of water tolerant plants. This new law can be found in bold italicized type on page 107 of the 2010 Edition of The Condominium Bluebook. AB 1793 would expand on this law by voiding any provision in association governing documents that would prohibit the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic surface that resembles grass. Associations would still be allowed to make landscape rules and regulations that establish design and quality standards for the installation of artificial grass.

AB 1927

After January 1, 2011, the approval of 2/3 of the members would be required to amend, adopt or record governing documents to impose a rental restriction. This bill would also require owners to disclose rental restrictions prior to transfer of title.

AB 2502

Under Civil Code § 1367.1 any payment made by an owner of a separate interest toward a past due assessment is first applied to the assessment owed, and only after the assessment is paid is full, are the payments applied to the fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees, late charges, or interest. Associations have the right to assign the collection of delinquent assessments to third parties. Under this bill those third parties will be required to apply collection payments on delinquent assessments according to the provisions of the Davis-Stirling Common Development Act.

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.