The legislative session ended Aug. 31, and a number of HOA bills are on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk awaiting approval.
Assembly Bill 2692, one of the more interesting bills, was signed Aug. 24 as an urgency measure and effective immediately.
Many older California HOAs were established with covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CR&Rs) containing expiration dates. In such associations, the CC&Rs expired on a date sometimes 40 years after the HOA was created, unless the membership voted to extend the document. Many HOA communities have had their CC&Rs expire because the HOA failed to act to extend the document.
After a common interest development’s CC&Rs expire, the HOA falls outside the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, because one of the basic requirements of the law is that the association must have a recorded declaration. So, after the CC&Rs expire, such associations are without a recorded declaration in force and are not governed by state law.
Many California HOAs have expired CC&Rs and so fall outside of the Davis-Stirling act. Once that happens, it takes the entire membership to unanimously agree to reimpose the declaration on the properties. This is nearly impossible for all but the smallest associations, leaving such HOAs one other option: petition Superior Court for some kind of assistance (in legal terms, that’s called declaratory relief).
This has now changed, at least for Los Angeles County HOAs, under Assembly Bill 2692.
The bill was designed to help HOAs devastated by the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fire disasters. It created a temporary statute, Civil Code 4276, which until January 1, 2028 allows LA County HOAs with expired CC&Rs to hold a membership vote to reinstate the document.
Per subpart (b) of this new temporary statute, the vote must be conducted in compliance with the Act and with the HOA’s governing documents. The vote must be of either the votes required by the expired CC&Rs, or a majority of all members if the CC&Rs do not state a percentage of approval. Once the declaration has been revived, the document can be extended by either the initial term of the CC&Rs or 20 years, whichever is less. This means that the HOA still must at some point seek membership approval of an amendment which removes the CC&Rs expiration date or converts it to automatic renewal.
While this bill was intended for HOAs devastated by the 2025 fires, it is NOT limited to only HOAs in the Pacific Palisades or Altadena communities. ANY Los Angeles County HOA with expired CC&Rs can use this statute to revive its CC&Rs and again fall under the Act’s guidance.
It is critical to note that the time window to do this is limited and ends on December 31, 2027. HOAs have just over one year to accomplish this, and it takes time to complete the membership voting process. So, LA County associations with expired CC&Rs have a temporary opportunity to rejoin the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act if they act promptly and should consult their HOA’s attorney for guidance ASAP.
While a great help to LA County HOAs, unfortunately this statute doesn’t help other California HOAs. Wouldn’t this be a great topic to raise with your legislator for NEXT year? Why shouldn’t ALL California HOAs receive this assistance?
Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Partner of Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit questions to Kelly@roattorneys.com.