New Law Requires Owners To Provide Information

On September 28, 2016 Governor Brown signed and approved Senate Bill 918, which became part of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, specifically Civil Code§ 4041. This law goes into effect on January 1, 2017.

The new law addresses an important issue for community associations and where important notices
should be sent. Section 4041 requires owners, on an annual basis, to provide the association
with written notice of all of the following:

(1) The mailing address to which notices from the association are to be delivered

(2) A secondary address to which notices from the association are to be delivered

(3) The name and address of their legal representative, if any, including any person with power of attorney or other person who can be contacted in the event of the owner’s extended absence

(4) Whether the property is owner-occupied, rented, vacant or undeveloped land. If an owner fails to make these disclosures, the onsite property address is deemed to be the proper mailing address. While most CC&Rs contain a similar type of provision § 4041 imposes this obligation whether the association’s governing documents addresses it or not. In the new statute, the association must solicit the annual disclosure to the membership and must update the association’s records at least 30 days prior to making the association’s annual disclosure in accordance with Civil Code § 5300.