Rockin' the suburbs:
Homeowners associations have the power of government--but what about the accountability?
I didn't write that headline. The newspaper did. This is a story sent on by Marjorie Murray, the legislative advocate on CID housing issues for the California Alliance for Retired Americans. She adds, "Evan -- please post this on your blog. Our two pieces of legislation described in this story -- SB 137 and AB 1098
-- will shortly be sent to the floor for a vote. Don
Chaney's court hearing is August 26th in Auburn, CA
(Placer County.)"

The article describes Don Chaney's lawsuit, which is significant in itself, but then goes on to talk about pending reform legislation, and the larger context of HOAs generally. It's well worth reading.


...two proposed laws making their way to floor votes in the Legislature would do much the same thing. An Assembly bill, sponsored by Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, outlines more clearly what kinds of financial documents homeowners associations would be required to cough up if a member requests them, and also specifies that a homeowner can take an association to small-claims court rather than the more costly Superior Court. A second effort, by Senator Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, seeks to restrict how homeowners associations are able to foreclose on a home. The proposed changes to state law, which would affect some 9 million Californians, were spearheaded by an unlikely group: retirees.