Residents of Common Interest Developments (“CID's,” aka “HOA's”) constitute a huge fraction of California's citizenry.  In excess of 43,000 CID's exist today statewide, and the number is growing rapidly.  More than 4.5 million households today are in some form of CID.

Each year brings more regulation of CID's, and the Common Interest Development Act originally enacted in 1985, grows by many pages each year.

Amazingly, there is no statewide reference source for CID residents to learn about their rights and responsibilities in their associations.  There are a number of trade organizations such as the Community Associations Institute, and the California Association of Community Managers, but unless one is a member of those organizations, where does one turn for education and information?

Without a readily accessible and free source of information, homeowners and directors do the best they can.  Consequently, neighbors are all too often locked in conflict with their boards and with each other.  In almost twenty years of advising California CIDs and handling their issues and lawsuits, I have seen very few disputes arise from ill will.  Rather, most HOA disputes arise because everyone does not have the same information regarding the respective rights and responsibilities of the member and the association.

The HOA Homefront™ column is designed to help educate the public on issues that matter for California CID residents, boards and even managers.  One of the primary goals of the column is to reduce conflict in California communities.  The column does not promote litigation – there are enough HOA-haters and lawyers out there already doing that – but seeks to advance the prevention of disputes before they turn into lawsuits.