LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – July 2026

AB-739 (Jackson) – Association Fees

This bill, originally introduced last year, would have required a managing agent of a common interest development to hold a real estate broker license issued by the DRE (Department of Real Estate). The bill was amended on January 5, 2026 and January 15, 2026, changing gears completely to require the board of directors of the association to review, on an annual basis, fees charged by the managing agent, as specified. The bill would also require the association to deliver through electronic means a statement of these fees upon written request by a member. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 75-0 and has been referred to the Senate Housing and Judiciary committees. 

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-956 (Quirk-Silva) – ADUs

This bill was amended in May to expand the prohibition of unreasonable restrictions on ADUs/JADUs from planned developments to all common interest development lots zoned to allow single-family homes. The bill also increases the number of ADUs permitted on a lot subject to ministerial review from one to two detached ADUs. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 58-4 and the Housing and Local Government committees on its way to the Appropriations Committee.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-1184 (Patterson/DeMaio) – Governance

This bill, originally introduced last year, has been amended and now appears to be the follow-up to AB-21, a “kitchen sink” bill which failed to move last year. This bill would: 

• Require the general notice for an emergency rule change to include the text of the rule change, a description of its purpose and effect, and the date when the rule change will expire. 

• Prohibit a majority of the directors of the board, outside an authorized meeting, from using a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business within the board’s subject matter jurisdiction, except in an emergency. The bill would also exempt from this prohibition certain informational and ministerial communications. 

• Require the board, if the association becomes involved in litigation, to provide notice of the occurrence as part of the annual budget report distributed to members, as prescribed. 

• Require, if open session meetings of the board are electronically recorded using audio, or audio and video, that the recordings be considered a record of the association and be made available to members on the same basis as written meeting minutes. The bill would require notice to be given at the beginning of every open session of the board that the meeting is being recorded. 

• Prohibit the imposition of a charge for minutes that are distributed electronically. The bill would allow minutes posted on the association website to meet minute distribution requirements. The bill would require the minutes, or proposed minutes, to include specified information, including the date and time of the meeting. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 69-0. It passed out of the Senate Housing Committee 10-0 and is headed to the Judiciary Committee.

COMMENTS: The most impactful requirement of this bill is that it would eliminate the email exception to the Open Meeting Act, which was expressly ruled as legal by the appellate court in the LNSU v. Alta Del Mar case.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-1684 (Ward) – Cooling Systems

This bill would make any provision of the governing documents, architectural guidelines, or policies void and unenforceable if the provision prohibits or restricts the installation, upgrade, replacement, or use of a cooling system. The bill would also make any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any, among other specified agreements, deed that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation, upgrade, replacement, or use of a cooling system, void and unenforceable. The bill would make it unlawful for an association to prohibit or restrict a member from installing, upgrading, replacing, or using a cooling system in the member’s separate interest, or to take other specified actions in connection with the installation, upgrade, replacement, or use of a cooling system, subject to specified exceptions. Finally, the bill would make an association that willfully violates these provisions liable to the member for actual damages occasioned thereby, and for a civil penalty paid to the member in an amount not to exceed $2,000. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 74-0. It passed out of the Senate Housing (9-0) and Judiciary (13-0) committees and is headed to the Senate floor.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-1892 (Davies) – Maintenance and Elections

This is a cleanup bill to 2024’s SB-900. Under SB-900, an association is responsible for repairs and replacements necessary to restore interrupted gas, heat, water, or electrical services that begin in the common area even if the matter extends into another area, as specified, unless the utility service that failed is required to be maintained, repaired, or replaced by a public, private, or other utility service provider, or otherwise provided in the declaration. This bill would attempt to clarify that requirement by replacing “that begin in the common area” with “when the interruption begins in.” Unrelated to SB-900, the bill would change the 90-day notice for an association intending to use election by acclamation to 30 days. And finally, the bill would clarify that the delivery of electronic ballots is only to be delivered to members who are voting electronically. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 72-1. It passed out of the Senate Housing (10-0) and Judiciary (13-0) committees and is headed to the Senate floor.

COMMENT: This bill makes a few minor but important tweaks to the Davis-Stirling Act, the most impactful of which would be reducing the initial notice of intent to use acclamation from 90 to 30 days, which would better align with the overall election timeline and not unnecessarily extend the time it takes to conduct an election allowing for the possibility of acclamation. 

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-1903 (Wicks/Becker) – Construction Defects

This bill would amend multiple civil code provisions related to construction defect actions, including Davis-Stirling Act provisions (including Civil Code Sections 5980 and 6150). Among other changes, it would create an alternative process for construction defect actions for “certified buildings” (where the builder obtains a private inspection by a licensed architect, engineer, or general contractor) and would modify the content and verification requirements for construction defect notices. For HOAs, the bill would require (1) notices involving separate interests to be signed by each affected homeowner and (2) notices involving common areas to be verified by the association’s president.  

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 70-0 and was heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 30, 2026 (where it passed 13-0). It is now headed back to the Senate Housing Committee. Significant amendments on June 11, 2026, completely reshaped the bill: The voluntary “certified building” program was eliminated, the court’s mandate to dismiss non-conforming claims was eased to a permissive stay of proceedings, and the total ban on Stearman investigative costs was rolled back to allow cost recovery, provided the builder is given 21 days’ notice to attend testing.

COMMENT: While the elimination of the “certified building” program preserves the standard Right to Repair Act framework, the bill still represents a substantial hurdle for HOAs. The path to litigation remains restricted, but the restoration of Stearman investigative cost recovery—conditioned on strict 21-day-notice windows—gives HOAs a path to fund necessary expert testing. Echo has taken a position to formally oppose this bill.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-2035 (Dixon) – Amendments

This bill would lower the threshold for petitioning the superior court to reduce the percentage of votes necessary for an amendment to more than 37 percent of the votes if the court finds that the common interest development is a senior citizen housing development, as defined, the separate interests in the common interest development meet specified criteria, and the declaration has not been amended in at least 35 years. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 73-0. It passed out of the Senate Housing (10-0) and Judiciary (13-0) committees and is headed to the Senate floor.

COMMENT: While the concept works (for the HOA sponsoring the bill), the bill applies so narrowly there would be no benefit for 99.9% of HOAs.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-2050 (Caloza) – Reserve Accounts

This bill would, beginning January 1, 2032, revise the requirement to perform a study of the reserve account requirements to, among other things, include the minimum reserve contribution level to prevent the projected association reserve account balance from falling below zero over the following 30 years. The bill would require an association to fund the reserve account on an annual basis in at least the minimum reserve contribution level. If the association is unable to fund the reserve account in at least the minimum reserve contribution level without exceeding the above-described specified limitations on increases on assessments, then, notwithstanding those specified limitations, the bill would require the association to levy a reserve special assessment in an amount necessary to allow the association to fund to minimum contribution level without a reserve special assessment within nine (9) fiscal years, as provided. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 59-7. It was amended in the Senate on June 18, 2026, to eliminate a previous provision allowing HOAs nine fiscal years to phase in the funding via an uncapped special assessment. Instead, the current version implements the 15% annual budget transfer mandate and subjects any additional required reserve funding assessments to standard voting caps. The bill passed out of the Senate Housing (7-1) and Judiciary (13-0) committees and has been referred to the Appropriations Committee.

COMMENT: The bill seeks to ensure that HOAs proactively fund the long-term maintenance of their essential infrastructure. By introducing a mandatory 15% budget transfer fallback and utilizing standard voting guardrails for larger shortfalls, the amended bill establishes a firmer floor for mandatory savings while keeping homeowners involved in approving major, cap-exceeding special assessments. 

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-2439 (Blanca Rubio) – Governing Documents: Assessments

This bill was gutted and amended. As amended, it would prohibit governing documents from imposing restrictions on a member’s use of public roads. It would also make changes related to collections, including requiring associations to notify members by certified mail of a change in the person authorized to receive payment of assessments within 60 days of the change. Finally, it would add potential liability for “boards” that fail to comply with statutory collection procedures (including reconveyance fees, owner costs tied to the noncompliance, and a $1,000 civil penalty). 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 74-0. It passed out of the Senate Housing (8-1) and Judiciary (10-0) committees and is headed to the Senate floor.

COMMENT: The latest amendments establish a more reasonable, tiered notification process for payment changes rather than an immediate certified mail requirement. Additionally, they narrow the board’s exposure to the $1,000 civil penalty by applying a “three-strikes” rule within a five-year window, rather than penalizing an isolated minor error. However, a third violation remains a significant risk, as it not only penalizes the board directly but also triggers a mandatory disclosure of the failure to the entire membership.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-2579 (Petrie-Norris) – Member Discipline

This is a cleanup bill to last year’s AB-130. The bill would amend Civil Code Sections 5850 and 5855, and add 5851, regarding member discipline. It was significantly amended on April 29, 2026. The deleted exception for the $100 fine cap for “adverse health or safety impacts on the common area or another association member’s property” has been added back. And now, instead of a list of additional specified exceptions in the Davis-Stirling Act (including environmental hazards, architectural improvements, pets/animals, maintenance, activities in the common area, violent acts, and short-term rental policy violations), a list would be developed and published by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) pursuant to newly added 5851. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Judiciary (12-0) and Housing (12-0) committees and, since there would be a fiscal impact to the state, it was referred to the Appropriations Committee. It was then ordered to the inactive file at the request of the author.

COMMENT: The fact that the DRE would be involved made this a more difficult process. The bill will not be going anywhere this year.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-2692 (Irwin) – Reinstatement of Terminated Declarations (LA County)

This bill would add Civil Code Section 4276 to allow Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) that have been terminated by operation of a declaration’s stated term to be reinstated in Los Angeles County if approved by the percentage of members required by the CC&Rs for extending the term. It would be limited to Los Angeles County and would sunset on January 1, 2028. The bill was amended on April 29, 2026 to make it an urgency measure, which would mean it would take effect immediately if passed. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Assembly 66-0 and the Senate 37-0. It now heads back to the Assembly for a concurring vote (since it was amended in the Senate) and then the governor’s desk. It has been deemed an urgency measure, so if it passes it will take effect immediately.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-222 (Wiener/Allen/Becker/Stern) – Appliances and Utilities

This bill would make any provision of the governing documents, architectural guidelines, or policies void and unenforceable if the provision prevents the replacement of a fuel-gas-burning appliance with an electric appliance. The bill would also make any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any, among other specified agreements, deed, and any provision of a governing document, that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system, void and unenforceable. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Senate 29-8. It then passed out of the Assembly Housing and Local Government committees unanimously and is on its way to the Assembly floor.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-876 (Padilla) – Fire and Residential Property Insurance

This bill would substantially expand insurers’ payment obligations, coverage requirements, and regulatory oversight for residential property insurance, particularly in the context of declared states of emergency. It would accelerate and increase mandatory claim payments following a total loss by requiring prompt payment of actual cash value and undisputed replacement cost amounts, with interest penalties for delays. It would broaden and mandate enhanced replacement cost, guaranteed replacement cost, and building code upgrade coverage, limiting insurers’ ability to issue or renew policies unless higher levels of coverage are affirmatively offered and, in some cases, automatically increased after disaster losses. It would tighten insurer compliance by eliminating exemptions from rebuilding cost estimates, extending those obligations to FAIR Plan policies, and exposing insurers to liability up to full replacement cost for noncompliance. Additional provisions expand additional living expense benefits, increase contents payouts after total losses, restrict adjuster reassignments, and impose stricter reporting and disaster planning requirements on insurers. While the bill is directed at insurers, its practical effect may be increased premiums, reduced underwriting flexibility, and tighter scrutiny of property condition and valuation—impacts that could be felt acutely by homeowners associations insuring large, multi-structure residential communities in high‑risk areas. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Senate 30-9 after making it off of the Appropriations suspense file, a relatively rare occurrence. It then passed out of the Assembly Insurance (13-4) and Judiciary (9-3) committees.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-908 (Wiener/Wahab) – Residential Windows: Retrofitting

This bill would preclude governing documents from limiting or prohibiting owners from replacing existing residential windows with “California Energy Code-compliant windows,” as defined (by reference to the California Energy Code’s fenestration requirements, and as further described in proposed Government Code Section 65850.73). 

STATUS: This bill passed out of the Senate 32-7. It then passed out of the Assembly Housing (11-0) and Local Government (10-0) committees.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-1007 (Menjivar) – Disclosures and Assessments

This bill would require the annual budget report to include a high-level summary breakdown of what the regular assessments fund and a statement regarding compensation of a management company, as provided. The bill would require a summary of an annual budget or policy statement to also include a high-level breakdown that describes what the regular assessments fund, as specified. This bill would prohibit an association from increasing a regular assessment, unless the board includes the above-referenced information pertaining to regular assessments. The bill would, instead, prohibit a board from imposing a regular assessment for the association’s preceding year, adjusted for inflation, without the approval of the majority of a quorum members. This bill would require the association to make any physical evidence used to determine a violation of the governing documents has occurred available to the member at least five (5) business days before the hearing or deadline for the member’s response if the association seeks to impose a monetary penalty against a member for violation of the governing documents, as provided. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Senate 24-13, one of the closer votes for an HOA bill this year. It has been referred to the Assembly Housing, Judiciary and Appropriations committees.

COMMENT: This bill would have a massive harmful impact on HOAs, limiting the ability to increase assessments beyond the inflation amount and eliminating the current cap of 20% from the prior year. The bill would harm member property values by limiting an HOA’s ability to adequately fund reserves (which are woefully low in many cases), which is an important policy objective and would make it harder to obtain loans for purchase or refinancing. For these reasons, Echo has formally opposed this bill.

UPDATE: The bill was amended on May 21 to cap assessment increases at 8% (reduced from the current 20% cap) without member approval, instead of tying the cap to inflation. It also changes the requirement for the summary of an annual budget to include a comparison breakdown of anticipated expenses versus actual expenditures of the previous fiscal year and a statement regarding compensation of any management company.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-1238 (Wahab) – Management and Maintenance

This bill would make broad revisions to the Davis‑Stirling Act aimed at increasing transparency, accountability, and consumer protection in common interest developments. However, some of the requirements would be unworkable in practice. This bill would significantly expand the regulatory and administrative obligations placed on homeowners associations, with a particular focus on management practices, reserve funds, and structural safety disclosures. It would broaden the definition of association “agents” to capture managers and third parties involved in key disclosure and financial functions, expressly subjecting them to fiduciary duties owed to the board and members. It would substantially increase disclosure requirements for homeowners, associations, and managers in connection with sales and refinances, especially where balconies or other exterior elevated elements are involved, and ties those disclosures to evolving federal lending standards and “critical repair” concepts. The bill would tightly restrict boards’ ability to use or transfer reserve funds for litigation or legal services involving owners or their relatives, even at the threat stage. In addition, it would integrate exterior elevated element inspections into the reserve study framework, emphasizing occupant safety and requiring that identified repairs be prominently summarized and incorporated into reserve planning and disclosures. Taken together, the measure would increase compliance complexity, documentation burdens, and risk exposure for volunteer boards, while narrowing board discretion over reserves and heightening scrutiny of how associations plan for, disclose, and fund major repair obligations. 

STATUS: This bill, sponsored by CAR (California Association of Realtors), has been referred to the Housing, Judiciary, and Appropriations committees. The bill was amended on April 16, 2026, to impose a “duty of care that is prudent and provides the highest good faith effort to the association and its members.” The bill passed out of the Senate 36-2 and the Assembly Housing (9-0) and Judiciary (9-3) committees.

COMMENT: This bill would significantly increase operating costs for HOAs and would create a heightened standard of care that would discourage vendors and managers from working with HOAs or motivate them to shift even more liability to HOAs via contract or insurance obligations.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-1267 (Allen) – Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

This follow-up bill to last year’s SB-770 (precluding HOAs from requiring insurance naming the association as an additional insured) aims to provide liability protection for associations which permit installation of EV charging stations. The bill would make each owner and successive owner responsible for any damages occurring as a result of damages from an EV charging station and would further require installers to indemnify or reimburse the association or its members for loss or damage caused by the installation of the EV charging station. The bill was amended on February 19, 2026 to clarify that an association may require an owner to enter into a maintenance and indemnity agreement to transfer liability for damage arising from the charging station and that installers are only liable for the installation, not maintenance or use of the charging station. 

STATUS: The bill passed out of the Senate 36-0 and, most recently, the Assembly Housing (11-0) and Judiciary (12-0) committees.

Read the Full Bill Here

Watch Bills

These bills don’t appear to be moving, but could still be picked back up again at this point in the session.

AB-6 (Ward)

This bill was introduced last year and ended up in the suspense file. It would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to convene a working group to research and consider recommending building standards.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-21 (DeMaio)

This kitchen-sink bill would make numerous changes negatively impacting operations and management of HOAs. It failed to advance out of committee. The author is working with Assembly member Patterson on a related bill, AB 1184.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-69 (Calderon)

This bill would require a broker of record to determine if a FAIR Plan policy can be moved to a voluntary market insurance company before the policy is renewed. Introduced last year, it passed out of the Assembly 78-0. The hearing in the Insurance Committee was cancelled at the author’s request, and the bill failed to move from there.

Read the Full Bill Here

AB-1240 (Lee/Perez)

This bill would prohibit a business entity that has an interest in more than 1,000 single-family residential properties from purchasing additional single-family residential properties for rental purposes. It passed out of the Assembly 42-18 but was held up in the Senate Judiciary Committee and did not make it to the Senate floor.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-282 (Wiener)

This bill would void any restrictions in governing documents that prevent the replacement of a fuel-gas-burning appliance with an electric appliance or prevent the installation or use of a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system. It was returned to the Senate due to its failure to advance.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-448 (Umberg)

This bill would implement procedures for removal of squatters. It was returned to the Senate due to its failure to advance.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-570 (Alvarado-Gil)

This HOA spot bill was never amended to include substantive changes to the law.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-681 (Wahab)

This bill contained the language that was incorporated into AB-130 but could be amended to make related changes.

Read the Full Bill Here

SB-750 (Cortese)

This bill would establish the California Residential Mortgage Insurance Fund in the State Treasury and would continuously appropriate moneys to the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) for the purpose of insuring construction loans and permanent loans for affordable housing.

Read the Full Bill Here