Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

This has never come up in my experience - albeit somewhat limited - with homeowner associations, nor my clients' experiences as board members of HOAs. Further, a search of statutes and practice manuals did not turn up any laws, discussion or precedents. Most people seem to feel it is none of the "community's" business. I could be missing something. We have several attorneys here on LawGuru that do a lot more community work than I and maybe they will chime in on Monday. My guess is that it is "legal" to make a request for references but that it is not the community's right to interfere with your selling to whomever you decide to sell to. Yes, the landlord can give a bad reference, so long as it is accurate and truthful.

I would say that, unless there is something in the CC&R's that authorize it, there is no legal basis for them to do so. Even if there is, I would believe it to be a restraint of your right to sell your property. I would respectfully decline to respond without them providing you with a legal basis to support their request.