The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act is the California law that governs almost every homeowner association, condominium association, and planned community in the state. It sits in Civil Code Sections 4000 through 6150 and controls how your board runs meetings, holds elections, spends your assessments, disciplines owners, keeps records, and resolves disputes.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 4000 When the Act and your community’s own documents disagree, the Act wins.
Which Communities the Act Covers
The Act reaches any “common interest development” in California, meaning any property where each owner holds a separate interest in a unit or lot plus a shared stake in common areas or membership in a managing association.2California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 4100 In practice that covers condominium projects, planned developments with single-family lots and shared amenities, stock cooperatives, and community apartment projects. If your community fits any of those descriptions, Davis-Stirling applies regardless of what your governing documents say.
Which Document Controls When They Conflict
Associations run on a stack of documents, and the Act sets a strict order of priority. State and federal law come first; any governing document that contradicts the law is unenforceable. Below that sits the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, the recorded “constitution” that binds every current and future owner. Then come the Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State, followed by the bylaws, which cover internal governance like board size and officer duties. Operating rules on things like pool hours, guest parking, and pets occupy the bottom layer.
When a lower document contradicts a higher one, the higher one controls.3California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 4205 The board cannot adopt an operating rule that contradicts the CC&Rs, and the CC&Rs cannot override state law. If you spot a conflict, you can challenge the lower document’s enforcement.
Board Meetings and Open Meeting Rules
The Act contains its own Open Meeting Act starting at Civil Code Section 4900, and it works much like the transparency rules that apply to city councils.4California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 4900 The board must give owners at least four days’ notice of any regular meeting, with the agenda included. Emergency meetings can skip the notice requirement. Executive sessions outside an emergency still require two days’ notice.
You have the right to attend open board meetings and speak on any topic within the association’s authority, not just items on the agenda. The board can set reasonable time limits like three minutes per speaker, but it cannot shut you down for criticizing a board decision or raising an uncomfortable subject. Meeting minutes must be made available to members within 30 days.
The board can meet privately only for a short list of sensitive matters: active or threatened litigation, contract negotiations, disciplinary hearings against a specific owner, personnel issues, and payment plans for delinquent owners. If the board acts during a closed session, it must report a summary of that action at the next open meeting. Anything discussed behind closed doors that falls outside those categories is a violation, and a court can impose penalties of up to $500 per violation.
Elections and Secret Ballots
Director elections, assessment increases that need a membership vote, amendments to governing documents, and grants of exclusive use of common areas must all be conducted by secret ballot.5California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 5100 The board must hold an election for each seat at least once every four years, though most associations run them annually.
The association must appoint an independent inspector of elections, someone who is not a board member, to oversee the balloting, count votes, and certify results. Ballots go out by mail and come back in sealed envelopes so no one can see how an individual owner voted. The inspector opens and counts the ballots at a publicly noticed meeting.
Your Right to See Association Records
You have broad rights to inspect the association’s books and records, including budgets, financial statements, contracts, invoices, and meeting minutes.6California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 5200 The law splits these into “association records” like governing documents and member lists, and “enhanced association records” like executed contracts and bank statements. When you submit a written request, the association must produce current fiscal year records within ten business days and older records within 30 calendar days.
The association can redact genuinely private information like employee Social Security numbers or health details, and it can charge the actual cost of copying or mailing. It cannot stonewall or refuse a valid request. If a court finds the association unreasonably withheld access, you can recover attorney fees plus a civil penalty of up to $500 per denied request.
Assessments, Caps, and Reserves
The board has authority to levy regular monthly or quarterly assessments to cover operating costs and reserve contributions.7California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 5600 Two hard caps on that power come from Civil Code Section 5605, not from your association’s documents, so the board cannot amend them away.8California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 5605
- The board cannot raise the regular assessment by more than 20 percent over the prior year’s amount without majority approval from a quorum of members.
- The board cannot impose special assessments totaling more than 5 percent of the association’s budgeted gross expenses for the year without the same member approval.
If your governing documents impose tighter caps, the stricter limit controls.
Reserve Studies
At least once every three years, the board must arrange a visual inspection of all major shared components it is responsible for maintaining, such as roofs, elevators, pool equipment, and paved surfaces.9California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 5550 The reserve study identifies each component with a remaining useful life of 30 years or less, estimates its replacement cost, and lays out a funding plan. The board reviews the study annually. Skipping or underfunding this process is where many associations get into trouble, eventually hitting owners with five-figure special assessments for deferred maintenance.
Annual Budget Report
The association must distribute an annual budget report to all members 30 to 90 days before the end of its fiscal year.10California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 5300 It includes the operating budget, a summary of reserves, the current percentage of reserve funding, and a statement about whether the board anticipates needing to levy a special assessment. That report is the single best snapshot of the association’s financial health.
Fines, Hearings, and Discipline
Before the board can fine you or impose any other discipline for a rule violation, it must send written notice at least ten days before the hearing, identifying the alleged violation, the date and time of the hearing, and your right to attend and speak.11California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 5855 If you cure the violation before the hearing, the board cannot impose discipline. If fixing the problem takes longer than the notice period allows, you can provide a written financial commitment to complete the cure, and the board must accept it. After the hearing, if the board decides to discipline, it must deliver a written decision within 14 days. Any fine imposed without following these steps is unenforceable.
One critical limit protects your home: monetary penalties imposed as discipline for rule violations cannot be treated as assessments and cannot become liens against your property. The association cannot foreclose on you over an accumulation of fines for leaving trash cans out too long or painting your door the wrong color.
When the Association Can Foreclose
Unpaid assessments are a different matter. When an owner falls behind on regular or special assessments, the association can record a lien against the property. Once the lien has been recorded for at least 30 days, the association can begin enforcement, including judicial foreclosure through the courts.
Nonjudicial foreclosure, the faster path that skips a court hearing, is available in some circumstances but carries restrictions. The decision to foreclose must be made by the full board of directors in executive session and cannot be delegated to a management company or attorney. If you receive a lien notice, treat it with the same urgency as a mortgage default, because the end result can be the same.
What the Board Cannot Restrict
Approval of architectural changes to your unit or exclusive-use common area must be fair, reasonable, and prompt. The rules must state a maximum time for responding, and a denial must come in writing with reasons and a chance for reconsideration at an open board meeting. Beyond that general standard, Davis-Stirling and related California statutes carve out areas where the association has limited or no authority.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Any CC&R provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation of an EV charging station in your designated parking space is void. Reasonable restrictions are allowed, but “reasonable” means restrictions that do not significantly increase cost or decrease performance. An application the association does not deny in writing within 60 days is automatically approved.
Accessory Dwelling Units
CC&Rs that effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict ADUs or junior ADUs on lots zoned for single-family use are void.12California Department of Housing and Community Development. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook March 2026 Associations can impose certain design and aesthetic standards, but as of mid-2025 those restrictions cannot include any fees or financial requirements, and the association cannot inject itself into the local permit process.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule preempts association restrictions on satellite dishes one meter or smaller and television antennas installed in areas you exclusively use, like a balcony or yard.13Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule The association can still regulate placement on common-area rooftops or shared exterior walls and can enforce restrictions genuinely necessary for safety. A blanket ban on dishes within your patio or balcony is federally unenforceable.
Rental Restrictions
You cannot be prohibited from renting out your unit by a CC&R amendment adopted after you purchased.14California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 4740 A restriction already in the CC&Rs when you bought in applies to you. If the association later amends to add or tighten rental restrictions, existing owners are grandfathered. Before leasing, you must give the association proof of your purchase date and the tenant’s name and contact information.
Resale Disclosures
Selling a unit in a common interest development triggers mandatory disclosures that must reach the buyer as soon as practicable before transfer of title.15California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 4525 The seller must deliver copies of all governing documents, the most recent annual budget report and reserve study summary, a statement showing the current assessment amounts and any balance owed, and a copy of any unresolved violation notices. If the association is not incorporated, the seller must say so in writing.
Buyers should read these disclosures carefully. The reserve funding percentage tells you whether the association has been saving enough for major repairs. The assessment delinquency report tells you whether neighbors are paying their share. A community with low reserves and high delinquency is a community headed for a special assessment, and that cost will land on you the moment escrow closes.
Resolving Disputes Before Court
The Act strongly favors keeping disputes out of court and sets a two-stage process most owners and associations must follow before suing over enforcement of the governing documents. The first stage is internal dispute resolution, an informal meet-and-confer run by the association at no cost to the owner. Either side can request it. Many disputes driven by miscommunication end here.
If the internal process fails, the parties must attempt alternative dispute resolution, typically mediation or arbitration with a neutral third party. When a lawsuit is eventually filed, the filer must include a certificate confirming that ADR was completed, that the other side refused, or that emergency court relief is necessary. A suit filed without that certificate can be challenged and dismissed. The prevailing party in an enforcement action is entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs, which gives both sides a strong financial incentive to resolve matters early rather than gamble on a judge.