Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Special Assessments

Yes, I think it's legal. With a few exceptions set out in statutes dealing with HOA set-up and conduct, owners who purchase where they become subject to CC&Rs and HOA rules by private contract are governed by those CC&Rs and rules. This includes voting per unit on matters which will cost owners unequally when the project is carried out. The result can depend upon factors other than square footage, too....for example, the owner of a small end unit would pay more for fencing or siding than the owner of a larger middle unit, etc.

If you think about tax laws in general, they work that way, too. One person, one vote, but when the vote is about income tax rates, the voter with the larger income may very well end up paying more.

Some conservative political theorists have advocated changing voting laws to give citizens votes in proportion to the income taxes they pay, rather than one-vote-per-voter, on the basis that voting is all about how taxes will be collected and spent, so if I pay $2 in taxes for every $1 you pay, I should have twice as much say in all spending-related government decisions (and which aren't spending-related)?

However, that isn't the rule, either at the HOA meeting or at the polls.

HOA voting and assessment rules vary, so review the rules of your own HOA to confirm that the policies being followed conform to the CC&Rs and the rules.