California HOA rules and regulations come from two places: the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, which is state law, and your community’s own governing documents. State law sets the ceiling. When the two conflict, state law wins, and a long list of homeowner rights — solar panels, drought-tolerant yards, rentals, assistance animals, political signs — cannot be signed away by any CC&R, no matter how the document is drafted.
What follows is what the statute actually requires of your board, and where it draws lines the board cannot cross.
What Governs Your HOA
The Davis-Stirling Act lives at Civil Code sections 4000 through 6150 and covers how associations run meetings, adopt rules, collect assessments, and resolve disputes.1California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4000 – Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act Directors owe a fiduciary duty under Corporations Code section 7231 to act in good faith and with the care a reasonably prudent person would use. They get legal protection when they rely in good faith on advice from attorneys, accountants, or qualified committees. That protection disappears when a director acts with a personal agenda or ignores obvious problems.
Below state law, your community operates on a stack of private documents. The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions sits on top. CC&Rs are recorded with the county and attach to the property title, which is why they bind every future buyer whether or not that buyer read them.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4525 – Disclosures to Prospective Purchasers Amending them typically requires a membership vote. Bylaws handle corporate structure — how directors are elected, meeting frequency, quorum, officer appointments.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Homeowners Associations Operating rules handle the day-to-day: pool hours, parking permits, pet limits. To be valid, an operating rule must be in writing, within the board’s authority, consistent with the CC&Rs and state law, adopted in good faith, and reasonable.4California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 4350 – Operating Rules Fail any of those and the rule is unenforceable.
Rules Your HOA Cannot Enforce Against You
The Davis-Stirling Act carves out homeowner rights that no governing document can override.
Drought-Tolerant Landscaping and Artificial Turf
Associations cannot prohibit drought-tolerant plants or artificial turf that resembles grass. Any provision banning low-water landscaping as a category, or blocking the replacement of natural turf with synthetic alternatives, is void.5California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 4735 – Architectural and Landscaping Guidelines During a governor-declared or local drought emergency, the association also cannot fine you for reducing or stopping lawn watering.
Solar Panels
Any restriction that effectively prohibits a solar energy system is void under Civil Code section 714. A board can impose design requirements, but only if those requirements do not raise the system cost by more than $1,000 or cut its efficiency by more than 10 percent.6California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 714 – Solar Energy Systems The same thresholds apply to solar water heaters and pool heating systems. The dollar line is bright, and boards that demand costly relocations or shading studies risk having the whole restriction thrown out.
Flags and Signs
Civil Code section 4705 protects display of the United States flag on your property or exclusive-use common area when the flag is made of fabric, cloth, or paper. Flags depicted in lights, paint, or landscaping material can still be prohibited. Section 4710 separately prohibits associations from banning noncommercial signs, posters, and banners on your property. Signs cannot exceed nine square feet; banners cannot exceed 15.7California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4710 – Protected Uses
Rentals
Civil Code section 4741 prohibits rules that ban or unreasonably restrict rentals. An association can cap rental units at no fewer than 25 percent of the community’s total units — it cannot go below that floor.8California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 4741 – Ownership and Transfer of Property Short-term rentals of 30 days or less (Airbnb, Vrbo) can be banned outright if the restriction is in the governing documents. Owners who bought before a new rental restriction took effect are generally grandfathered.9California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4740 – Property Use and Maintenance
Accessory Dwelling Units
Civil Code section 4751 voids any CC&R provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts an ADU or junior ADU on a lot zoned for single-family use, provided the unit meets state building standards. Associations can impose “reasonable restrictions,” but the statute reads that narrowly: the restriction cannot meaningfully increase construction costs or effectively prevent the unit from being built.
Federal Rules That Trump the CC&Rs
Two federal rules regularly override California HOA restrictions.
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule prohibits associations from enforcing any restriction that unreasonably delays installation, raises cost, or blocks adequate signal reception for satellite dishes one meter or smaller, television antennas, and certain wireless antennas.10eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals, Direct Broadcast Satellite Services, or Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services The only exception is a clearly defined safety restriction applied without discrimination. A board can require secure mounting; it cannot require placement where the dish loses signal.
The federal Fair Housing Act requires associations to grant reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities. Assistance animals are the most common example. Even under a blanket pet ban in the CC&Rs, an association must allow a service animal or emotional support animal when the resident has a qualifying disability and the animal provides disability-related assistance. The board can deny only if the accommodation would impose an undue financial burden or fundamentally alter operations.
How Much the Board Can Raise Your Dues
The board sets the annual budget, but the Davis-Stirling Act caps how far it can push assessments without going to the membership. A regular assessment cannot be increased by more than 20 percent over the prior fiscal year’s amount without a majority vote of a quorum of members. The same approval requirement applies to special assessments that, in total, exceed 5 percent of the association’s budgeted gross expenses for the year.11California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 5605 – Assessment Increases Emergency exceptions exist for events like sudden structural failure, but the threshold is high and the board must document the emergency.
These caps matter more than most owners realize. A board facing deferred maintenance — roof replacement, plumbing overhaul — may need hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the reserve fund is thin, the choices are a special assessment that needs member approval (often rejected) or borrowing against association assets. Either creates financial exposure for every owner.
The annual budget report is your window into which way the community is heading. Associations must send it 30 to 90 days before the end of the fiscal year, with a pro forma operating budget, a reserve summary, the reserve funding plan, and a statement on whether a special assessment is anticipated.12California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 5300 – Annual Budget Report It must also disclose outstanding loans, insurance summaries, and any decision to defer repairs on a major component with a remaining life of 30 years or less. A community with a 30-percent-funded reserve is a community where a large special assessment is probably coming.
Fines and the Hearing You’re Owed
Before an association can impose any monetary penalty, it must adopt and distribute a schedule of fines to all members as part of the annual policy statement. Fines are capped at $100 per violation unless the violation creates a health or safety risk to common area or another owner’s property. For health and safety violations, the board can impose a higher penalty from its published schedule, but it must first make a written finding at an open meeting describing the specific health or safety impact.13California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 5850 – Monetary Penalties
Due process is not optional. When the board identifies a violation, it must send written notice of a hearing at least 10 days before the disciplinary meeting. At the hearing, you have the right to address the board in executive session and present your side. The board must then deliver a written decision within 15 days explaining any fines or other consequences. Skip any of these steps and the enforcement action is legally vulnerable. Fines rushed through without a proper hearing get overturned in dispute resolution regularly.
When the HOA Can Lien or Foreclose
Unpaid assessments carry the most serious consequences on the list. Once you fall behind, the association can record a lien against your property. Before recording, it must give at least 30 days’ written notice by certified mail, including an itemized statement of what you owe and a description of its collection procedures.14California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 5730 – Lien for Assessments Assessments become delinquent 15 days after the due date unless the governing documents provide a longer grace period.
Foreclosure has a threshold. If unpaid assessments reach $1,800 or become more than 12 months delinquent, the association can foreclose, judicially or nonjudicially. The $1,800 figure excludes late fees, attorney’s fees, interest, and collection costs, so by the time foreclosure begins the total owed is typically much higher. Before initiating foreclosure, the association must participate in alternative dispute resolution if you request it. Nonjudicial foreclosure cannot be used to collect fines or penalties alone — only unpaid assessments.
Bankruptcy interacts with this. An automatic stay temporarily halts collection. A Chapter 7 discharge eliminates personal liability for pre-bankruptcy assessments, but the association’s lien against the property survives the discharge, and post-bankruptcy assessments remain your personal obligation. A Chapter 13 plan should cover the delinquent balance with interest, typically over three to five years.
How New Rules Must Be Adopted
When a board wants to adopt, amend, or repeal an operating rule, Civil Code section 4360 requires written notice of the proposed change at least 28 days before making the change. The notice must include the full text of the proposed rule and a description of its purpose.15California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4360 – Operating Rules The board must vote at a board meeting and consider member comments before deciding. After adoption, the board has 15 days to deliver notice of the change to all members. A rule adopted without those steps is invalid. If your board suddenly posts a new parking policy without the 28-day notice, that rule is unenforceable even if the underlying policy sounds reasonable.
Architectural Review Requests
If your community requires board approval before you modify your property, the procedures in Civil Code section 4765 apply. The process must be fair, reasonable, and prompt, with clear deadlines for the board’s response.16California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 4765 – Procedures for Architectural Review The decision cannot be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, and cannot violate any building code, land-use law, or fair housing requirement.
A denial must come with a written explanation and instructions for requesting reconsideration. Reconsideration happens at an open board meeting. Associations must also send an annual notice describing what kinds of changes require approval and how to apply. Boards that skip the written-denial requirement or refuse reconsideration open themselves to enforcement actions by the homeowner.
Meetings, Elections, and Records
The Davis-Stirling Act carries its own open meeting law. Boards cannot take action on any item of business outside a properly noticed board meeting. Notice and agenda must go out at least four days before a regular meeting. Emergency meetings are exempt from the four-day notice but can only be called when the circumstances could not have been reasonably foreseen. Members have the right to attend all board meetings other than executive sessions, and the board must allow member comment at every open meeting.
Board elections, assessment votes, amendments to governing documents, and votes granting exclusive use of common area all require secret ballots. Board elections must happen at least once every four years, at the expiration of each director’s term.17California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 5100 – Elections An independent inspector of elections oversees the ballot process. These requirements apply to both incorporated and unincorporated associations and override any conflicting provisions in the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law.
Resolving a Dispute Before Court
The Davis-Stirling Act builds two layers of dispute resolution to work through before litigation.
Every association must maintain an internal dispute resolution process under Civil Code sections 5900 through 5920. If you invoke it, the association must participate. The procedure must set prompt deadlines, let both sides explain their positions, and produce a written resolution that becomes judicially enforceable when signed by both parties. Members cannot be charged a fee to participate.18California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 5900 – Internal Dispute Resolution You can bring an attorney at your own cost.
If internal resolution fails, neither side can file an enforcement lawsuit without first attempting alternative dispute resolution. Either party starts the process by serving a Request for Resolution describing the dispute and asking for mediation or another form of ADR. The receiving party has 30 days to accept or reject; silence counts as rejection.19California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 5925-5965 – Alternative Dispute Resolution Prerequisite to Civil Action ADR usually involves a professional mediator and can be binding or nonbinding depending on what the parties agree to. Skipping this step and going straight to court can trigger penalties, including paying the other side’s attorney’s fees.