Rights and Powers of HOAs and HOA Board Members
The primary responsibility of a homeowner association, acting through its board of directors, is to repair, maintain, and replace common area components and to protect the property values of association members. Duties are set forth in the governing documents and by California law. While most duties are delegated to an elected Board of Directors, some are reserved to the membership.
Most HOA governing documents (but not all) provide that the elected board of directors have the following powers and responsibilities:
- Adopt and enforce operating rules and regulations
- Appoint committees
- Appoint directors to fill vacancies
- Appoint inspectors of election
- Borrow money
- Call membership meetings
- Communicate with the association's attorney
- Delegate certain responsibilities to a management company
- Disburse operating and reserve funds
- Elect and remove officers
- Enter into contracts
- Enforce the governing documents
- Establish architectural standards
- Exercise the powers of a corporation
- Hire and fire employees and vendors
- Initiate and defend lawsuits
- Insure the association and its directors
- Invest funds in insured accounts
- Levy and collect regular, special, and emergency assessments
- Make limited capital improvements
- Manage the association
- Prepare and adopt budgets
- Repair and maintain the common areas
The rights and powers generally reserved to association members are set forth in the governing documents and usually include the right to:
- Amend the CC&Rs and bylaws
- Approve significant capital improvements
- Approve regular assessments over 20% per year
- Approve special assessments over 5% per year
- Approve exclusive use easements
- Attend open board meetings
- Call special meetings of the membership for a lawful purpose
- Display noncommercial signs
- Dissolve the association
- Elect officers
- Enforce the CC&Rs
- Exercise any other powers reserved to their membership as set forth in the governing documents and applicable laws.
- Inspect the association's records
- Install drought tolerant plants
- Install electric charging stations at their cost
- Install a satellite dish on their own property
- Install solar panels subject to restrictions
- Modify common areas for disability access
- Own a pet subject to rules
- Receive disclosures
- Receive due process for rules violations
- Receive the membership list subject to limitations
- Remove directors from the board
- Reverse a rule change
- Serve on the board
- Use the common areas
Courts will defer to board decisions, even if the decisions are not the best decisions, provided the board has made a diligent investigation and its decision was in good faith with the best interests of the association in mind. Members who are unhappy with board decisions can elect replacement directors.
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