At least 30 days prior to recording a lien upon the separate interest of the owner of record to collect a debt that is past due under Section 5650, the association shall notify the owner of record in writing by certified mail of the following:
(a) A general description of the collection and lien enforcement procedures of the association and the method of calculation of the amount, a statement that the owner of the separate interest has the right to inspect the association records pursuant to Section 5205, and the following statement in 14-point boldface type, if printed, or in capital letters, if typed:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: IF YOUR SEPARATE INTEREST IS PLACED IN FORECLOSURE BECAUSE YOU ARE BEHIND IN YOUR ASSESSMENTS, IT MAY BE SOLD WITHOUT COURT ACTION.
(b) An itemized statement of the charges owed by the owner, including items on the statement which indicate the amount of any delinquent assessments, the fees and reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees, any late charges, and interest, if any.
(c) A statement that the owner shall not be liable to pay the charges, interest, and costs of collection, if it is determined the assessment was paid on time to the association.
(d) The right to request a meeting with the board as provided in Section 5665.
(e) The right to dispute the assessment debt by submitting a written request for dispute resolution to the association pursuant to the association’s“meet and confer” program required in Article 2 (commencing with Section 5900) of Chapter 10.
(f) The right to request alternative dispute resolution with a neutral third party pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5925) of Chapter 10 before the association may initiate foreclosure against the owner’s separate interest, except that binding arbitration shall not be available if the association intends to initiate a judicial foreclosure.
Related Links
“Pre-Lien Demands and FDCPA Concerns” – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (April, 2017)
Civil Code Section 5658. Payment Under Protest.
(a) If a dispute exists between the owner of a separate interest and the association regarding any disputed charge or sum levied by the association, including, but not limited to, an assessment, fine, penalty, late fee, collection cost, or monetary penalty imposed as a disciplinary measure, and the amount in dispute does not exceed the jurisdictional limits of the small claims court stated in Sections 116.220 and 116.221 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the owner of the separate interest may, in addition to pursuing dispute resolution pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5925) of Chapter 10, pay under protest the disputed amount and all other amounts levied, including any fees and reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees, late charges, and interest, if any, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 5650, and commence an action in small claims court pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 116.110) of Title 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) Nothing in this section shall impede an association’s ability to collect delinquent assessments as provided in this article or Article 3 (commencing with Section 5700).
Civil Code Section 5655. Priority of Assessment Payments; Receipts; Overnight Payment.
(a) Any payments made by the owner of a separate interest toward a debt described in subdivision (a) of Section 5650 shall first be applied to the assessments owed, and, only after the assessments owed are paid in full shall the payments be applied to the fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees, late charges, or interest.
(b) When an owner makes a payment, the owner may request a receipt and the association shall provide it. The receipt shall indicate the date of payment and the person who received it.
(c) The association shall provide a mailing address for overnight payment of assessments. The address shall be provided in the annual policy statement.
Civil Code Section 5650. Debt of Owner; Assessments, Late Charges, Collection Costs, Interest.
(a) A regular or special assessment and any late charges, reasonable fees and costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees, if any, and interest, if any, as determined in accordance with subdivision (b), shall be a debt of the owner of the separate interest at the time the assessment or other sums are levied.
(b) Regular and special assessments levied pursuant to the governing documents are delinquent 15 days after they become due, unless the declaration provides a longer time period, in which case the longer time period shall apply. If an assessment is delinquent, the association may recover all of the following:
(1) Reasonable costs incurred in collecting the delinquent assessment, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(2) A late charge not exceeding 10 percent of the delinquent assessment or ten dollars ($10), whichever is greater, unless the declaration specifies a late charge in a smaller amount, in which case any late charge imposed shall not exceed the amount specified in the declaration.
(3) Interest on all sums imposed in accordance with this section, including the delinquent assessments, reasonable fees and costs of collection, and reasonable attorney’s fees, at an annual interest rate not to exceed 12 percent, commencing 30 days after the assessment becomes due, unless the declaration specifies the recovery of interest at a rate of a lesser amount, in which case the lesser rate of interest shall apply.
(c) Associations are hereby exempted from interest-rate limitations imposed by Article XV of the California Constitution, subject to the limitations of this section.
Civil Code Section 5625. Assessments Based on Tax Value of Separate Interests.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), notwithstanding any provision of this act or the governing documents to the contrary, an association shall not levy assessments on separate interests within the common interest development based on the taxable value of the separate interests unless the association, on or before December 31, 2009, in accordance with its governing documents, levied assessments on those separate interests based on their taxable value, as determined by the tax assessor of the county in which the separate interests are located.
(b) An association that is responsible for paying taxes on the separate interests within the common interest development may levy that portion of assessments on separate interests that is related to the payment of taxes based on the taxable value of the separate interest, as determined by the tax assessor.
Civil Code Section 5620. Regular Assessments Exempt From Creditors.
(a) Regular assessments imposed or collected to perform the obligations of an association under the governing documents or this act shall be exempt from execution by a judgment creditor of the association only to the extent necessary for the association to perform essential services, such as paying for utilities and insurance. In determining the appropriateness of an exemption, a court shall ensure that only essential services are protected under this subdivision.
(b) This exemption shall not apply to any consensual pledges, liens, or encumbrances that have been approved by a majority of a quorum of members, pursuant to Section 4070, at a member meeting or election, or to any state tax lien, or to any lien for labor or materials supplied to the common area.
Civil Code Section 5615. Notice of Assessment Increase.
The association shall provide individual notice pursuant to Section 4040 to the members of any increase in the regular or special assessments of the association, not less than 30 nor more than 60 days prior to the increased assessment becoming due.
Civil Code Section 5610. Emergency Assessments.
Section 5605 does not limit assessment increases necessary for emergency situations. For purposes of this section, an emergency situation is any one of the following:
(a) An extraordinary expense required by an order of a court.
(b) An extraordinary expense necessary to operate, repair, or maintain the common interest development or any part of it for which the association is responsible where a threat to personal health or safety or another hazardous condition or circumstance on the property is discovered.
(c) An extraordinary expense necessary to repair or maintain the common interest development or any part of it for which the association is responsible that could not have been reasonably foreseen by the board in preparing and distributing the annual budget report under Section 5300. However, before the imposition or collection of an assessment under this subdivision, the board shall pass a resolution containing written findings as to the necessity of the extraordinary expense involved and why the expense was not or could not have been reasonably foreseen in the budgeting process, and the resolution shall be distributed to the members with the notice of assessment.
Civil Code Section 5605. Assessment Increases; Requirements and Limitations.
(a) Annual increases in regular assessments for any fiscal year shall not be imposed unless the board has complied with paragraphs (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 5300 with respect to that fiscal year, or has obtained the approval of a majority of a quorum of members, pursuant to Section 4070, at a member meeting or election.
(b) Notwithstanding more restrictive limitations placed on the board by the governing documents, the board may not impose a regular assessment that is more than 20 percent greater than the regular assessment for the association’s preceding fiscal year or impose special assessments which in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the budgeted gross expenses of the association for that fiscal year without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members, pursuant to Section 4070, at a member meeting or election.
(c)(1)(A) For an association that records its original declaration on or after January 1, 2025, notwithstanding more restrictive limitations placed on the board by the governing documents, except as provided in paragraph (3), the board shall not impose a regular assessment against an owner of a deed-restricted affordable housing unit that is more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, not to exceed 10 percent greater than the preceding regular assessment.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “percentage change in the cost of living” means the percentage change from April 1 of the prior year to April 1 of the current year in the regional Consumer Price Index for the region where the residential real property is located, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. If a regional index is not available, the California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items, as determined by the Department of Industrial Relations, shall apply.
(2) For an association that records its original declaration on or after January 1, 2025, notwithstanding any other law, except as provided in paragraph (3), the board may impose an assessment against an owner of a deed-restricted affordable housing unit that is lower than the assessment imposed against other owners according to the proportional ownership of total subdivision interests subject to assessments.
(3) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following:
(A) A development where the percentage of the units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units, that are deed-restricted affordable housing units exceeds the percentage required by an applicable zoning ordinance in effect at the time the development received final approval.
(B) A development that is located within a city, county, or city and county that does not have an applicable zoning ordinance requiring a percentage of deed-restricted affordable housing units and meet either of the following conditions:
(i) The percentage of the units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units, that are deed-restricted affordable housing exceeds 10 percent of the total number of units in the development at the time the development received final approval.
(ii) If the development met the requirements described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65912.122 of the Government Code and was approved pursuant to Section 65912.124 of the Government Code, the percentage of the units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units, that are deed-restricted affordable housing exceeds 15 percent of the total number of units in the development at the time the development received final approval.
(C) A development of 20 units or fewer.
(d) For the purposes of this section, all of the following definitions apply:
(1) “Affordable housing unit” means a unit occupied by, or available at affordable housing cost to, lower income and moderate-income households, as defined by Sections 50079.5 and 50052.5, respectively, of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) “Final approval” has the same meaning as defined in clause (ii) of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (o) of Section 65589.5 of the Government Code.
(3) “Quorum” means more than 50 percent of the members.
Civil Code Section 5600. Duty to Levy Assessments.
(a) Except as provided in Section 5605, the association shall levy regular and special assessments sufficient to perform its obligations under the governing documents and this act.
(b) An association shall not impose or collect an assessment or fee that exceeds the amount necessary to defray the costs for which it is levied.