Legal Question in Business Law in California

It depends on your CC&Rs;.

I'm not sure I can give you a full and definite answer, but I do have a few comments on the situation.

First, if the homeowner remains in full possession of the property and merely rents out a room, the renter is not a "tenant;" he or she is in a different category, a "lodger." This distinction is more than a technicality, and if the HOA rules forbid tenancies of less than a year, that may not apply to a lodging arrangement as distinguished from a tenancy.

However, HOA or CC&R restrictions on leasing are generally enforceable, and a one-year requirement is not per se a "violation of law." There are some legal principles based on common law, not statute as far as I know, prohibiting unreasonable restraints on alienation of title or right of possession, but HOA rules-writers know all about this and rarely if ever would write rules that couldn't be enforced.

My hunch is that you have a good argument that the proposed room renting arrangement is not a violation of the rules because it is not a lease. Not having seen the rules, I cannot predict the outcome.