The Guide to California COA Laws

Common areas in a condo normally include the roof, exterior walls, structural supports, elevators, hallways, and the shared plumbing and electrical running through the building. An “exclusive use” common area is a common area reserved for the exclusive use of one unit — typically a balcony, patio, or deck. An assigned parking space can also be an exclusive use common area if the declaration designates it as such.

Unless the association’s CC&Rs say otherwise, the association is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining the common areas. Also, unless they state otherwise, the owner retains exclusive use of the common area, but the COA must repair or replace it when necessary. This divide, introduced by AB 968 and effective January 1, 2017, is one reason so many California condo boards remain unclear about the law regarding balconies.

Maintenance and insurance coverage are separate questions. Section 4775 decides who must handle repairs, not which policy pays for a loss. The association is responsible for repair and maintenance for issues related to wood-destroying pests in the common area, unless their declaration says otherwise (Civil Code § 4780). As of January 1, 2025, the association must also repair interrupted gas, heat, water, or electrical service that originates in the common area, even where the line extends into a unit (Civil Code § 4775, as amended by SB 900).

What it means for COAs: Condo boards cannot leave repair or replacement issues to unit owners, even in exclusive use common areas. HOA financial tools help boards maintain adequate reserves for these expenses.

California COA laws require condo associations with buildings containing three or more attached multifamily units to inspect the load-bearing components and waterproofing of exterior elevated elements that are supported substantially by wood and are more than six feet above the ground. The first deadline for condo inspection (not planned developments) passed on January 1, 2025, and inspections must be repeated at least every nine years. To be adequate under the law, the inspection must be conducted by a licensed structural engineer, civil engineer, or architect. The inspector must examine a statistically significant sample of the element (95% confidence, plus or minus 5% margin) and submit a written report on the element’s physical condition and remaining useful life. The report must then be incorporated into the COA’s reserve study.

If an element poses an immediate safety threat, the COA board must restrict access until repairs have been inspected and approved by the local enforcement agency.

Concrete and steel balconies generally fall outside SB 326, but they still require the visual inspection that every reserve study must conduct during its three-year cycle.

What it means for COAs: If your COA has not conducted a valid inspection of these elements already, it’s already out of compliance, and the situation must be corrected as soon as possible. After an inspection is done, PayHOA’s HOA bookkeeping service can help boards incorporate the results into their planned reserve funding.

Because a condo association owns and insures the building structure, its master insurance program is more consequential than it would be in a planned development. Individual unit owners typically carry an HO-6 policy for the interior of their unit. The COA’s annual budget report must include a summary of the association’s property, general liability, earthquake, flood, and fidelity insurance, including the insurer, type, policy limit, and deductible for each, with the statutory disclaimer in bold.

If the association carries at least $2 million in general liability coverage for projects with 100 or fewer units, or $3 million for larger projects, a statutory liability shield channels tort claims arising from common-area ownership to the association rather than to individual owners. Fidelity coverage isn’t optional. Civil Code § 5806 requires associations to carry crime insurance, employee dishonesty coverage, fidelity bond coverage, or the equivalent for directors, officers, and employees in an amount equal to or greater than the association’s combined reserves plus three months of assessments. The coverage must also protect against computer fraud and funds transfer fraud, and if the association uses a managing agent, the policy must cover dishonest acts by that agent and its employees. Self-insurance doesn’t satisfy the requirement.

What it means for COAs: Condo associations are responsible for carrying adequate insurance and including the details of those policies in their annual budget. With HOA document storage tools, boards can maintain secure records of their insurance program.

All board meetings, save for portions properly held in executive session, must be open to COA members. Unit owners are entitled to at least four days’ written notice, including an agenda, for regular board meetings. Executive session meetings require a minimum of two days’ notice. Board meetings cannot include discussion or taking action regarding anything not listed on the agenda, except in certain emergency situations. Executive sessions are limited to topics concerning personnel matters, litigation, contract negotiations, member discipline, and certain member payment information.

Members are permitted to attend, observe, and speak during the open portion of any meeting, including those held electronically. Any unit owner who believes that the board violated the Open Meeting Act may seek an injunction and recover statutory penalties of up to $500 per violation (Civil Code § 4955).

What it means for COAs: California COA laws reserve unit owners’ rights to be informed of and to participate in every board meeting, except executive sessions dealing with a limited range of sensitive issues. With HOA mass communication and meeting notices, boards can automate these notices.

All director elections, recall elections, and votes on assessment increases or governing document amendments have to be conducted by secret ballot. To monitor the process, COAs must select an independent inspector of elections who is not a director, a candidate, or a relation to either. The board must send a general notice of the nomination procedures, including the nomination deadline, at least 30 days before the nomination deadline. Notice of ballot logistics, including the date, time, and physical address where ballots must be submitted, must be sent at least 30 days before the distribution of ballots.

As of January 1, 2025, COAs may adopt rules allowing electronic secret ballots with safeguards for voter authentication and ballot security for most elections. However, electronic voting cannot be used for assessment elections.

What it means for COAs: Elections must follow a specific process to ensure unit owners are well-informed and that their votes and privacy are protected. In instances where electronic voting is permitted, PayHOA’s HOA voting and surveys maintain security and anonymity.

Membership votes are not required for a condo board to raise regular assessments by up to 20% over the prior fiscal year’s regular assessment. Boards can also levy special assessments totaling up to 5% of the budgeted gross expenses for that fiscal year without taking a membership vote. Anything above either of those thresholds requires membership approval by a majority of a quorum. The Civil Code defines a quorum as more than 50% of members regardless of what the COA’s governing documents say.

California COA laws allow narrow emergency exceptions to these rules only for a court order, an imminent threat to health or safety, or a previously unforeseen expense identified after the budget was adopted (Civil Code § 5610).

What it means for COAs: For condos, this statute carries particularly high stakes. A failed balcony or roof can force a special assessment, while the 5% no-vote ceiling is often well below the cost of a major structural repair. Major structural repairs will, in most instances, require a membership vote.

In California, associations must conduct a reserve study with a diligent visual site inspection at least once every three years, review the study annually, and adjust as needed. The reserve study must list major components with a remaining useful life under 30 years, estimate the remaining life and replacement cost for each, and calculate the annual contribution required to cover those future costs.

The COA’s reserve funding plan must be adopted in an open meeting, along with a schedule of any assessment changes needed to fulfill the plan. Each annual budget report must include a reserve funding disclosure summary that includes the current reserve balance, percent funded, replacement cost estimates, and remaining useful life for each component. For condos specifically, the mandated SB 326 inspection findings are incorporated into the reserve plan.

What it means for COAs: Condo associations are obligated to follow a reserve study and reserve funding process that includes the findings of SB 326 inspections. PayHOA’s HOA bookkeeping service helps boards track and report on reserve funding.

From the time they are levied, assessments become a personal debt of the unit owner. The association may recover reasonable collection costs, a late charge capped at 10% of the delinquent assessment or $10, whichever is greater, and interest at up to 12% per year, accruing 30 days after the assessment becomes due.

California COA laws mandate that a board must send the unit owner notice by certified mail with an itemized statement of the amount owed, offer internal dispute resolution, and get approval by majority vote in an open meeting before recording a lien. An association cannot foreclose on a lien for assessment debts arising on or after January 1, 2006, unless the delinquent amount reaches $1,800, excluding accelerated assessments, late charges, fees, interest, and attorney fees, or the assessments are more than 12 months delinquent. Once that threshold is met, foreclosure can proceed at least 30 days after the lien is recorded, judicially or non-judicially.

What it means for COAs: Assessment collections, late charges, and liens must follow a defined process, including providing owners with ample notice and an opportunity to resolve the issue. Using HOA financial tools to send invoices, collect payments, and track debts helps boards stay compliant with these laws.

The condo board is obligated to give a unit owner at least 10 days’ written notice of a hearing, including the date, time, place, and nature of the alleged violation, before imposing a fine. The impacted member is entitled to attend the hearing, address the board, and request that the hearing be held in a closed-door executive session. If the member remedies the violation before the hearing, including by making a financial commitment to cure, the board cannot impose any discipline.

As of June 30, 2025, fines are capped at $100 per violation unless the board makes a written finding at an open meeting that the violation may result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member’s property. Boards cannot charge a late fee or interest on a monetary fine. The board must provide written notice of their decision within 14 days of the hearing.

What it means for COAs: Fine schedules that were adopted before mid-2025 are very likely out of date, and there are few exceptions to the $100 fine cap. HOA violation tracking tools help associations stay inside the fine schedule.

California COA laws mandate that condo associations must offer a fair, reasonable, and expeditious internal dispute resolution procedure for disputes between the association and a member pertaining to the Davis-Stirling Act, the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law, or the COA’s governing documents. A member or an association may invoke internal dispute resolution proceedings by making a written request to meet. The association must participate if the member requests it, while the member may decline if the association makes the request. An association cannot charge a member a fee to participate in internal dispute resolution, and it cannot file a lawsuit against a member if that member requested internal dispute resolution and the association refused or neglected to respond.

If the COA does not have a qualifying procedure defined in its governing documents, the default procedure in Civil Code § 5915 applies automatically.

What it means for COAs: The law protects unit owners’ right to seek internal dispute resolution from the association.

Members are entitled to inspect and copy association records, including financial statements, budgets, executed contracts, board and membership meeting minutes, and membership lists. Boards must make records that were prepared during the current fiscal year available within 10 business days, while they have 30 calendar days to produce records from the two prior fiscal years.

As of January 1, 2026, SB 410 expanded the definition of association records to include the mandated exterior elevated element inspector’s report. But certain types of records are excluded from member inspection rights, including privileged attorney-client communications, personnel records, and other members’ personal financial information.

The association can charge the member who requested the documents the direct cost of copying, and it can provide electronic copies only if the format preserves redactions and prevents changes.

What it means for COAs: Boards must be prepared to comply with members’ records requests within the allotted time. HOA document storage keeps records secure and easy to pull up when a request lands.

Certain member rights regarding sustainability measures are protected by California COA laws. Associations cannot include provisions in their governing documents that prohibit or unreasonably restrict the installation and use of electric vehicle charging stations in a member’s own parking space. If the board does not issue a decision on a member application for an EV charging station within 60 days, it’s automatically approved unless the delay results from a reasonable request for additional information. The unit owner must carry liability insurance for the EV charging station, but as of January 1, 2026, the association can no longer require the owner to name it as an “additional insured” on that policy.

Using solar power devices is more complex in a condo because the roof is usually a common area. In California, a unit owner installing a solar system must first notify every other unit owner in the building. The association can require an equitable allocation of roof space among the owners who share that roof.

If a rental restriction is adopted after an owner purchased their unit, it cannot be enforced unless the owner agrees to be bound by it. Additionally, COAs do not have the right to prohibit rentals outright and cannot set a rental cap below 25% of separate interests, though they may still prohibit short-term rentals of 30 days or less. An owner who resides in an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit while renting out the separate interest is not subject to the cap.

What it means for COAs: Boards do have a say in the size, placement, and other details of EV charging stations, but they cannot fully ban them. Solar installations require more coordination, but owners still have the right to pursue them.