New California HOA Laws for 2027: What Boards Must Know

Quick Answer: Governor Newsom signed at least ten bills in 2026 that change the rules for California HOAs. Most take effect January 1, 2027. The biggest is AB 2050, which makes reserve funding mandatory starting in 2032. Four others limit what an association can do when an owner wants to install air conditioning (AB 1684), a heat pump (SB 222), energy-code windows (SB 908), or an ADU (AB 956), and two of those bar HOA fees for installations in an owner’s own unit or lot. Others shorten election notice deadlines (AB 1892), require boards to review an annual statement of management company fees (AB 739), shift more EV charger liability to owners (SB 1267), make it easier for some senior communities to amend old CC&Rs (AB 2035), and let Los Angeles County associations reinstate expired CC&Rs (AB 2692, already in effect). Two bills were vetoed: SB 1238 and AB 2439.

Every fall, California boards get a new list of rules to absorb by January. This year’s list is a long one, and one bill on it, AB 2050, is the biggest change to reserve funding the state has ever made.

We read the chaptered text of each bill. Here is what changed, grouped by what it means for your board.

The 2026 bills at a glance

Bill	What it does	Starts
AB 2050	Mandatory reserve funding, 15% rule, reserve funding special assessment	New rules start January 1, 2032
AB 1684	Owners can install code-compliant cooling systems; no HOA fees	January 1, 2027
SB 222	Owners can install heat pumps (no HOA fees) and switch gas appliances to electric	January 1, 2027
SB 908	Limits HOA restrictions on energy-code window replacements	January 1, 2027
AB 956	Expands ADU protections to lots zoned to allow single-family use	January 1, 2027
AB 1892	Shorter election notice deadlines; utility repair wording	January 1, 2027
AB 739	Board must review an annual statement of management fees	January 1, 2027
SB 1267	Owners liable for damage from EV charger use; installer indemnity	January 1, 2027
AB 2035	Lower court-petition vote threshold for some senior communities	January 1, 2027
AB 2692	Los Angeles County: reinstate CC&Rs that expired	In effect since August 24, 2026

Reserves: AB 2050

Until now, California required HOAs to study their reserves and adopt a funding plan, but never set a minimum amount they had to put in. AB 2050 (Chapter 796) changes that starting January 1, 2032:

• Every reserve study must state a minimum reserve contribution level that keeps the projected reserve balance from falling below zero over 30 years, and the association must fund at least that amount each year.
• If the balance is projected to fall below zero at any point, the association must put at least 15% of its gross annual budget into reserves each year until the balance is no longer projected to fall below zero. The bill doesn’t define “gross annual budget” or say exactly which projection triggers this rule, so those are questions for your attorney.
• If the budget can’t cover the minimum, the board must levy a reserve funding special assessment, subject to the same 5% cap as any other special assessment. If the capped amount isn’t enough, the association must put the larger amount to a member vote. It can’t levy one more than once every nine years, and the law doesn’t say what happens if members vote no.
• Studies must be updated annually, not just reviewed. The full site inspection is still required only every three years.

The legal minimum is essentially what reserve professionals call baseline funding, the same method Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stopped letting lenders rely on in condo project reviews this year. We cover the details, the math, and the open questions in our full guide to AB 2050 and mandatory reserve funding.

What owners can install, and what you can’t charge for it

Four bills continue a long trend: the Legislature keeps narrowing what an architectural committee can say no to. Two of them go further than past bills by banning fees.

Cooling systems: AB 1684

New Civil Code § 4738 voids any governing document or architectural guideline that “prohibits or restricts the installation, upgrade, replacement, or use of a cooling system that complies with all applicable state and local building codes.” A cooling system includes window and portable air conditioners, swamp coolers, fans, heat pumps, and “any other technology that reasonably creates an internal temperature cooling benefit.”

In the owner’s separate interest, the association may not:

• charge any fee for the installation, upgrade, replacement, or use,
• require a specific system, contractor, or product,
• claim a rebate, credit, or commission, or
• require removal or block a replacement or upgrade.

The exceptions are narrow: the work would violate the law, or a required permit was denied. How far these rules reach into the common area, such as a condenser on a condo roof or a new opening in an exterior wall, isn’t settled yet, so have your attorney review before you deny or condition an application. If a system affects the common area, the association can still make the owner responsible for damage, require a licensed contractor (except for portable, window, and evaporative units and other systems that don’t need a permit), and require disclosure to buyers. A willful violation exposes the association to actual damages, a civil penalty of up to $2,000, and the owner’s attorney’s fees.

Heat pumps and gas-to-electric: SB 222

New Civil Code § 4737 voids any rule that “prevents the replacement of a fuel-gas-burning appliance with an electric appliance” that meets code, and any rule that effectively prohibits or restricts a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system. For heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems, the same four prohibitions apply inside the owner’s separate interest: no fees, no required contractor or product, no rebate or commission, no forced removal. The same narrow exceptions apply. Have your attorney confirm what review steps you can still require before you rewrite your guidelines. The association can still hold the owner responsible for damage to the common area. The bill also requires cities and counties to speed up heat pump permitting, with asynchronous inspections by July 1, 2027 and automated online permits by July 1, 2028.

Windows: SB 908

New Civil Code § 4754 voids rules that prohibit or restrict an owner’s “residential window replacement project” using California Energy Code-compliant windows (same size, same location). Associations can still impose reasonable installation restrictions, but not ones that raise the cost by more than 10% or reduce energy efficiency by more than 10%. Aesthetic restrictions are allowed only in multifamily buildings of more than 20 units that don’t include townhomes, and only for projects that change how the window looks from outside. If the governing documents don’t contain reasonable restrictions, the association can’t require design review at all. Applications not approved or denied in writing within 45 days are deemed approved, unless the delay comes from the owner not providing information the application required.

SB 908 also reaches windows that are technically common area or exclusive use common area but serve only one unit. For those, the association must approve the project if the owner agrees in writing to follow its standards, use a licensed contractor, get permits, and pay for the work. After that, the owner and every later owner are responsible for maintaining, repairing, and replacing the new windows. The association can also require a notice recorded on title and an indemnity from the installer.

The shift in maintenance responsibility matters for your reserve study. If your study funds window replacement as an association component, owner replacements under SB 908 gradually shift those windows off the association’s books. Tell your reserve study provider when it happens, and have your attorney confirm how the shift fits your CC&Rs’ maintenance responsibilities, so the component list and the funding plan stay accurate.

ADUs: AB 956

The Davis-Stirling Act already voids HOA rules that effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict an ADU or junior ADU on a lot zoned for single-family use. AB 956 changes “zoned for” to “zoned to allow” single-family use, which extends the protection to lots in zones where single-family homes are allowed but aren’t the only permitted use. Separately, starting January 1, 2027, cities and counties must ministerially approve two detached new-construction ADUs on qualifying single-family lots instead of one. That is a permit rule for cities and counties, so whether your CC&Rs can still limit a lot to one ADU is a question for your attorney.

Elections, governance, and management

Shorter election notices: AB 1892

For associations that seat directors by acclamation when candidates don’t exceed open seats, the initial notice drops from at least 90 days to at least 30 days before the nomination deadline, and the reminder notice must go out not less than 10 days before the deadline (previously between 7 and 30 days). For electronic secret ballots, the 30-day individual notice now goes only to members who are voting electronically. The bill also rewords the association’s duty to restore interrupted gas, heat, water, or electric service (unless a utility company or your declaration assigns that repair elsewhere) so it applies “when the interruption in service begins in the common area.” Boards can switch their election operating rules to the shorter timelines, and must change any rule that sends the reminder fewer than 10 days before the nomination deadline. Rule changes need 28 days’ notice to members, and election rules can’t be amended within 90 days of an election, so plan the timing with your attorney.

Management fee transparency: AB 739

Starting in 2027, the board must review, once a year, a statement of fees charged by the managing agent, broken into base management fees, fee schedule charges for extra services, and reimbursable expenses, along with the total billed and paid and the number of units. The statement becomes an association record that members can inspect. If your management contract has a long fee schedule, this is the year to look at it closely.

EV chargers: SB 1267

Owners who install an EV charger in the common area or exclusive use common area were already responsible for damage from installation, maintenance, repair, and removal. SB 1267 adds damage from use, requires the installer to indemnify the association or members for damage caused by the installation, and states the Legislature’s intent to protect a compliant association from liability for injuries from a charger it doesn’t own, except in cases of gross negligence. A statement of intent isn’t a guaranteed legal shield, so keep enforcing the owner insurance requirements the law already allows.

Amending old CC&Rs in senior communities: AB 2035

When a declaration requires more than 50% of the votes to amend, an association or member can already petition the superior court to lower the threshold. AB 2035 lets the court approve an amendment with more than 37% of the votes if the community is a senior citizen housing development that meets the bill’s criteria and its declaration hasn’t been amended in at least 35 years.

Los Angeles County: AB 2692

Some older CC&Rs expire at the end of their initial term. AB 2692 is an urgency statute, in effect since August 24, 2026, that lets a Los Angeles County association reinstate a declaration that expired that way. Reinstatement needs the member approval the declaration required for an extension (or a majority of all members if it doesn’t say), a certification of the member approval, and recording with the county. The extension runs for the original term or 20 years, whichever is shorter. The provision sunsets January 1, 2028, so affected associations need to move quickly.

What was vetoed

SB 1238 (vetoed September 20, 2026) would have written the cost of repairing the balconies and other elevated elements flagged in SB 326 inspections into the reserve study and the reserve funding plan, added more balcony disclosures to resale packages (the latest balcony report already goes to buyers under existing law), and created a duty of care for managing agents. The Governor objected mainly to the duty of care, which he said could create “conflicting obligations” between the association and individual members, and noted that several other provisions “overlap with existing requirements governing reserve planning.” Existing law still requires the balcony inspection report to be incorporated into the reserve study; see our SB 326 guide.

AB 2439 (vetoed September 20, 2026) would have made associations liable for “any costs” an owner incurs when the association misses assessment collection steps, imposed a $1,000 penalty on “the board” for repeat notice violations, and required certified mail in some cases. The Governor said the open-ended “any costs” standard could “invite disputes and litigation,” and that the unclear board penalty could “discourage residents from volunteering to serve.”

A separate proposal to cap no-vote regular assessment increases at 8% (SB 1007) did not pass, so the existing 20% cap in Civil Code § 5605 stays in place.

Your board’s January checklist

• Update architectural guidelines for air conditioning, heat pumps, gas-to-electric swaps, windows, and EV chargers. For cooling systems and heat pumps installed in an owner’s own unit or lot, remove fees and any requirement to use a specific product or contractor, which AB 1684 and SB 222 now prohibit. AB 1684 still lets you require a licensed contractor when a system affects the common area, so have your attorney review the new guidelines before you adopt them.
• Review election operating rules against the new AB 1892 notice timelines, minding the notice period for rule changes.
• Ask your manager for the AB 739 fee statement and put its review on an agenda once a year.
• Tell your reserve study provider about any windows owners take over under SB 908.
• Start planning for AB 2050. Look at your 30-year reserve projection now; the associations that adjust gradually starting with the 2027 budget will feel 2032 the least.
• Los Angeles County associations with expired CC&Rs: talk to counsel about reinstatement before AB 2692 sunsets.

Where we come in

Of everything on this list, AB 2050 is the one that turns on your reserve study. Starting in 2032, the number your association must fund comes straight from the study, so it needs to be accurate. Our full reserve study inspects every accessible component on site and builds a 30-year funding plan you can defend, and our annual updates keep it current. Contact Apex Reserve Group for a complimentary 30-minute consultation.

This article summarizes 2026 California legislation in general terms based on the chaptered bill text. It is not legal advice. Ask your association’s attorney how these laws apply to your governing documents.