It is not uncommon for a homeowners association ("HOA") to enter into contractual arrangements with a third party where the rights and responsibilities under that arrangement are between the third party and each of the HOA's members. Under such circumstances, the HOA's involvement may be limited solely to collecting fees from the members and passing them on to the third party. Because the HOA (as an entity) is not the beneficiary of the contract, there is uncertainty as to whether the HOA has standing to assert claims against the third party on behalf of the HOA's members. 

California Civil Code Section 5980 provides a HOA with standing to initiate legal action "in its own name as the real party in interest and without joining with it the [HOA's] members" in matters relating to enforcement of the HOA's governing documents, as well as matters involving or arising out of damage to the common area and/or to a separate interest which the HOA is obligated to maintain or repair. However, there is no statutory provision clearly addressing whether a HOA has such standing in matters pertaining to the rights of the HOA's members in contracts with third parties.

Click here to continue reading our blog post entitled: 

"HOA Has Standing to Sue Developer Over Parking Rights of HOA's Members"

Civil Code Section 6150 requires that a homeowners association ("HOA") make various disclosures to its membership in the context of construction defect litigation. The HOA is further required to hold a meeting of its membership to "discuss problems that may lead to the filing" of a construction defect action, as well as the options available to the members to address those problems.

Such a meeting will likely involve communications between the HOA's construction defect attorney and individual members of the HOA whom are not the attorney's direct clients. Therefore, the extent to which those communications are protected by the attorney-client privilege may be uncertain. Fortunately, the recent case of Seahaus La Jolla Owners Association v. La Jolla View LTD addressed this issue and clarified the privileged nature of communications between a HOA's attorneys and its membership in the context of construction defect litigation...

Click here to continue reading our blog post entitled:  

"Clarifying Attorney-Client Privilege in HOA Construction Defect Litigation"

Asked - Is it common for an association to create a website and share certain information via this website with owners/residents of the community? If yes, what are the regulations?

Answered - Yes. A community website can be a valuable and effective communication tool by allowing residents to access homeowner association ("HOA") information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While there are no specific regulations regarding HOA websites, there are a few pitfalls that should be avoided when sharing community information in a public forum...

Click here to continue reading our blog post entitled:  

"Community Website for our Homeowners Association?"

Asked - A renter/tenant within our community is continually engaging in improper conduct, violating the governing documents, and causing nuisances that are impacting surrounding homeowners. Is there anything the HOA can do to evict the tenant? What steps can the Board of Directors take to prevent situations like this from happening in the future?

Answered - Improper conduct of tenants is a problematic situation commonly faced by homeowners associations ("HOAs"). Tenants often are not as involved in the affairs of the HOA as that of the HOA's members, nor do tenants feel the same sense of investment in the community. Additionally, members who rent out their homes typically prioritize rental income over the concerns of neighboring homeowners...

Click here to continue reading our blog post entitled:  

"HOA Dealing with Unruly Tenants?"

Be sure to check out Steve Tinnelly's latest article he authored for the "OC View," an educational bi-monthly magazine published by the Orange County Regional Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI).

The article, entitled "Foreclosure Face-Off," compares and contrasts the two foreclosure processes available to California HOAs in their assessment collection efforts (non-judicial and judicial foreclosure). It discusses the primary advantages and disadvantages associated with each process, and how they may be impacted by economic factors and issues unique to each delinquency. Our firm is privileged to have the opportunity to work with CAI and to contribute to its educational efforts. For more information on CAI, we encourage you to visit its website at caionline.org.

 Click here to continue reading our blog post entitled: 

"'Foreclosure Face-Off' Article Published in 'OC View' Magazine"