Q: Can an HOA publish a meeting notice on its website and NOT also notify by email, the members? — K.M., San Diego
A: Civil Code Section 4920(c) requires that notice of board meetings be published by “general notice” at least four days before an open non-emergency board meeting. “General Notice” is defined in Civil Code Section 4045 as either mailing or (if the member has consented) emailing each member, or including the announcement in a billing statement or newsletter, posting the announcement where general association announcements are posted, posting the announcement on the HOA website, or if the HOA has a television station, announcing it in a broadcast. So K.M., there are many ways the HOA is allowed to announce board meetings, and the statute does not require that more than one of those ways is used. 0
Q: The article you wrote on HOA closed sessions is of great interest to me and my colleagues who live in a large senior community. Despite repeated requests our board continues to disregard our desire and persists in conducting almost all its business in closed sessions. They do not give us any explanation. We can always vote them out but we were wondering what other measures could we use to force them to make this change. Voting them out is a slow process. I would very much appreciate your advice in this matter. — A.D., Banning
A: Boards abusing closed sessions and using them to discuss matters beyond those allowed by Civil Code Section 4935 are creating many problems for the HOA and for themselves. First, the decisions made improperly in secret might be challenged by one or more HOA members as “illegal.”
Second, that board is betraying the trust the neighbors/members place in the board. Suing the HOA board is usually a bad idea because it does not guarantee they’ll start governing properly, but it does guarantee a major legal expense. If the directors refuse to govern properly, unite the community to elect directors who will learn how to govern properly, legally, and transparently for the members.
Q: I have asked a few times for our board to share what percentage of dues are past due and they simply will not share this information. I am not interested in any personal information, just curious about the percentage of delinquent accounts (if there are any). Why could the board not be transparent on this? — M.A., San Diego
A: Civil Code Section 5200(a)(3)(A) includes the HOA’s balance sheet as one of the records homeowners can request to review. Balance sheets should include in the “assets” section assessments which are due but have not been paid. So, the board at least through that disclosure should inform the members of the amount of delinquencies.
Some boards are urged to disclose the specific homeowners which are delinquent, and this is not required nor necessary. Boards should be forthcoming in their financial reporting but do so without embarrassing any delinquent homeowners. If the amount of delinquencies shown in the balance sheet is too large, perhaps the board is not being sufficiently diligent in the unhappy business of pursuing delinquent owners.
Kelly G. Richardson is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Partner of Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit questions to Kelly@roattorneys.com.