4500. Unless the declaration otherwise provides, in a condominium project, or in a planned development in which the common area is owned by the owners of the separate interests, the common area is owned as tenants
in common, in equal shares, one for each separate interest.

4505. Unless the declaration otherwise provides:
(a) In a community apartment project and condominium project, and in those planned developments with common area owned in common by the owners of the separate interests, there are appurtenant to each separate interest nonexclusive rights of ingress, egress, and support, if necessary, through the common area. The common area is subject to these rights.

(b) In a stock cooperative, and in a planned development with common area owned by the association, there is an easement for ingress, egress, and support, if necessary, appurtenant to each separate interest. The common area is subject to these easements.

4510. Except as otherwise provided in law, an order of the court, or an order pursuant to a final and binding arbitration decision, an association may not deny a member or occupant physical access to the member’s or occupant’s separate interest, either by restricting access through the common area to the separate interest, or by restricting access solely to the separate interest.
Limitations on Governing Document Restrictions 4515. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that members and residents of common interest developments have the ability to exercise their rights under law to peacefully assemble and freely communicate with one another and with others with respect to common interest development living or for social, political, or educational purposes.

(b) The governing documents, including bylaws and operating rules, shall not prohibit a member or resident of a common interest development from doing any of the following:

(1) Peacefully assembling or meeting with members, residents, and their invitees or guests during reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner for purposes relating to common interest development living, association elections, legislation, election to public office, or the initiative, referendum, or recall processes.

(2) Inviting public officials, candidates for public office, or representatives of homeowner organizations to meet with members, residents, and their invitees or guests and speak on matters of public interest.

(3) Using the common area, including the community or recreation hall or clubhouse, or, with the consent of the member, the area of a separate interest, for an assembly or meeting described in

paragraph (1) or (2) when that facility or separate interest is not otherwise in use.

(4) Canvassing and petitioning the members, the association board, and residents for the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) at reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner.

(5) Distributing or circulating, without prior permission, information about common interest development living, association elections, legislation, election to public office, or the initiative, referendum, or recall processes, or other issues of concern to members and residents at reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner.

(6) (A) Using social media or other online resources to discuss any of the following, even if the content is critical of the association or its governance:

(i) Development living.

(ii) Association elections.

(iii) Legislation.

(iv) Election to public office.

(v) The initiative, referendum, or recall processes.

(vi) Any other issues of concern to members and residents.

(B) This paragraph does not require an association to provide social media or other online resources to members.

(C) This paragraph does not require an association to allow members to post content on the association’s internet website.

(c) A member or resident of a common interest development shall not be required to pay a fee, make a deposit, obtain liability insurance, or pay the premium or deductible on the association’s insurance policy, in order to use a common area for the activities described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (b).

(d) A member or resident of a common interest development who is prevented by the association or its agents from engaging in any of the activities described in this section may bring a civil or small claims court action to enjoin the enforcement of a governing document, including a bylaw and operating rule, that violates this section. The court may assess a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation.

(e) An association shall not retaliate against a member or a resident for exercising any of the rights contained in this section.

Article 2. Transfer Disclosure

4525. (a) The owner of a separate interest shall provide the following documents to a prospective purchaser of the separate interest, as soon as practicable before the transfer of title or the execution of a real property sales contract, as defined in Section 2985:
(1) A copy of all governing documents. If the association is not incorporated, this shall include a statement in writing from an authorized representative of the association that the association is not incorporated.

(2) If there is a restriction in the governing documents limiting the occupancy, residency, or use of a separate interest on the basis of age in a manner different from that provided in Section 51.3, a statement that the restriction is only enforceable to the extent permitted by Section 51.3 and a statement specifying the applicable provisions of Section 51.3.

(3) A copy of the most recent documents distributed pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 5300) of Chapter 6.

(4) A true statement in writing obtained from an authorized representative of the association as to the amount of the association’s current regular and special assessments and fees, any assessments levied upon the owner’s interest in the common interest development that are unpaid on the date of the statement, and any monetary fines or penalties levied upon the owner’s interest and unpaid on the date of the statement. The statement obtained from an authorized representative shall also include true information on late charges, interest, and costs of collection which, as of the date of the statement, are or may be made a lien upon the owner’s interest in a common interest development pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 5650) of Chapter 8.

(5) A copy or a summary of any notice previously sent to the owner pursuant to Section 5855 that sets forth any alleged violation of the governing documents that remains unresolved at the time of the request. The notice shall not be deemed a waiver of the association’s right to enforce the governing

documents against the owner or the prospective purchaser of the separate interest with respect to any violation. This paragraph shall not be construed to require an association to inspect an owner’s separate interest.

(6) A copy of the initial list of defects provided to each member pursuant to Section 6000, unless the association and the builder subsequently enter into a settlement agreement or otherwise resolve the matter and the association complies with Section 6100. Disclosure of the initial list of defects pursuant to this paragraph does not waive any privilege attached to the document. The initial list of defects shall also include a statement that a final determination as to whether the list of defects is accurate and complete has not been made.

(7) A copy of the latest information provided for in Section 6100.

(8) Any change in the association’s current regular and special assessments and fees which have been approved by the board, but have not become due and payable as of the date disclosure is provided pursuant to this subdivision.

(9) If there is a provision in the governing documents that prohibits the rental or leasing of any of the separate interests in the common interest development to a renter, lessee, or tenant, a statement describing the prohibition.

(10) If requested by the prospective purchaser, a copy of the minutes of board meetings, excluding meetings held in executive session, conducted over the previous 12 months, that were approved by the board.

(b) This section does not apply to an owner that is subject to Section 11018.6 of the Business and Professions Code

4528. The form for billing disclosures required by Section 4530 shall be in at least 10-point type and substantially the following form:
CHARGES FOR DOCUMENTS PROVIDED AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 4525*
Property Address ____________________________________________________________

Owner of Property ___________________________________________________________

Owner’s Mailing Address _____________________________________________________

(If known or different from property address.)

Provider of the Section 4525 Items:

Print Name
Position or Title
Association or Agent Date Form Completed
Check or Complete Applicable Column or Columns Below:

Document Articles of Incorporation Civil Code Section Included Section 4525(a)(1) Fee for Document Not Available (N/A) or Not Applicable (N/App) or Directly Provided by Seller and confirmed in writing by Seller as a current document (DP)
or statement that not incorporated CC&Rs Section 4525(a)(1)
Bylaws Section 4525(a)(1)
Operating Rules Section 4525(a)(1)
Age restrictions, if any Section 4525(a)(2)
Rental restrictions, if any Section 4525(a)(9)
Annual budget report or Sections 5300 and
summary, including reserve study Assessment and reserve 4525(a)(3) Sections 5300 and
funding disclosure summary Financial statement review 4525(a)(4) Sections 5305 and
Assessment enforcement 4525(a)(3) Sections 5310 and
policy Insurance summary 4525(a)(4) Sections 5300 and
Regular assessment 4525(a)(3) Section 4525(a)(4)
Special assessment Section 4525(a)(4)
Emergency assessment Section 4525(a)(4)
Other unpaid obligations Sections 5675 and
of seller 4525(a)(4)
Approved changes to Sections 5300 and
assessments 4525(a)(4), (8)
Settlement notice regarding Sections 4525(a)(6), (7),
common area defects and 6100
Preliminary list of defects Sections 4525(a)(6),
6000, and 6100

Notice(s) of violation Sections 5855 and
4525(a)(5)

Required statement of fees Section 4525
Minutes of regular board Section 4525(a)(10)
meetings conducted over the
previous 12 months, if requested
Total fees for these documents:

* The information provided by this form may not include all fees that may be imposed before the close of escrow. Additional fees that are not related to the requirements of Section 4525 shall be charged separately.

4530. (a) (1) Upon written request, the association shall, within 10 days of the mailing or delivery of the request, provide the owner of a separate interest, or any other recipient authorized by the owner, with a copy of all of the requested documents specified in Section 4525.
(2) The documents required to be made available pursuant to this section may be maintained in electronic form, and may be posted on the association’s Internet Web site. Requesting parties shall have the option of receiving the documents by electronic transmission if the association maintains the documents in electronic form.

(3) Delivery of the documents required by this section shall not be withheld for any reason nor subject to any condition except the payment of the fee authorized pursuant to subdivision (b).

(b) (1) The association may collect a reasonable fee from the seller based upon the association’s actual cost for the procurement, preparation, reproduction, and delivery of the documents requested pursuant to this section. An additional fee shall not be charged for the electronic delivery in lieu of a hard copy delivery of the documents requested.

(2) Upon receipt of a written request, the association shall provide, on the form described in Section 4528, a written or electronic estimate of the fees that will be assessed for providing the requested documents prior to processing the request in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(3) (A) A cancellation fee for documents specified in subdivision (a) shall not be collected if either of the following applies:

(i) The request was canceled in writing by the same party that placed the order and work had not yet been performed on the order.

(ii) The request was canceled in writing and any work that had been performed on the order was compensated.

(B) The association shall refund all fees collected pursuant to paragraph (1) if the request was canceled in writing and work had not yet been performed on the order.

(C) If the request was canceled in writing, the association shall refund the share of fees collected pursuant to paragraph (1) that

represents the portion of the work not performed on the order.

(4) Fees for any documents required by this section shall be distinguished from, separately stated, and separately billed from, all other fees, fines, or assessments billed as part of the transfer or sales transaction.

(5) Any documents not expressly required by Section 4525 to be provided to a prospective purchaser by the seller shall not be included in the document disclosure required by this section. Bundling of documents required to be provided pursuant to this section with other documents relating to the transaction is prohibited.

(6) A seller shall provide to the prospective purchaser, at no cost, current copies of any documents specified by Section 4525 that are in the possession of the seller.

(7) The fee for each document provided to the seller for the purpose of transmission to the prospective purchaser shall be individually itemized in the statement required to be provided by the seller to the prospective purchaser.

(8) It is the responsibility of the seller to compensate the association, person, or entity that provides the documents required to be provided by Section 4525 to the prospective purchaser.

(c) An association may contract with any person or entity to facilitate compliance with this section on behalf of the association.

(d) The association shall also provide a recipient authorized by the owner of a separate interest with a copy of the completed form specified in Section 4528 at the time the required documents are delivered. A seller may request to purchase some or all of these documents, but shall not be required to purchase all of the documents listed on the form specified in Section 4528.

4535. In addition to the requirements of this article, an owner transferring title to a separate interest shall comply with applicable requirements of Sections 1133 and 1134.

4540. Any person who willfully violates this article is liable to the purchaser of a separate interest that is subject to this section for actual damages occasioned thereby and, in addition, shall pay a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). In an action to enforce this liability, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees.

4545. Nothing in this article affects the validity of title to real property transferred in violation of this article.
Article 3. Transfer Fee

4575. Except as provided in Section 4580, neither an association nor a community service organization or similar entity may impose or collect any assessment, penalty, or fee in connection with a transfer of title or any other interest except for the following:
(a) An amount not to exceed the association’s actual costs to change its records.

(b) An amount authorized by Section 4530.

4580. The prohibition in Section 4575 does not apply to a community service organization or similar entity, or to a nonprofit entity that provides services to a common interest development under a declaration of trust, of either of the following types:
(a) An organization or entity that satisfies both of the following conditions:

(1) It was established before February 20, 2003.

(2) It exists and operates, in whole or in part, to fund or perform environmental mitigation or to restore or maintain wetlands or native habitat, as required by the state or local government as an express written condition of development.

(b) An organization or entity that satisfies all of the following conditions:

(1) It is not an organization or entity described by subdivision (a).

(2) It was established and received a transfer fee before January 1, 2004.

(3) On and after January 1, 2006, it offers a purchaser the following payment options for the fee or charge it collects at time of transfer:

(A) Paying the fee or charge at the time of transfer.

(B) Paying the fee or charge pursuant to an installment payment plan for a period of not less than seven years. If the purchaser elects to pay the fee or charge in installment payments, the organization or entity may also collect additional amounts that do not exceed the actual costs for billing and financing on the amount owed. If the purchaser sells the separate interest before the end of the installment payment plan period, the purchaser shall pay the remaining balance before the transfer.

Article 4. Restrictions on Transfer

4600. (a) Unless the governing documents specify a different percentage, the affirmative vote of members owning at least 67 percent of the separate interests in
the common interest development shall be required before the board may grant exclusive use of any portion of the common area to a member.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to the following actions:

(1) A reconveyance of all or any portion of that common area to the subdivider to enable the continuation of development that is in substantial conformance with a detailed plan of phased development submitted to the Real Estate Commissioner with the application for a public report.

(2) Any grant of exclusive use that is in substantial conformance with a detailed plan of phased development submitted to the Real Estate Commissioner with the application for a public report or in accordance with the governing documents approved by the Real Estate Commissioner.

(3) Any grant of exclusive use that is for any of the following reasons:

(A) To eliminate or correct engineering errors in documents recorded with the county recorder or on file with a public agency or utility company.

(B) To eliminate or correct encroachments due to errors in construction of any improvements.

(C) To permit changes in the plan of development submitted to the Real Estate Commissioner in circumstances where the changes are the result of topography, obstruction, hardship, aesthetic considerations, or environmental conditions.

(D) To fulfill the requirement of a public agency.

(E) To transfer the burden of management and maintenance of any common area that is generally inaccessible and not of general use to the membership at large of the association.

(F) To accommodate a disability.

(G) To assign a parking space, storage unit, or other amenity, that is designated in the declaration for assignment, but is not assigned by the declaration to a specific separate interest.

(H) To install and use an electric vehicle charging station in an owner’s garage or a designated parking space that meets the requirements of Section 4745, where the installation or use of the charging station

requires reasonable access through, or across, the common area for utility lines or meters.

(I) To install and use an electric vehicle charging station through a license granted by an association under Section 4745.

(J) To install and use a solar energy system on the common area roof of a residence that meets the requirements of Sections 714, 714.1, and, if applicable, Section 4746.

(K) To comply with governing law.

(c) Any measure placed before the members requesting that the board grant exclusive use of any portion of the common area shall specify whether the association will receive any monetary consideration for the grant and whether the association or the transferee will be responsible for providing any insurance coverage for exclusive use of the common area.

4605. (a) A member of an association may bring a civil action for declaratory or equitable relief for a violation of Section 4600 by the association, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, restitution, or a combination thereof, within one year of the date the cause of action accrues.
(b) A member who prevails in a civil action to enforce the member’s rights pursuant to Section 4600 shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, except that each identical violation shall be subject to only one penalty if the violation affects each member equally. A prevailing association shall not recover any costs, unless the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.

4610. (a) Except as provided in this section, the common area in a condominium project shall remain undivided, and there shall be no judicial partition thereof. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit partition of a cotenancy in a condominium.
(b) The owner of a separate interest in a condominium project may maintain a partition action as to the entire project as if the owners of all of the separate interests in the project were tenants in common in the entire project in the same proportion as their interests in the common area. The court shall order partition under this subdivision only by sale of the entire condominium project and only upon a showing of one of the following:

(1) More than three years before the filing of the action, the condominium project was damaged or destroyed, so that a material part was rendered unfit for its prior use, and the condominium project has

not been rebuilt or repaired substantially to its state prior to the damage or destruction.

(2) Three-fourths or more of the project is destroyed or substantially damaged and owners of separate interests holding in the aggregate more than a 50-percent interest in the common area oppose repair or restoration of the project.

(3) The project has been in existence more than 50 years, is obsolete and uneconomic, and owners of separate interests holding in the aggregate more than a 50-percent interest in the common area oppose repair or restoration of the project.

(4) Any conditions in the declaration for sale under the circumstances described in this subdivision have been met.

4615. (a) In a common interest development, no labor performed or services or materials furnished with the consent of, or at the request of, an owner in the common interest development or the owners’ agent or contractor shall be the basis for the filing of a lien against any other property of another owner in the common interest development unless that other owner has expressly consented to or requested the performance of the labor or furnishing of the materials or services. However, express consent is deemed to have been given by the owner of any separate interest in the case of emergency repairs thereto.
(b) Labor performed or services or materials furnished for the common area, if duly authorized by the association, are deemed to be performed or furnished with the express consent of each separate interest owner.

(c) The owner of any separate interest may remove that owner’s separate interest from a lien against two or more separate interests or any part thereof by doing either of the following:

(1) Pay to the holder of the lien the fraction of the total sum secured by the lien that is attributable to the owner’s separate interest.

(2) Record a lien release bond, pursuant to Section 8424, in an amount equal to 125 percent of the sum secured by the lien that is attributable to the owner’s separate interest.

4620. If the association is served with a claim of lien pursuant to Part 6 (commencing with Section 8000) for a work of improvement on a common area, the association shall, within 60 days of service, give individual notice to the members, pursuant to Section 4040.
Article 5. Transfer of Separate Interest

4625. In a community apartment project, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the community apartment project. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.

4630. In a condominium project the common area is not subject to partition, except as provided in Section 4610. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the common area. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.

4635. In a planned development, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the undivided interest in the common area, if any exists. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.

4640. In a stock cooperative, any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the separate interest includes the ownership interest in the corporation, however evidenced. Any conveyance, judicial sale, or other voluntary or involuntary transfer of the owner’s entire estate also includes the owner’s membership interest in the association.

4645. Nothing in this article prohibits the transfer of exclusive use areas, independent of any other interest in a common interest subdivision, if authorization to separately transfer exclusive use areas is expressly stated in the declaration and the transfer occurs in accordance with the terms of the declaration.

4650. Any restrictions upon the severability of the component interests in real property which are contained in the declaration shall not be deemed conditions repugnant to the interest created within the meaning of Section 711. However, these restrictions shall not extend beyond the period in which the right to partition a project is suspended under Section 4610.
CHAPTER 5. PROPERTY USE AND MAINTENANCE
Article 1. Protected Uses