Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
It is that time of year for our annual HOA elections. A homeowner who has not paid their HOA dues for at least 6 months currently has a lien placed on their property by the HOA for non-payment of said dues. This same homeowner is now trying to get on the board. Unfortunately, our by-laws do not mention that a homeowner must be in "good standing" for purposes of voting, being nominated, or for being elected. Is there a provision in the Davis-Sterling Act, or any other area of California law that may preclude this person from getting on the board?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately, the Davis Sterling Act is silent as to whether a homeowner must be in good standing to be nominated. I would suggest looking to your CC&R's.
You mentioned that the homeowner has a lien placed on the property. If the homeowner has already gotten a Notice of Foreclosure, then the homeowner might not be record holder of the title long enough to serve as a board member. If the homeowner is no longer record holder of title, then he will not be able to serve on the board.
The law isn't going to help you keep him off the board. He can run, and if elected, will sit. However, a conflict of interest will prevent him from voting on anything to do with his own debt problem.