(a) An owner of a separate interest in a common interest development shall not be subject to a provision in a governing document or an amendment to a governing document that prohibits the rental or leasing of any of the separate interests in that common interest development to a renter, lessee, or tenant unless that governing document, or amendment thereto, was effective prior to the date the owner acquired title to their separate interest.
(b) For purposes of this section, the right to rent or lease the separate interest of an owner shall not be deemed to have terminated if the transfer by the owner of all or part of the separate interest meets at least one of the following conditions:
(1) Pursuant to Section 62 or 480.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the transfer is exempt, for purposes of reassessment by the county tax assessor.
(2) Pursuant to subdivision (b) of, solely with respect to probate transfers, or subdivision (e), (f), or (g) of, Section 1102.2, the transfer is exempt from the requirements to prepare and deliver a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement, as set forth in Section 1102.6.
(c) Prior to renting or leasing their separate interest as provided by this section, an owner shall provide the association verification of the date the owner acquired title to the separate interest and the name and contact information of the prospective tenant or lessee or the prospective tenant’s or lessee’s representative.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to revise, alter, or otherwise affect the voting process by which a common interest development adopts or amends its governing documents
Related Links
California Legislature Further Limits a HOA’s Right to Restrict Rentals – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (September 2020)
Civil Code Section 4735. Prohibitions on Low Water-Using Plants; Artificial Turf.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of the governing documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines shall be void and unenforceable if it does any of the following:
(1) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group or as a replacement of existing turf.
(2) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic surface that resembles grass.
(3) Has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance with either of the following:
(A) A water-efficient landscape ordinance adopted or in effect pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65595 of the Government Code.
(B) Any regulation or restriction on the use of water adopted pursuant to Section 353 or 375 of the Water Code.
(b) This section shall not prohibit an association from applying landscaping rules established in the governing documents, to the extent the rules fully conform with the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, except as provided in subdivision (d), an association shall not impose a fine or assessment against an owner of a separate interest for reducing or eliminating the watering of vegetation or lawns during any period for which either of the following have occurred:
(1) The Governor has declared a state of emergency due to drought pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8558 of the Government Code.
(2) A local government has declared a local emergency due to drought pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8558 of the Government Code.
(d) Subdivision (c) shall not apply to an owner of a separate interest that, prior to the imposition of a fine or assessment described in subdivision (c), receives recycled water, as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code, from a retail water supplier, as defined in Section 13575 of the Water Code, and fails to use that recycled water for landscaping irrigation.
(e) An owner of a separate interest upon which water-efficient landscaping measures have been installed in response to a declaration of a state of emergency described in subdivision (c) shall not be required to reverse or remove the water-efficient landscaping measures upon the conclusion of the state of emergency.
Related Links
AB 786 Signed! Clarifying when HOAs May Fine Homeowners for Brown Lawns – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (October 28, 2015).
Effective Immediately! HOAs may not Prohibit Artificial Turf (Grass) – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (September 8, 2015).
AB 2104 Signed: Low-Water Using Plants; Watering During Droughts – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (September 30, 2014).
Civil Code Section 4730. Real Estate Marketing Restrictions.
(a) Any provision of a governing document that arbitrarily or unreasonably restricts an owner’s ability to market the owner’s interest in a common interest development is void.
(b) No association may adopt, enforce, or otherwise impose any governing document that does either of the following:
(1) Imposes an assessment or fee in connection with the marketing of an owner’s interest in an amount that exceeds the association’s actual or direct costs. That assessment or fee shall be deemed to violate the limitation set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 5600.
(2) Establishes an exclusive relationship with a real estate broker through which the sale or marketing of interests in the development is required to occur. The limitation set forth in this paragraph does not apply to the sale or marketing of separate interests owned by the association or to the sale or marketing of common area by the association.
(c) For purposes of this section, “market” and “marketing” mean listing, advertising, or obtaining or providing access to show the owner’s interest in the development.
(d) This section does not apply to rules or regulations made pursuant to Section 712 or 713 regarding real estate signs.
Civil Code Section 4725. Television Antennas; Satellite Dishes.
(a) Any covenant, condition, or restriction contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any interest in, a common interest development that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of a video or television antenna, including a satellite dish, or that effectively prohibits or restricts the attachment of that antenna to a structure within that development where the antenna is not visible from any street or common area, except as otherwise prohibited or restricted by law, is void and unenforceable as to its application to the installation or use of a video or television antenna that has a diameter or diagonal measurement of 36 inches or less.
(b) This section shall not apply to any covenant, condition, or restriction, as described in subdivision (a), that imposes reasonable restrictions on the installation or use of a video or television antenna, including a satellite dish, that has a diameter or diagonal measurement of 36 inches or less. For purposes of this section, “reasonable restrictions” means those restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the video or television antenna system, including all related equipment, or significantly decrease its efficiency or performance and include all of the following:
(1) Requirements for application and notice to the association prior to the installation.
(2) Requirement of a member to obtain the approval of the association for the installation of a video or television antenna that has a diameter or diagonal measurement of 36 inches or less on a separate interest owned by another.
(3) Provision for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of roofs or other building components.
(4) Requirements for installers of a video or television antenna to indemnify or reimburse the association or its members for loss or damage caused by the installation, maintenance, or use of a video or television antenna that has a diameter or diagonal measurement of 36 inches or less.
(c) Whenever approval is required for the installation or use of a video or television antenna, including a satellite dish, the application for approval shall be processed by the appropriate approving entity for the common interest development in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification to the property, and the issuance of a decision on the application shall not be willfully delayed.
(d) In any action to enforce compliance with this section, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees.
Civil Code Section 4720. Roofing Materials and Repairs.
(a) No association may require a homeowner to install or repair a roof in a manner that is in violation of Section 13132.7 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Governing documents of a common interest development located within a very high fire severity zone, as designated by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code, shall allow for at least one type of fire retardant roof covering material that meets the requirements of Section 13132.7 of the Health and Safety Code.
Civil Code Section 4715. Pet Restrictions.
(a) No governing documents shall prohibit the owner of a separate interest within a common interest development from keeping at least one pet within the common interest development, subject to reasonable rules and regulations of the association. This section may not be construed to affect any other rights provided by law to an owner of a separate interest to keep a pet within the development.
(b) For purposes of this section, “pet” means any domesticated bird, cat, dog, aquatic animal kept within an aquarium, or other animal as agreed to between the association and the homeowner.
(c) If the association implements a rule or regulation restricting the number of pets an owner may keep, the new rule or regulation shall not apply to prohibit an owner from continuing to keep any pet that the owner currently keeps in the owner’s separate interest if the pet otherwise conforms with the previous rules or regulations relating to pets.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “governing documents” shall include, but are not limited to, the conditions, covenants, and restrictions of the common interest development, and the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2001, and shall only apply to governing documents entered into, amended, or otherwise modified on or after that date.
Civil Code Section 4710. Display of Noncommercial Signs.
(a) The governing documents may not prohibit posting or displaying of noncommercial signs, posters, flags, or banners on or in a member’s separate interest, except as required for the protection of public health or safety or if the posting or display would violate a local, state, or federal law.
(b) For purposes of this section, a noncommercial sign, poster, flag, or banner may be made of paper, cardboard, cloth, plastic, or fabric, and may be posted or displayed from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the separate interest, but may not be made of lights, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or decorative component, or include the painting of architectural surfaces.
(c) An association may prohibit noncommercial signs and posters that are more than nine square feet in size and noncommercial flags or banners that are more than 15 square feet in size.
Civil Code Section 4705. Display of U.S. Flag.
(a) Except as required for the protection of the public health or safety, no governing document shall limit or prohibit, or be construed to limit or prohibit, the display of the flag of the United States by a member on or in the member’s separate interest or within the member’s exclusive use common area.
(b) For purposes of this section, “display of the flag of the United States” means a flag of the United States made of fabric, cloth, or paper displayed from a staff or pole or in a window, and does not mean a depiction or emblem of the flag of the United States made of lights, paint, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or decorative component.
(c) In any action to enforce this section, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
Civil Code Section 4700. Limits on Regulation of Separate Interests.
This article includes provisions that limit the authority of an association or the governing documents to regulate the use of a member’s separate interest. Nothing in this article is intended to affect the application of any other provision that limits the authority of an association to regulate the use of a member’s separate interest, including, but not limited to, the following provisions:
(a) Sections 712 and 713, relating to the display of signs.
(b) Sections 714 and 714.1, relating to solar energy systems.
(c) Section 714.5, relating to structures that are constructed offsite and moved to the property in sections or modules.
(d) Sections 782, 782.5, and 6150 of this code and Section 12956.1 of the Government Code, relating to racial restrictions.
(e) Section 12927 of the Government Code, relating to the modification of property to accommodate a disability.
(f) Section 1597.40 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the operation of a family day care home.
Civil Code Section 4650. Severability of Component Interests.
Any restrictions upon the severability of the component interests in real property which are contained in the declaration shall not be deemed conditions repugnant to the interest created within the meaning of Section 711. However, these restrictions shall not extend beyond the period in which the right to partition a project is suspended under Section 4610.