5 TIPS TO SUCCESSFULLY AMENDING YOUR CC&RS BY COURT APPROVAL BY: MR. DANIEL C. HEATON, ESQ., RICHARDSON|OBER|DENICHILO
B
y all accounts, amending your association’s CC&Rs is one of the most important, yet potentially difficult, challenges for California community associations. The need to amend CC&Rs was placed at the top of many communities’ 2021 agendas with the passage of Assembly Bill 3182, which prohibits unreasonable rental restrictions and limits an association’s ability to place caps on the number of rentals. AB 3182 also includes a requirement that all California associations amend their Governing Documents to conform to the new law “no later than December 31, 2021.” (Civ. Code § 4741(f).) An association that refuses to comply could face a civil penalty of up to $1,000, as well as pay attorney fees to the complaining party. (Id. § 4741(g).) 20 |
CONNECT MAGAZINE • ISSUE TWO 2021
Most associations have a difficult, if not impossible, time obtaining sufficient participation from their members to amend CC&Rs and Bylaws. The problem of “voter apathy” is often compounded by CC&Rs that require that amendments be approved by a “supermajority” (i.e., 67% or 75%) of the membership. This can make it very difficult for an association to make important and necessary changes to the CC&Rs through the regular voting process. Fortunately, all hope is not lost. The Civil Code provides an additional method to obtain approval of amendments to CC&Rs when an association is unable to garner the percentage of votes required by the CC&Rs themselves. Civil Code section 4275 allows an Association to “petition the superior court … for an order reducing the percentage of affirmative votes necessary for such an amendment.” This provides “a safety valve for those situations where the need for a supermajority vote would hamstring the association.” (Blue Lagoon Community Assn. v. Mitchell (1997) 55 Cal.App.4th 472.)
