Modernizing HOA Governance in California

Published: June 18, 2025

Modernizing HOA Governance in California California is making updates to how homeowners associations (HOAs) operate, with the goal of improving transparency, accessibility, and fairness in community management.

New laws help streamline board elections by allowing decisions to move forward with fewer members present when voter turnout is low. HOAs also now have more flexibility to hold meetings entirely online and conduct elections by electronic secret ballot, making it easier for homeowners to participate, especially in today's digital age.

To protect affordability, especially in newer communities with deed-restricted affordable housing, limits are being placed on how much regular assessments can increase year over year. These changes help ensure that HOA fees remain manageable for lower-income residents.

At the state level, oversight and services related to HOA operations are also becoming more efficient, with some processes now available electronically.

These updates reflect California's continued efforts to support more inclusive and responsive HOA governance across the state.

What You Need To Know

AB 1458 and AB 2460 (Ta, Chapter 401, Statutes of 2024): if there is a lack of quorum at a meeting to count ballots for a homeowners association's board of director's election, the association may adjourn the meeting to a date at least 20 days after the adjourned meeting at which time the quorum required for the reconvened meeting to elect directors will only be 20 percent of the association's members voting in person, by proxy, or by secret ballot unless the association's governing documents provide for a lower quorum.
AB 2159 (Maienschein, Chapter 383, Statutes of 2023): allows associations to conduct membership votes via electronic secret ballots subject to specified procedures. Associations cannot use electronic secret ballot voting when members are voting on regular and special assessments when and as required by law.
AB 572 (Haney, Chapter 745, Statutes of 2023): prohibits homeowners associations whose original declarations of covenants, conditions, and restrictions are recorded on or after January 1, 2025, from imposing a regular assessment against an owner of a deed restricted affordable housing unit that is more than a five percent increase from the current regular assessment, plus the percentage change in the cost of living, but not exceeding ten percent. These provisions do not apply to a development 1) with 20 or fewer units or 2) where the percentage of deed-restricted affordable units exceeds that required by an applicable local inclusionary ordinance in effect at the time the development received final approval. This bill also does not apply to a development built in an area without an inclusionary ordinance if either 1) the percentage of units that are deed-restricted affordable housing exceeds 10 percent or 2) for projects that were approved pursuant to Government Code section 65912.124 and that meet the requirements of Government Code section (b)(1)(B), the percentage of units that are deed-restricted affordable housing exceeds 15 percent of the units in the development at the time the development received final approval.
AB 648 (Valencia, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2023): authorizes a homeowners association to hold both board or member meetings entirely by teleconference without any physical location, if certain conditions are met. A teleconference includes meetings held via electronic connection, through audio or video means. Meetings where ballots are to be counted will still require a physical location.