California’s 2026 legislative session brought several important changes for community associations.
In Part 3 of our legislative recap, we examine three final bills signed into law that take effect in 2027, specifically affecting HOAs.
Each of these three changes in the law apply to property uses or installations protected by law from “unreasonable” HOA restrictions.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act contains a collection of “protected uses”, barring HOAs from banning certain property activities or installations. That list, which begins at Civil Code Section 4705, currently consists of 21 items.
Senate Bill 908 adds a 22nd “protected use” to the Davis-Stirling Act.
Civil Code Section 4754 prohibits HOAs from completely banning the installation of energy efficient windows. The new protections are similar to the existing protections on solar installations. HOA requirements that do not increase the installation cost more than 10% or decrease its energy efficiency by over 10% are deemed “reasonable.”
The new law treats all windows serving a residence as the same, regardless of whether they are part of the residence, exclusive use common area or pure common area.
One interesting aspect of the law is that associations can impose aesthetic restrictions on energy-saving windows on association buildings that have more than 20 units but are not townhomes (residences attached side to side). So, HOAs can only impose visual restrictions on homes in buildings that have 21 or more attached residences – leaving small HOAs (and HOAs consisting of a series of smaller buildings) unable to prohibit windows from looking markedly different from the rest of the homes.
HOAs can require that the homeowner permanently require the homeowner to maintain and repair the replaced window but cannot charge the homeowner for the cost of preparing and filing with the county recorder the agreement to make that requirement permanent.
The new law may create a problem for HOA buildings protected by Mills Act agreements, in which property owners agree permanently not to alter historic building exteriors in exchange for property tax benefits.
Senate Bill 222 creates a 23rd “protected use” in the Davis-Stirling Act.
Starting in 2027, under a new Civil Code Section 4737, HOAs cannot prevent replacement of fuel-gas burning appliances with electric appliances so long as the installation meets all applicable building codes and is fully permitted by the building authority.
The new statute also protects the installation of residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems. (In my 37 years of advising California HOAs, I had never seen this issue arise, but a reader earlier this year described one incident.)
Senate Bill 1267 amends the long-time Civil Code Section 4745 protection of electric vehicle charging stations within HOAs.
You may recall last year’s Senate Bill 770, which modified the homeowner’s requirement to have liability insurance in place covering an installed charging station.
SB 1267 adds Civil Code Section 4745(f)(5), which requires that the installer of a charging station will indemnify or reimburse the HOA from any loss or damage from the system’s installation.
Further, a new subpart “l” protects the HOA from liability arising out of the homeowner’s charging station so long as the HOA is not grossly negligent.
Review any bill or law (including the Davis-Stirling Act) at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, the California Legislature official site.
Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. 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.