Current Status: Pending

FindHOALaw Quick Summary:

Existing law specifies the rights and requirements of a homeowner to bring an action for construction defects, including applicable standards for home construction, the statute of limitations, the burden of proof, the damages recoverable, and detailed prelitigation procedures.

This bill would establish an alternative process for certified buildings, as established by the bill. The bill would authorize a builder to obtain a certified building status for a building by undergoing private inspection, repairs, and reinspection during construction and would require the inspector to be a private licensed architect, engineer, or general contractor. The bill would prohibit future challenges to the status of the building as a certified building once certified. The bill would authorize the builder of a certified building to establish its own process for handling postconstruction claims. The bill would specify that a builder has a complete and unrestricted right to inspect and repair a certified building at times mutually agreed upon by the builder and claimant and within timeframes established by the builder. If a claimant refuses the offer of repair or prevents, restricts, delays, or frustrates access for more than 7 days from the mutually agreed upon day, the bill would deem the builder to have received a release.

Existing law requires a person claiming that the construction of their residence violates standards of construction to provide a written notice of the claim to the builder that, among other things, describes the claimed violation in reasonable detail sufficient to determine the nature and location of the claimed violation. Existing law authorizes that written notice to be provided by the claimant’s legal representative.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 910 to require additional information to be included in the notice, including, at a minimum, a description of the observable evidence of the damage believed to result from a violation, copies of any reasonably available photographs, estimates or reports relating to the damage, and the room within the home or unit in which that evidence may be found. The bill, in case of a group of homeowners or a homeowner’s association, would require the notice to be signed by each affected homeowner and for claims involving common areas, to be verified by the president of the association.

Civil Code Section 926 prohibits a builder from obtaining a release or waiver in exchange for repair work mandated by law and authorizes a claimant, at the conclusion of the repair, to file an action for violation of the applicable standard or for a claim of inadequate repair.

This bill would repeal that provision.

Existing law authorizes the builder to make a cash offer and no repair, and authorizes the builder to obtain a reasonable release in exchange for the cash payment.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 929 to authorize the builder to obtain a release related to the claims asserted in the above-described notice in exchange for either a cash payment or repair, including a full and general release.

Existing law specifies that the prelitigation procedures are to be strictly construed, and that, if the claimant does not conform with the requirements, the builder may bring a motion to stay any subsequent court action or other proceeding until the requirements are met.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 930 to authorize the builder to bring a motion to dismiss any court action or other proceeding and would require the court to grant the motion.

Existing law specifies that to make a claim for violation of construction standards applicable to construction defect claims, a homeowner need only demonstrate that the home does not meet the applicable standard, and that no further showing of causation or damages is required to meet the burden of proof, provided that the violation arises out of, pertains to, or is related to, the original construction.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 942 to require a claimant to affirmatively demonstrate that there is a violation of the applicable standard, that the violation caused appreciable, nonspeculative, present physical damage to another component part of the building, and that the violation is caused by the original construction. The bill would specify that only specified construction defect provisions in the Civil Code are the exclusive remedy for any claim or action seeking recovery of damages arising out of residential construction, design specifications, surveying, planning, supervision, testing, or observation of construction. The bill would prohibit an insurer from asserting repairs as a voluntary payment or as a payment made without the insurer’s consent, or deny counting the costs associated with those repairs.

Existing law authorizes a homeowner to recover reasonable investigative costs for each established violation.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 944 to delete that provision, and would prohibit the recovery of investigative costs. The bill would prohibit an action from being filed unless the conditions for filing an action have been met for each claimed violation. The bill would prohibit a claim for damages based on extrapolation of claims, and would limit testing of the components of the structure.

Existing law authorizes a common interest development association to institute, defend, settle, or intervene in litigation, arbitration, mediation, or administrative proceedings in matters pertaining to damage to a separate interest that the association is obligated to repair or that arises out of, or is integrally related to, damage to a separate interest that the association is obligated to maintain or repair.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 5980 to exclude construction defect claims from that authorization to pursue claims for damage to separate interests.

Existing law requires the board of directors of an association, within 30 days before filing a civil action against the developer of a common interest development for certain damages, to provide a written notice to each member of the association.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 6150 to require the notice to also include a statement, in 12-point bold type, that states, among other things, that the filing of a civil action may affect the value of the residence and the ability to sell the residence or refinance a mortgage. The bill would also require the board to provide a courtesy copy of each notice to each member to the builder. The bill would state that an association and its officers and directors shall not be liable for breach of fiduciary duty for not filing a claim or action, as specified.

Current Status: Pending

FindHOALaw Quick Summary:

Existing law requires the board of an association, if the association adopts or has adopted a policy imposing any monetary penalty on any association member for a violation of the governing documents, to adopt and distribute to each member a schedule of the monetary penalties that may be assessed for those violations. Existing law prohibits a monetary penalty for a violation of the governing documents from exceeding the lesser of the amount stated in the schedule that is in effect at the time of the violation or $100 per violation, except if the violation might result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another association member’s property.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 5850 to remove the exception if the violation might result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another association member’s property, and would, instead, except if the violation might result in, among other things, certain fire or environmental hazards, including the storage of any flammable or combustible material in a common area.

Existing law requires the board to notify a member in writing at least 10 days before a meeting to consider or impose discipline or a monetary charge on a member. Existing law requires the board to give a member the opportunity to cure a violation prior to the meeting, and prohibits the board from imposing discipline if the member cures the violation prior to the meeting or, if curing the violation would take longer than the time between the notice provided and the meeting, the member provides financial commitment to cure the violation.

This bill would amend Civil Code Section 5855 to specify that a member engaged in habitual, repeated, or continuing violations is not deemed to have cured a violation simply because the violation is not occurring at the time of the hearing.

Current Status: Pending

FindHOALaw Quick Summary:

Existing law prohibits the use of potable water for the irrigation of nonfunctional turf located on commercial, industrial, and institutional properties, other than a cemetery, and on properties of homeowners’ associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations or similar entities, as specified. Existing law requires a person or entity to be subject to civil liability or penalties by the State Water Resources Control Board, as prescribed, or to civil liability and penalties imposed by an urban water supplier, pursuant to a locally adopted ordinance or policy. Existing law authorizes a public water system, city, county, or city and county to enforce the provisions relating to the prohibition, as specified.

This bill would amend Water Code 10608.14 to require a person or entity to also be subject to civil liability or penalties imposed by a special district with water conservation enforcement authority pursuant to a locally adopted ordinance or policy. The bill would authorize a special district with water conservation enforcement authority to enforce the provisions relating to the prohibition.

**SB-1139 was amended on March 23, 2026, to limit its scope to the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

(f) Noncompliance by a person or entity with this chapter or regulations adopted thereunder shall be subject to civil liability and penalties set forth in Section 1846, or to civil liability and penalties imposed by an urban retail water supplier or special district with water conservation enforcement authority the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District pursuant to a locally adopted ordinance or policy.

(g) (1) A public water system, special district with water conservation enforcement authority, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, a city, county, or city and county may enforce the provisions of this chapter.

Current Status: Pending

FindHOALaw Quick Summary:

The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (“Act”) governs the management and operation of common interest developments, and requires an association to manage a common interest development, including requiring the association to levy regular and special assessments sufficient to perform its obligations, subject to specified limitations on increases in those assessments. The Act requires an association to distribute an annual budget report 30 to 90 days before the end of its fiscal year. Under existing law, that budget report includes, among other things, a summary of the association’s reserve accounts. The Act requires an association to perform a study of the reserve account requirements, and, as part of that study, cause to be conducted a visual inspection of the accessible areas of major components that the association is obligated to repair, replace, restore, or maintain.

This bill would, beginning January 1, 2032, amend Civil Code Section 5550 to revise the requirement to perform a study of the reserve account requirements to, among other things, include the minimum reserve contribution level to prevent the projected association reserve account balance from falling below zero over the following 30 years.

The bill would add Civil Code Section 5552 to require an association to fund the reserve account on an annual basis in at least the minimum reserve contribution level. If the association is unable to fund the reserve account in at least the minimum reserve contribution level without exceeding the above-described specified limitations on increases on assessments, then, notwithstanding those specified limitations, the bill would require the association to levy a reserve special assessment in an amount necessary to allow the association to fund to minimum contribution level without a reserve special assessment within 3 fiscal years, as provided.

**AB-2050 was amended on April 16, 2026, to limit a reserve funding special assessment to no more than once every nine years:
(b) (1) If the association is unable to fund the reserve account in at least the minimum reserve contribution level without exceeding the limitations on assessment increases set forth in Section 5605, then, notwithstanding Section 5605, the association shall levy a reserve special assessment in an amount necessary to allow the association to fund to minimum contribution level without a reserve special assessment within three nine fiscal years.
(2) All funds collected through the reserve special assessment shall be deposited in the association’s reserve account and considered reserve funds. The amount of the reserve funding special assessment shall be the amount necessary to prevent the projected association reserve account balance from falling below zero over the following 30 years.
(3) An association shall not levy a reserve funding special assessment more than once every three nine years.