California HOA Laws: A Complete Guide for Boards and Homeowners (2026)

Legislators have made several changes to the Davis-Stirling Act. The most important recent changes for volunteer HOA members to keep in mind include open board meetings, access to records, enforcement, disputes, and collections. 

• Open board meetings: Most board meetings must be open to homeowners with advance notice and a posted agenda required. Executive sessions are limited to legal matters, contract negotiations, member discipline, and personnel issues. Actions taken in executive session must be voted on in open session.
• Access to records: Homeowners may request governing documents, financial records, board meeting minutes, and certain other association records. HOAs must respond to records requests within statutory timeframes. For instance, association records prepared during the current fiscal year must be made available within 10 business days following the request.
• Enforcement: AB 130 now caps most fines at $100 and adds requirements for internal dispute resolution (IDR). Boards must provide a written notice of the violation before any fine. Boards are also required to give the homeowner a reasonable opportunity to fix the issue and a right to request a hearing. 
• Disputes: Before escalating to litigation, California law encourages the use of IDR and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods. Either party may request IDR. Mediation and arbitration are available before litigation. Small claims court is an option for limited-dollar disputes. 
• Collections: HOAs must provide a written pre-lien notice (delinquency notice) before recording a lien for unpaid assessments. Homeowners have a right to request a payment plan before collection action begins. HOAs cannot foreclose solely for fines or attorney fees. Foreclosure requires unpaid assessments and a formal legal process.

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

Under the updated Davis-Stirling Act, HOA volunteers have more work. They need systems in place to notify homeowners of meetings and fines so they can meet their legal requirements under the act. HOA boards must also maintain document storage so they can produce up-to-date documents at homeowners’ request. 

Using HOA management software simplifies the process of fulfilling these requirements. HOA-specific software like PayHOA offers owner portals, community message boards, document storage, and mass communications tools all in one place. 

What this means for homeowners: 

For homeowners, more options exist before a dispute reaches a courtroom. The IDR process exists to resolve disagreements at the community level without legal fees on either side. Experts recommend

Further Stirling-Davis Act changes

Two other changes that legislators made to the Stirling Davis Act affect secret-ballot elections and financial disclosures. using it before escalating the dispute. 

• Director elections and certain other member votes must be conducted by secret ballot.
• Each director’s seat must be elected at least once every four years.
• Ballots must be counted by an independent inspector of elections.

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

You need a private voting system to satisfy this requirement. An electronic voting system, with the option of paper ballots, allows the HOA board to carry out secret ballots.

What this means for homeowners:

Voting in board elections is private by law, and a board cannot use open-voice votes to elect directors. If your community has been skipping formal elections, it may already be out of compliance. 

• The 2025 update requires HOAs to distribute an annual financial disclosure to all members.
• Required disclosures include a pro forma operating budget, reserve funding summary, and insurance summary.
• Disclosures must be delivered 30 to 90 days before the start of the fiscal year.

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

Record keeping becomes crucial. If you can’t produce financial documents, you could violate this law. Using HOA software with a document storage function makes it easy to comply. 

What this means for homeowners: 

Once a year, they’re legally entitled to a full financial picture of your association, including how reserves are funded. If they’ve never received one, they can request it in writing from their board.

This may be the most operationally significant recent change for California HOA boards.

• This bill caps most fines at $100, and it removes several enforcement tools that associations have traditionally relied on.
• It introduces a new IDR requirement, though the statute is ambiguous about whether IDR is now mandatory for both parties.  
• Enforcement uncertainty remains high in 2026 as boards, attorneys, and courts work through the ambiguity. 

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

It’s still too early to say what the ultimate outcome of the IDR requirement will be. Consult an experienced California HOA attorney if you have questions.

What this means for homeowners: 

On the face of it, this law is good news for homeowners. Most fines will now be $100, and the IDR requirement offers a formal dispute path before things escalate to the courtroom. However, this law is still being interpreted, so HOA members should seek guidance from a California HOA attorney. 

Electronic voting is an option, but not yet mandatory. 

• It allows opt-in electronic voting for director elections and governing document amendments.
• Assessment votes are excluded from electronic voting.
• Associations must amend election rules at least 90 days before using electronic voting.
• Paper ballot alternatives must still be offered to all members.

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

Compliant electronic voting requires you to be able to notify people of updated election rules. HOA software with mass communication capabilities and digital surveys lets you do both with one tool. 

What this means for homeowners: 

An HOA board can now offer digital voting for elections, but only after formally updating its election rules with proper notice. Homeowners still retain the right to vote by paper ballot. 

• If the initial quorum is not reached, a reconvened meeting held at least 20 days later requires only 20% of the membership, or less if the governing documents allow.
• The board must issue notice for the reconvened meeting 15 days in advance. 

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

This is good news for HOA boards–it means that quorum numbers aren’t as difficult to achieve. And one way to boost attendance is to implement HOA software that lets you send mass communications, so homeowners know when meetings are scheduled and how to stay involved when they can’t attend. 

What this means for homeowners: 

Boards that have historically struggled to hit quorum now have a workable path forward. This reduces the risk of stalled elections and deferred governance decisions that affect the whole community.

• The law expands harassment protections to include HOA managers and community association staff.
• It allows restraining orders in cases involving threats, repeated disturbances, or intimidation directed at management personnel. 

What this means for HOA board leadership: 

This rule aims to create a more civil, harmonious environment for those who work for the HOA. Hopefully, it will encourage homeowners to be more courteous to volunteers, too. 

What this means for homeowners:  

Hostile or threatening conduct directed at a property manager or HOA staff will no longer be tolerated. While homeowners in California have more rights than in many other states, they do not have the right to harass their neighborhood volunteers.