California homeownership law
HOA rules and inherited homes, explained
Two parts of owning a home in California are governed almost entirely by state law: living under a homeowners association, and passing a house on at death. These guides explain the Davis-Stirling Act and the Probate Code in plain English, with every figure tied to the section it comes from.
HOA rules under the Davis-Stirling Act
Fines and hearings, dues and special assessments, records, elections, disputes, collections, and what an association may not prohibit.
HOA Fines & Hearings
The $100 cap on HOA fines, the written notice and hearing a board owes before disciplining a member, and the dispute steps that follow.
Learn moreHOA Dues & Special Assessments
How much a board may raise regular dues or levy a special assessment without a member vote, and the emergency exceptions.
Learn moreHOA Records Inspection
Which association records members may inspect and copy, how fast the association must produce them, and what it may withhold.
Learn moreHOA Elections
Secret ballots, nomination notice, inspectors of elections, and the rules for counting votes in a California HOA.
Learn moreHOA Dispute Resolution
Internal dispute resolution, the mediation step before a lawsuit, and who pays attorney's fees in an HOA dispute.
Learn moreLate HOA Dues, Liens & Foreclosure
Late charges and interest on unpaid dues, the notice before a lien, and when an HOA may foreclose.
Learn moreWhat an HOA Cannot Ban
Solar panels, EV chargers, renting, pets, ADUs, flags and drought-tolerant yards — the limits California puts on HOA rules.
Learn moreHOA Budgets & Reserves
The annual budget report, reserve studies, balcony inspections, and the board's duties over association money.
Learn moreHOA Documents for Home Buyers
The HOA documents a seller must give a buyer, how fast the association must provide them, and what it may charge.
Learn moreInherited homes & probate
How a California house passes at death — trusts, transfer-on-death deeds, a surviving spouse, the small-estate court paths, intestacy, and probate sales.
Inheriting a House Without Probate
The ways a California house passes at death without a full probate — trust, transfer-on-death deed, surviving spouse, and the small-estate court paths.
Learn moreTransfer on Death Deeds
How a California TOD deed is signed, recorded and revoked, what it transfers at death, and what the beneficiary must do next.
Learn moreThe Primary-Residence Petition
The court petition that passes a decedent's home worth up to $750,000 without a full probate.
Learn moreSmall-Estate Affidavit for Real Property
The six-month affidavit that transfers low-value real property without probate, and the liability that comes with it.
Learn moreInheriting a House Held in a Trust
The successor trustee's notice, the deadline to contest the trust, accountings, and the assessor filing.
Learn moreSelling a House in Probate
Independent administration and the notice of proposed action, or a court-confirmed sale with overbids.
Learn moreProperty Passing to a Surviving Spouse
When a home passes to a surviving spouse without administration, the spousal property petition, and the spouse's liability for debts.
Learn moreWho Inherits Without a Will
California's intestacy order — the surviving spouse's share, then children, parents, siblings and more distant relatives.
Learn moreCommon questions
Which law governs my HOA?
Most California condominium and planned-development associations are governed by the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, Civil Code sections 4000 through 6150. The guides here each explain one part of it and link the sections they rely on.
Does every inherited house go through probate?
No. A house held in a living trust or under a recorded transfer on death deed passes under that document, property passing to a surviving spouse needs no administration, and smaller estates can use a court petition or an affidavit. The inheritance guides explain each path and its deadlines.
Where do I read the actual statute?
Every guide links the sections it relies on, verbatim, in the Code Library — so you can read the operative language, its conditions and its exceptions rather than relying on a summary.
Renting? Landlord–tenant law has its own guides under housing & tenant law. These pages are general information, not legal advice — read the enacted text in the Code Library and confirm anything you rely on.