A relatively new law for homeowners in California is the Davis-Stirling Act. This act, passed in 2020, requires homeowner maintenance organizations to conduct an election among their residents. This process gives homeowners a chance to vote on key issues, including how funds are used and who is in charge.
How Does An HOA Board Work?
A homeowners’ association (HOA) helps maintain a neighborhood and promotes cohesion in how properties look. If you have ever noticed a well-kept neighborhood with consistent house-to-house standards, there’s a good chance it is managed by an HOA. Residents of the community managed by an HOA pay monthly dues to the organization so it can hire maintenance workers to handle the various jobs needed by the community. These jobs could be mowing lawns, planting flowers, shoveling snow, etc. In California specifically, HOAs hire landscaping companies to maintain community grounds.
The Issue With HOAs
Because homeowners pay into a fund for these maintenance workers, there’s often a question about how the funds are managed. Are they getting the best bang for their buck? Are the maintenance workers the most qualified for the job? Who is actually interviewing these maintenance workers? As you can see, there’s a lot of questions.
For this reason, HOAs hold annual elections. These elections occur in a large meeting where people can ask questions, determine which services their community needs and who they want to perform these jobs. Additionally, the election process appoints new members to the board of directors (the people who manage the community’s money).
Many HOAs have experienced issues with electing new officials. This is most often due to favoritism, nepotism or faulty promises. For instance, a board director may guarantee that something will happen in the community if he/she is elected, earns the vote, and then doesn’t actually do anything.
The Davis-Stirling Act
Now, due to issues with the election process, the state of California has passed the Davis-Stirling Act, which requires HOAs to use a 3rd-party election process. This is intended to help HOAs avoid common election problems, such as nepotism or favoritism. It benefits the homeowners in the HOA and makes the entire process fair for everyone involved.
California’s HOA laws have many components, but the most important aspect of the Davis-Stirling Act is that HOA boards must hire a 3rd-party inspector of elections to oversee the entire process.
What You Need to Do As a Homeowner
Residents of HOAs need to participate in the election process and vote. If you don’t share your voice in the voting process, how can you expect to see change in your community?
What You Need to Do As An HOA
If you operate an HOA in the state, you’ll need to hire an HOA election inspector in California to oversee your election process. Voting can be done by mail, email, or in person, depending on the size of the community. Since this is now the law in California, you will need to comply with all its requirements.