Published in the Daily Journal Los Angeles
In an article published on February 20 in the Daily Journal Los Angeles, VF Law Of Counsel Lee Freedman and Partner Damien Bielli examine how recent affordable housing legislation targeting community associations is producing unintended consequences that shift financial burdens onto compliant homeowners. The authors argue that laws limiting HOA enforcement, collection, and maintenance powers ultimately force responsible owners to subsidize non-compliant neighbors while weakening the financial stability of the communities they live in.
“These legislative burdens arrive precisely at the wrong time,” Freedman and Bielli state. “Association insurance costs have risen sharply in recent years, driven by increased claims, climate-related risks and carrier exits from certain markets.”
Legislation surrounding ADU mandates, fine caps, and restrictions on attorney fee recovery can all impact funding capacity for community associations, leaving communities exposed to higher premiums, coverage denials, and even catastrophic structural failures.
“The public must recognize that legislation protecting non-compliant owners at the expense of association operations does not create affordable housing — it redistributes costs to compliant owners while degrading the communities everyone depends on,” the authors explain.
Read the article in full, click here (subscriber-based).