If you own income property inside a condo or planned development, it can feel like the HOA holds all the cards. On a handful of specific upgrades, California law has been steadily taking that leverage away from the board, and a new bill would add one more item to the list.
Solar. California has protected an owner's right to install solar for years. An HOA cannot effectively block a solar installation, and any cost increase the board tries to impose is capped. If your board has been dragging its feet on a solar review, the timeline for that review is limited too.
EV charging. Same story. HOAs cannot prohibit an owner from installing EV charging, including inside a unit's own space. The homeowner covers the cost, and the board's ability to demand excessive insurance coverage has been scaled back over the years.
Cooling systems, coming soon. This is the new one. AB 1684 is moving through the legislature right now and would void any HOA rule blocking a unit owner from installing, upgrading, or using a cooling system, whether that is a window unit, a portable unit, or central air, as long as it meets code. It has not passed yet, but if it does, it joins solar and EV charging as another improvement your board cannot simply say no to.
Here is why this matters for landlords specifically. Every one of these upgrades makes a unit more competitive to rent and, eventually, more valuable to sell. If you have been sitting on an improvement because you assumed the HOA would fight you, it is worth checking where the law actually stands today, not where it stood five years ago. The trend in Sacramento has been consistently in the owner's favor on all three of these.
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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