SB 1244

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act defines and regulates common interest developments and authorizes the association that manages the development to levy assessments to fulfill its obligations. The act provides that a regular or special assessment of the association, late charges, reasonable costs of collection, attorney's fees, and interest, as specified, are a debt of the owner of the separate interest at the time the assessment or other sums are levied, and are a lien on the owner's separate interest when the association records a notice of delinquent assessment and follows a specified process. The act permits the association to enforce the lien in any manner permitted by law. The act requires, in cases of a default, that a notice of default be served by the association on the owner of the separate interest's legal representative in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would authorize the association, if after reasonable diligence the notice is not able to be served on an owner's representative in accordance with those provisions, to post a copy on the owner's separate interest in a manner most likely to give actual notice to the party to be served and to mail a copy of the notice by certified mail and first-class mail to the owner's legal representative at the address of the owner's separate interest. (2) The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act authorizes a homeowner association to use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure, subject to certain conditions, in order to collect delinquent regular or special assessments of an amount of $1,800 or more, not including any accelerated assessments, late charges, fees and costs of collection, attorney's fees, or interest, or any assessments secured by the lien that are more than 12 months delinquent. In order to collect these assessments pursuant to these provisions, existing law requires the association to, among other things, provide notice by personal service, as specified, to an owner of a separate interest who occupies the separate interest or to the owner's legal representative, if the board votes to foreclose upon the separate interest. This bill would authorize the association, if after reasonable diligence the notice is not able to be personally served on an owner of the separate interest who occupies the separate interest, to post a copy on the owner's separate interest in a manner most likely to give actual notice to the party to be served and to mail a copy of the notice by certified mail and first-class mail to the owner at the address of the owner's separate interest. (3) Existing law requires all sales of property under the power of sale contained in any deed of trust or mortgage to be held in the county where the property or some part thereof is situated, and to be made at auction, to the highest bidder, as specified. Existing law authorizes postponement of a sale and requires that the notice of each postponement and the reason therefor be given by public declaration by the trustee at the time and place last appointed for sale. Existing law also requires a public declaration of postponement to set forth the new date, time, and place of sale and requires the place of sale to be the same place as originally fixed by the trustee for the sale. This bill would instead, for such a postponement, authorize the place of the sale to be different than the place originally fixed by the trustee or subsequently relocated by the trustee for the sale. The bill would require a change in the location of the sale proceedings, if any, whether due to the requirement of a public entity, emergency, or other circumstances that preclude the use of the published location, to be announced at the time of postponement.