California Secretary of State Filings This process legalizes the HOA and creates a public record of its existence. The filings include not only the Articles of Incorporation but can also encompass records of financial statements and any potential dissolution of the HOA.
If you recently purchased a home and did not receive a copy of your CC&Rs, contact your title company for assistance. You can also obtain a copy of your CC&Rs by visiting one of our office locations or sending us a copy order​. ​If you have questions or need further assistance, call our office at (916) 874-6334.
Once you buy a home that's part of an HOA, you automatically become a member of the HOA. HOA rules are legally binding, and you must adhere to all rules and regulations in the governing document. Yes, there are bylaws that you may not like, but there are no HOA loopholes.
The CC&Rs must be recorded with the county recorder's office in order to create certain restrictions on the property and provide recorded notice of the contractual obligations on the deed to prospective buyers. You should be able to find a copy of the CC&Rs on your county assessor's official government website.
The CC&Rs simply state that any of the homeowners subject to the CC&Rs can sue another homeowner for not following the rules. And they are perpetually enforceable unless the government overrides them (for instance, California made it illegal to prevent short-term rentals, so that rule can no longer be enforced).
This can range from balance sheets, income and expense statements, and executed contracts, to agendas and minutes of meetings of the board and membership. You have the right to inspect these records. A formal request in writing can be made to the HOA to inspect or copy any of the specified association records.
If a CC&Rs expiration clause is written within the declaration, then the covenants will expire. For example, if your declaration says that covenants have a lifespan of 20 years, then they will no longer be enforceable past that point.
In 2024, the California legislature passed an amendment that allowed online elections to be held within HOAs. It recognized that this could open the door to digital vote manipulation within the HOA's management, though, so the state mandated that each HOA election needed to have an independent inspector of elections.
What are unenforceable HOA rules? Keep you out of court. Hush up litigation. Discriminate indiscriminately. Enter your home without cause or notice. String you out on the (clothes)line. Fine you for fun. Change rules on the fly. Demand you take down your dish.