Condo HOA special assessment $15K — can they do this?

I got a letter from my HOA board last week saying they've approved a $15,000 special assessment per unit for an emergency roof replacement. There are 40 units in our complex so that's $600K total for the project.

Here's my issue: there was no homeowner vote. The board just decided this on their own. The letter says it's due within 60 days. I don't have $15K sitting around, and I'm furious that the board has apparently been underfunding reserves for years and now they're dumping this on us.

We're in California. Can they really do this without a vote of the membership?

This is governed by the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (California Civil Code §§ 4000-6150). The answer depends on whether the assessment exceeds certain thresholds:

Under § 5605, the board can levy special assessments without a member vote, but only up to 5% of the association's budgeted gross expenses for the current fiscal year. If the assessment exceeds that 5% threshold, a vote of the membership is required, and it must be approved by a majority of a quorum of the members.

Let's do the math. If your HOA's annual budget is, say, $200,000, then 5% is $10,000. A $600,000 special assessment absolutely exceeds 5% of virtually any 40-unit HOA's annual budget. So yes, a member vote was almost certainly required.

There is an exception for emergencies under § 5610, but "emergency" is narrowly defined: it must involve an immediate threat to health and safety, or an extraordinary expense required by court order. A roof that needs replacement (not one that collapsed) typically doesn't qualify as an emergency.

Your options:

• Demand the board call a special meeting for a proper member vote under § 5605
• If 5% of the members petition for a special meeting, the board must hold one within 35 days (§ 4515)
• Challenge the assessment as void if it was levied without the required vote
• Request a review of the reserve study — the board is required to conduct one every three years (§ 5550)

Okay, so the vote was definitely required. Our annual budget is around $180K, so 5% is only $9,000. This assessment is way over that.

I talked to a few neighbors and nobody is happy. Several of us are on fixed incomes or just don't have that kind of cash. Is there any requirement that the HOA offer a payment plan?

There's no statutory requirement to offer a payment plan for special assessments, but many HOAs do as a practical matter because they know not everyone can pay a lump sum. It's absolutely something you should request at the member meeting.

Also important: under § 5730, the HOA must offer a meet and confer process or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) before pursuing collections or placing a lien on your unit for unpaid assessments. And under § 5735, an HOA can only record a lien after the assessment is more than 30 days past due and the total amount owed is at least $1,800.

Strategically, I'd recommend organizing your neighbors to:

1. Petition for a special meeting (you only need 5% of owners, so 2 signatures in a 40-unit complex)
2. Demand to see the reserve study and the bids for the roof work
3. Propose a phased assessment with a payment plan option
4. Consider whether the board members who approved this without a vote should be recalled

I serve on an HOA board (different community) and I want to offer some perspective. Nobody on a volunteer board wants to levy a special assessment. It's the worst part of the job. But when reserves are underfunded and the roof is leaking, the board has a fiduciary duty to act.

That said, your board clearly messed up by not calling a member vote. The Davis-Stirling threshold is well-known and any competent HOA attorney would have flagged it. It makes me wonder if the board even consulted legal counsel.

My advice: don't make this adversarial if you can avoid it. Request the meeting, vote on the assessment properly, negotiate a payment plan, and then have a serious conversation about adequately funding reserves going forward so this doesn't happen again.

Brenda, that's fair. I don't want to go nuclear either. The roof does need work, I just don't think the board handled this correctly.

We got three neighbors to sign a petition for a special meeting and submitted it to the board today. We also asked for copies of the reserve study and the roofing bids. We'll see what happens.

If the assessment does go through after a proper vote, can it be structured as monthly installments over, say, 12-24 months? That would make it much more manageable than a $15K lump sum in 60 days.

Absolutely. There's nothing in the Davis-Stirling Act that requires a special assessment to be a lump sum. The membership can vote to approve the assessment payable in monthly or quarterly installments. I've seen 12, 18, and 24-month payment plans for large assessments, and it's very common.

The HOA could also explore a loan (there are lenders that specifically finance HOA capital improvements) which would allow the cost to be spread across the membership over several years through slightly increased monthly dues rather than a one-time special assessment. This is worth raising at the meeting as an alternative.