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How 4 pending payments would badly have an effect on HOAs – Orange County Register

Four HOA bills in California have good intentions, but may create more problems than they solve. (iStockphoto)

The Legislature is active on HOAs this year, and eight bills may significantly affect California associations.

Four helpful calculations were discussed in last week’s column. Unfortunately, the four bills discussed here have good intentions, but they can create more problems than they solve.

The worst of the four is Assembly Bill 572, drafted by San Francisco Assembly Member Matt Haney. AB 572 would cap appraisal increases for charter-restricted affordable housing units and limit the HOA board to a maximum increase of 5% for those units.

If the HOA needed to increase ratings for all units by more than 5%, a member vote would be required to make it happen. This law tries to protect owners of affordable housing units, but it’s a terrible idea.

Why? It creates affordable housing as a separate class of homeowners who would pay less of their fair share of HOA expenses than their neighbors. It would arguably override most CC&Rs, which normally specifically allocate the distribution of reviews among owners.

Assembly Bill 1033, authored by San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting, proposes making a simple but potentially problematic amendment to Government Code Section 65852.2, specifically the section on municipal approval of secondary housing units.

The bill would authorize local jurisdictions to allow property owners (including owners in proposed developments) to convert their properties into miniature condos, allowing both the primary residence and the ADU on the property to be sold to buyers.

Fortunately, the bill does not say that it would override planned development CC&Rs, because if it did override CC&Rs, it would essentially allow for a rewrite of the subdivision map under which planned developments are made.

In a new mini-condo HOA scenario within a proposed development, would there be additional members of the proposed development association? Additionally, many (if not most) tiny HOAs ignore the Davis-Stirling Act, so it doesn’t help homebuyers create more.

Assembly Bill 1572, authored by Burbank Assembly Member Laura Friedman, proposes the creation of a new Water Code Section 10608.14 that would ban all owners (other than single-family homes) from using potable water on “unserviceable lawns” after early 2029.

For larger HOAs, this could mean huge plumbing and landscaping costs to irrigate green belts or other public areas that are considered “non-functional”. It could also mean major problems and costs for the HOA and for the community in areas where treated water is not currently available.

Senate Bill 403, authored by Senator Aisha Wahab of Fremont, would declare illegal discrimination on the basis of “caste,” defined as “an individual’s perceived position in a system of social stratification based on inherited status.”

In North American culture, caste is not usually recognized. This very broad definition could lead to misunderstandings and misapplication within HOA neighborhoods.

Does someone avoid social interaction because another comes from more humble beginnings or perhaps comes from a more privileged upbringing? Although such behavior is superficial and ignorant, should it be illegal? Taking a practice from another culture and trying to define, understand, and prohibit it in our North American culture seems problematic.

The deadline for bills that must pass through their original house of origin is June 2nd. So you have time to contact your representative and give your opinion. Visit leginfo.legislature.ca.gov to read the bills and leave comments for the author.

Kelly G Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a partner at Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for its expertise in community associations. Submit column questions to Kelly@roattorneys.com.

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