AB 1684 passed the Assembly 74-0 and the Senate 38-0. It was enrolled and presented to the Governor on August 27. Zero opposition. When signed, every HOA in California with a cooling restriction on the books is out of compliance. Here is what boards, managers, and owners need to know.
AB 1684 passed the Assembly 74 to 0. It passed the Senate 38 to 0. It was enrolled and presented to the Governor on August 27, 2026. Nobody voted against it. Not one legislator.
This bill is going to become law. The only question is when.
## What it actually does
AB 1684 adds Section 4738 to the Civil Code, inside the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act. The language is simple: any provision in your HOA governing documents, architectural guidelines, or rules that prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation or use of a cooling system in a separate interest is void and unenforceable.
Cooling system means any system that provides thermal comfort. Window units, portable units, mini splits, heat pumps, central air. All of it. If it cools and it meets building code, your HOA cannot stop you.
The bill makes it explicitly unlawful for an association to block a member from installing one, upgrading one, replacing one, or even using one. It also prohibits retaliation. If a board member votes to deny your AC and then suddenly your architectural application for something else gets held up, that is now a separate violation.
## The teeth
The penalties are copied out of mobilehome park law, where this model has been in place for a while. A willful violation exposes the association to: Actual damages - Civil penalties up to $2,000 - Attorney fees
Per violation. Not per board decision. Per unit. If a three-unit HOA blocks all three owners from installing window units, the association is looking at six thousand dollars in penalties plus three sets of legal fees. The math gets bad fast for a self-managed HOA with a thin reserve account.
The word to sit with is willful. A board that has never read its governing documents is in a different legal position than a board that reads this, understands the law has changed, and keeps saying no anyway.
## What the HOA still controls
Nothing in the bill removes the association's ability to regulate how a cooling system is installed. You can still require: Permits and licensed contractors - Reasonable noise limits - Placement that does not block egress or encroach on common areas - Aesthetics that are not unreasonable (matching trim colors, for example)
What you lose is the ability to say no entirely. The board keeps authority over the how. It loses authority over the whether.
## Why this matters right now
August and September are the months when the cooling restriction fights happen. Someone gets a heat wave, buys a window unit, the neighbor complains, the board sends a violation letter. That cycle repeats every summer.
If your HOA sends that letter after the Governor signs, the letter itself is a willful violation. The board just handed the owner a claim with attorney fees baked in.
The smart move is to audit your CC&Rs and architectural guidelines now. Find every clause that mentions cooling, air conditioning, HVAC, window units, or thermal comfort. Flag anything that reads like a restriction or a prohibition. Draft amendments before the bill is chaptered.
## The broader pattern
This is not an isolated bill. It is part of a decade-long trend where California has been systematically stripping HOAs of their power to block things the state considers reasonable homeowner rights.
Solar panels. Civil Code Section 714. An HOA cannot unreasonably restrict them, and the law defines unreasonable with specificity.
EV charging stations. Civil Code Section 4745. Same deal. An owner has the right to install one, and the HOA can impose reasonable restrictions but cannot say no.
Accessory dwelling units. Civil Code Section 4751. Covenants that prohibit ADUs in planned developments are void. AB 956 would widen that to every common interest development.
Cooling systems are the next domino. The pattern is consistent: the state decides a homeowner right exists, the HOA's old rules become void, and the HOA that does not update its documents eats the liability.
## What this means for property managers
If you manage HOAs in the South Bay, LA, or anywhere in California, you have a compliance obligation to your clients. You do not need to be a lawyer to tell a board that their governing documents contain provisions a court will not enforce. You do need to tell them.
The risk is asymmetric. Updating the CC&Rs costs a few hours of board time and maybe a legal review. Enforcing a void restriction costs actual damages, civil penalties, and the other side's attorney fees.
## For homeowners and landlords
If your HOA has ever told you no on air conditioning, the law is about to change in your favor. Do not go pick a fight before the Governor signs. But pay attention. Once chaptered, the restriction in your CC&Rs is worth exactly as much as the paper it is printed on.
If you own a rental in an HOA that restricts cooling, this bill removes the biggest barrier to making your unit more livable and more rentable. A unit with AC rents faster and commands a premium. The HOA cannot block that improvement anymore.
## The bottom line
This bill had zero opposition. Zero. The Assembly voted 74-0. The Senate voted 38-0. It is enrolled and sitting on the Governor's desk. When it gets signed, every HOA in California with a cooling restriction on the books is out of compliance the moment the ink dries.
Audit your documents. Amend what needs amending. Do not be the board that finds out about this law from the other side's demand letter.
Questions about how this affects your rental?
Tony Self has owned and managed LA County income property since 1995. Reach out - free consultation, no pressure.
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