With 2020 marking the beginning of the Assembly Bill 670, which sets an expectation of encouraging urban infill with the acceptance of accessory dwelling units to help create affordable housing in communities, there are new concerns regarding ADU housing rules conflicting with HOA guidelines.
ADU and HOA Rules: Are they at odds?
Yes, this new law creates a conflict of the existing authority of the local Homeowners Association’s rules and regulations and the expectations of the new law.
Read on to learn how these rules conflict with each other and how to go about building an ADU even with HOA rules in place.
Timeline to Highlight the Conflict
- Developers in the 1970’s were asked by local governments to privatize the management of communities. Local governments had difficulty getting property taxes raised to create funds for new developments.
- Developers created a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) to manage rules and regulations of communities. They collected yearly fees to pay for expenses and had the authority to levy fees for lack of compliance by homeowners.
- The HOAs created their own set of regulations for the management of the newly developed communities. While the HOA is not a government agency, they still have the legal authority
- The new law invalidates any regulation the HOAs have that restrict the development of ADUs, although they still have some power in the development. The restrictions cannot be considered unreasonable, however.
- HOA’s have significant worries because of defining what is considered unreasonable concerning the needs of specific communities.
What is an ADU?
An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a way of talking about a secondary residence or apartment that is on the same lot as a primary house.
Often these dwellings are called garage apartments or mother-in-law apartments. The dwellings can be attached or separate from the main home. Usually, these living spaces have a separate entrance and give the feel of living separately, except they typically share the utilities with the primary residence on the lot.
Regional Housing Needs in California
According to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), the goal of the plan is to meet the housing needs of the population of southern California.
More than half of the people of Southern California rent their homes, and their rent accounts for over 30% of their income. With the population expected to grow over the years,coupled with a low homeownership rate, there is a concern regarding the availability of affordable housing.
Currently, there is a shortage of housing, and both lower and middle-class families struggle to afford to buy homes. The impact goes beyond rent prices, however. Longer commute times impact transportation plans; this can lead to companies having to relocate employees or spend money on employee replacement.
Assembly Bill 670
To solve housing problems in California, the legislature passed housing laws that went into effect in 2020, and Assembly Bill No. 670 is outlined on the California Legislative Information site. In this bill, ADU’s are addressed in detail.
- Specifically, the new law prohibits local agencies from creating laws that make having or building an ADU more difficult. This includes setting minimum lot requirements and maximum dimensions for the ADU.
- The law prevents local agencies from making rules about off-street parking that get in the way of the creation of ADUs. The law is explicit in the identification of opportunities for creating multifamily buildings if building standards are already met.
- Lastly, there are provisions for enforcement of the new law, as the Department of Housing and Community Development can report violations of the new law to the Attorney General.
Conflict Between ADU and HOA Rules
The new law, however, creates a conflict with existing Homeowners Association (HOA) rules. The new laws established by AB 670 are at odds with existing HOAs.
The Beginning of the HOA
When parts of California were developed in the 1970s, developers concentrated on building single-family homes very quickly. While doing so, they first focused on low-density developments. They used lots of land to build single-family homes and ensured people were spread out.
They skipped over rugged terrain as it was not ideal for building. When they finished the low-density developments, they looked at that rugged land and focused on building higher-density developments.
There were rules in place for density requirements, and developers assumed the local governments would set up new taxes to handle amenities for the communities such as parks or other public services.
The local governments were not having much luck raising the property taxes, so the governments made the developers privatize the services if they wanted to continue to build.
This is where the development of HOAs happened. The HOA collected fees to pay for services such as streets, landscaping, lighting, and even fire and security.
Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, according to the Davis-Stirling website’s History Of Davis-Stirling Act Statutes explanation, is what is referred to as a part of the California Civil Code, section 4000, which sets forth rules for condominiums, coops, and the planned unit communities that exist in California.
Under this law, HOAs are there to regulate development, and they create a document called the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs).
The HOA is not any part of the government, but they function like one as they regulate how homeowners go about their daily life. The laws of the HOA are legally binding, and the HOA can set fines for residents or even sue for damages or as repayment for violating HOA rules.
Urban Infill
With the new laws regarding housing in place for 2020, HOAs who have been regulating communities for decades, were faced with many complications and questions.
The new law addresses the idea of urban infill, meaning, in the 1970s, when parts of California was developed, there were parts of the community left underdeveloped.
Instead of continuing to spread communities outward to create more space for affordable housing, the idea is to make the very best use of the areas already in existence within the community.
There are benefits to infilling communities, as discussed by the National League of Cities in their Case Studies and Practices report titled “Urban Infill & Brownfields Redevelopment.”
- The benefits include removing vacant buildings that are eyesores to the community.
- It helps communities sustain their population density in relationship to parks and other services.
- Lastly, it helps communities immensely by creating affordable housing. Affordable housing was one of the big reasons why the new law allows ADUs in communities that local agencies heavily regulate.
It goes on to discuss one of the risks of urban infill is the need for local authorities to regulate the management of urban infill initiatives, which is directly addressed and questioned by HOA boards in California.
Specific Concerns of the HOAs
Since the new law says the HOAs cannot restrict the building of an ADU, the associations are concerned because some communities have unique struggles. An example of this is pointed out in an article in HOA Leader titled, “California’s New Accessory Dwelling Unit Law: What HOA Boards Need to Know.”
If a homeowner wants to convert a garage into an apartment, it can be done under the new law.
There are no provisions in the law stating the homeowner must create off-street parking in return. This creates many problems in communities where parking is already an issue, and the HOAs feel powerless to do what they think is right for the communities they serve.
In the End
There are many aspects to the new law that homeowners and HOAs find confusing. Still, the law intends to reduce urban sprawl, have a positive impact on the environment, and create sustainable, affordable housing for members of the communities.