HOA Homefront: There is no ban on emails to HOA members
Q: I am a homeowner, and I want to email HOA board members directly about issues in the community. However, the management company says it would violate Civil Code 4910 to do so, and I have to send all emails through HOA management, where they will be read at the board meeting. Do you know if this is true? Are there any other laws forbidding me from emailing board members? — B.C., Discovery Bay.
A: Civil Code 4910 prohibits boards from acting via email, except in case of emergencies. There is no law prohibiting you from communicating with board members, nor should there be. However, there is also no law requiring board members to respond to your opinions.
Remember, these board members are volunteers, and are not on duty 24/7. If your HOA board’s preference is that you route communications through the HOA’s management, respect that preference. Plus, managers normally are better equipped to save emails and to spot issues requiring board action.
Q: We have an owner that owns 2 units in the building and they currently do not live in either of them. Their address for communication is an address in Europe. We do have an e-mail address for them. We are aware that they recently bought a home in our area where they live when in the U.S. What can we do to get their U.S. address for correspondence such as assessment votes, monthly dues and such? — A.R., Santa Monica.
A: There is a simple solution so that your neighbor abroad can quickly receive and send notices to your HOA. Under Civil Code Section 4041(a) owners are required to annually notify the HOA as to the preferred method of receiving notices, postal or electronic mail. If your neighbor provides their email address to the HOA and indicates they prefer that as their address, the HOA can proceed to communicate via email. Another option for HOAs is to seek a membership vote to amend the CC&Rs to deem all HOA members to have opted for email, under Civil Code Section 4040(c). This helps the HOA with all members who neglect to respond to the HOA with their preferred mode of communication, not just those abroad.
Q: With AB2159 recently enacted, if an association’s bylaws provide for proxies, can an association have both electronic voting and proxies? If an HOA can have both, can the proxy holder cast the vote by electronic secret ballot either at or in advance of the meeting? — A.C., San Marcos
A: Starting in 2025, California HOA members can finally vote electronically under the revised Civil Code Sections 5105, 5110, and 5115. A homeowner could request a written ballot pursuant to the new Civil Code Section 5105(i), but the new sections do not speak to a homeowner allowing another to vote electronically for them. A.C., proxies really aren’t useful any more, and this new statute makes them even less necessary. However, homeowners do not need to give another their proxy if they can vote or mail in their ballot from anywhere in the world, and they have 30 days to do so.
Kelly G. Richardson CCAL is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Partner of Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Send column questions to Kelly@roattorneys.com.