California HOA compliance, enforced as code

Decision body — the board

Discipline is considered and imposed by the BOARD at a noticed meeting (executive session if the member requests it, § 5855(b)/§ 4935(b)). No independent-committee requirement. Civ. Code § 5855(a)

In CommonGround: CommonGround routes the fine decision to the board and requires the recorded decision before any fine is assessed.

Notice, opportunity to be heard, and a recorded decision

A fine requires the full § 5855 procedure — 10-day noticed board meeting, opportunity to attend and address the board, recorded board action. Miss any step and the discipline 'shall not be effective' (§ 5855(g)). Civ. Code § 5855(a)–(g)

In CommonGround: The workflow has no path around it: the notice must be sent, the opportunity to be heard must be offered, and the decision must be recorded — in that order — before a fine can exist.

Hearing notice — at least 10 days

Written notice at least 10 days before the board meets to consider or impose discipline, by personal delivery or § 4040 individual delivery. Civ. Code § 5855(a)

In CommonGround: A hearing scheduled sooner than 10 days after its notice is rejected with the citation; the scheduler simply won't offer an illegal date.

Hearing-notice delivery method

Notice by personal delivery or individual delivery pursuant to § 4040. Civ. Code § 5855(a)

In CommonGround: Only the statutory delivery methods (personal delivery, individual delivery 4040) are accepted — recording any other method is refused with the citation — and the delivery record (method, who, when, with provider receipts where the channel produces them) is attached to the case record.

Required hearing-notice contents

The notice must state, at minimum: the date, time, and place of the meeting; the nature of the alleged violation; and that the member has a right to attend and may address the board. Civ. Code § 5855(b)

• Meeting date time place
• Violation nature
• Right to attend and address

In CommonGround: CommonGround generates the hearing notice with every required element pre-filled; a notice missing one cannot be sent.

Written findings due in 14 days

Written notification of the decision must be delivered to the member (personal or § 4040 individual delivery) within 14 days following the action (AB 130 shortened this from 15). Sending late is flagged: under § 5855(g) a missed step renders the discipline not effective — treat an overdue decision letter as a probably-dead fine. Civ. Code § 5855(f)

In CommonGround: CommonGround drafts the written findings from the hearing record and counts down the 14-day deadline.

Cure is a complete defense

The board is prohibited from imposing discipline if the member cures before the meeting (added by AB 130). Civ. Code § 5855(c)

In CommonGround: A logged cure before the deadline dismisses the fine automatically — the statute makes cure a defense, and the workflow honors it without a board action.

Commitment to cure also bars the fine

Where cure would take longer than the notice-to-meeting period, a member's recorded financial commitment to cure also bars discipline. (Open question, no guidance yet: what a sufficient commitment is and what happens on later default.) Civ. Code § 5855(c)(2)

In CommonGround: A recorded financial commitment to cure halts discipline the same way an actual cure does.

Single-fine cap — $100

Single-violation fine capped at $100 (lesser-of-schedule cap; see fineAggregateCapUsd). Civ. Code § 5850(c)

In CommonGround: A single fine over $100 can't be recorded — the form rejects it with the citation.

Aggregate fine cap — $100

A monetary penalty may not exceed the LESSER of the adopted schedule amount or $100 per violation. CommonGround conservatively caps any single fine action at $100 total absent a § 5850(d) health/safety finding; the schedule-lesser-of half is enforced by schedule-driven fine entry in the application. Civ. Code § 5850(c)

In CommonGround: The running total is enforced as it accrues: the fine stops at $100 no matter how long the violation continues.

Health-and-safety exception

The board may exceed $100/violation ONLY if the violation 'may result in an adverse health or safety impact' on the common area or another member's property, and only after a written board finding specifying that impact made in a board meeting open to the members. The above-cap fine must still be reasonable. Civ. Code § 5850(d)

In CommonGround: Above-cap amounts require a recorded health-and-safety finding before the software accepts them.

Adopted fine schedule / policy required

An association that imposes monetary penalties must adopt and distribute to each member, via the annual policy statement (§ 5310), a schedule of monetary penalties. A fine not grounded in a distributed schedule is a core compliance failure. Civ. Code § 5850(a)

In CommonGround: No fine can be generated without the adopted fine policy or schedule on file — CommonGround checks for the artifact before the workflow opens.

No late charges or interest on fines

'A late charge or interest shall not be charged to a member for a monetary penalty.' Applies to fines only; assessment late charges remain governed by § 5650(b). Civ. Code § 5850(e)

In CommonGround: Late charges and interest on fine balances are blocked at the ledger — they can't be added even by accident.

How fines may be collected

A monetary penalty imposed as a disciplinary measure may not be characterized or treated as an assessment that may become a lien enforceable by sale. The only discipline-adjacent lienable charge is common-area-damage REIMBURSEMENT (§ 5725(a)), which is not a fine. Civ. Code § 5725(b)

• Fines may never become a lien

In CommonGround: Every collection step for fine-type charges is validated against these restrictions — the prohibited paths are refused, with the statute cited.

Davis-Stirling protected categories: a violation notice or fine in these categories requires a recorded attestation citing the statutory exception. Civ. Code §§ 714, 4705–4753, 4735, 4739–4741, 4745, 4750–4752; H&S § 1597.40

• Solar energy system — Provisions effectively prohibiting/restricting solar are void; 45-day deemed approval; $1,000 civil penalty for willful violation. Civ. Code §§ 714, 714.1, 4746
• EV charging station — EV charging station prohibitions void; 60-day deemed approval; $1,000 civil penalty. Civ. Code § 4745
• EV tou meter — EV-dedicated time-of-use meters: same template as § 4745 (60-day deemed approval, $1,000 penalty). Civ. Code § 4745.1
• Drought watering reduction — During a declared drought emergency, the association may NOT fine or assess a member for reducing or eliminating watering of vegetation/lawns (sole exception: recycled-water recipients). Civ. Code § 4735
• Clothesline drying rack — Clotheslines/drying racks in an exclusive-use backyard cannot be effectively prohibited. Civ. Code § 4753
• Personal agriculture — Personal agriculture (edible plant crops) in exclusive-use yards cannot be effectively prohibited. Civ. Code § 4750
• US flag — Display of the U.S. flag (fabric, on a staff or in a window) may not be limited. Civ. Code § 4705
• Noncommercial sign — Noncommercial signs/posters up to 9 sq ft and flags/banners up to 15 sq ft protected except for public health/safety or legal violations. Civ. Code § 4710
• Entry door religious item — Religious items on the entry door or door frame protected (size limits apply). Civ. Code § 4706
• One pet — Governing documents must allow at least one pet (post-1/1/2001 documents). Civ. Code § 4715
• Antenna under 36in — Restrictions on antennas/satellite dishes ≤ 36 inches are void unless reasonable. Civ. Code § 4725 (+ FCC OTARD)
• Adu construction — CC&Rs prohibiting/unreasonably restricting ADU/JADU construction are void. Civ. Code § 4751; § 714.3 (AB 130)
• Protected rental — Rental caps below 25%, owner-occupancy bans, bans on >30-day room rentals, and retroactive rental prohibitions are void/unenforceable. Civ. Code §§ 4740, 4741, 4739
• Family day care — CC&R provisions restricting licensed family day care homes are void as against public policy. Health & Safety Code § 1597.40
• Disaster rebuild — Substantially similar reconstruction after a declared disaster cannot be prohibited. Civ. Code § 4752 (SB 625, eff. 1/1/2026)

In CommonGround: Violation intake screens every new case against California's protected categories and flags the citation before a notice ever goes out.