NEW HOA RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPAIRING UTILITIES (December 2024)
Starting January 1, 2025, new legislation (SB 900) will alter the default (i.e., if not addressed in the CC&Rs) repair and replacement responsibilities for utilities (gas, heat, water, and electricity). Unless otherwise provided in the CC&Rs, or unless maintained or repaired/replaced by the utility provider, the association is responsible for repairs/replacements necessary to restore interrupted…
IRRIGATION WITH POTABLE WATER CAN BE A “NO-NO” (January 2025)
The California Legislature has set its sights on using potable water for the irrigation of “non-functional turf.” Beginning January 1, 2029, community/homeowner associations will be prohibited from using potable water (water suitable for human consumption) for the irrigation of nonfunctional turf located in the common areas, excluding exclusive use common areas. For commercial properties, the…
RESIDENT DISPUTES – TO INTERVENE OR NOT (February 2025)
In a recent case, Woolard v. Regent Real Estate Services, Inc., the California Court of Appeal held that homeowners associations and their management companies do not have a duty to intervene in and to attempt to resolve disputes between homeowners or their tenants. In that case, an altercation between tenants ensued in one of their units…
BUYER-BROKER REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS ARE NOW A MUST (February 2025)
The California Legislature has tightened the grip on brokers/agents representing buyers. Effective January 1, 2025, Civil Code section 1670.50 makes it mandatory for all agents representing a buyer to have a written buyer-broker representation agreement (“BBRA”) with the buyer. The BBRA must be executed as soon as practicable, but no later than the execution of…
CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANTS, BEWARE (March 2025)
A “heads-up” for construction consultants: you can be liable to people with whom you have no contract. A decade ago, the California Supreme Court held that architects owe a duty of care and can be liable to future property owners, even though the architect had a contract with the initial owner only, departing from the…
SECURITY DEPOSITS - LANDLORDS BECOMING PHOTOGRAPHERS (April 2025)
Landlords need to get out their cameras to comply with new legislation that amended California Civil Code section 1950.5. For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, residential landlords must take photographs of the rental unit immediately before, or at the inception of, the tenancy. Beginning April 1, 2025, residential landlords are statutorily…