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.
Laws always supersede governing documents IF they conflict and the law applies to your HOA. In California, the Davis-Stirling Act may take precedent over general corporation codes because it's specific to HOAs.
An HOA has the authority to enforce the rules and regulations of the community using the community rules, or “bylaws and covenants.” These rules are considered “agreed upon” since homeowners approve them through board-elected representatives.
The Davis-Stirling Act in California spells out the rules for open meetings, which greatly affects when and how HOA boards can have closed meetings. Section 4900 of the Act says that all HOA board meetings must be open to all association members, with a few exceptions for private sessions.
The board of directors is the cornerstone of any association, as the guiding force responsible for ensuring smooth operations. It plays a crucial role in safeguarding stakeholders' interests and overseeing the effective functioning of every organ within the association.
While you can propose rule changes through proper channels, there's no legal way to simply ignore or “get around” the HOA's covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) that you agreed to when purchasing in the community.
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.
In general, California's HOA laws protect volunteer board members from personal liability. (Civ. Code §5800; Corp. Code §5047.5(b).)
What are the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors? Keeping the organization financially secure and sustainable. Managing enterprise-wide risk. Driving effective board management. Overseeing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Building relationships with shareholders.