Bills Protect Homeowners From Foreclosure

SACRAMENTO — Two bills to give homeowners' association members greater protections against losing their homes because of their failure to pay dues on time have passed their first tests in the California Legislature.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee approved a bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento that would require a homeowners' association to get a court order to foreclose on a residence whose owner had fallen behind in paying association assessments.

Hours later, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill by Senator Denise Ducheny of San Diego that would bar a homeowners' association from foreclosing without a court order in cases involving less than $2,500 in late payments.

Those restrictions in Ducheny's bill wouldn't apply to homeowners' associations with fewer than 25 homes.

The bills were triggered by the increasingly common use of foreclosure procedures by homeowners' associations to collect overdue fees, sometimes for small delinquent amounts.

Last Updated: May 4, 2004