HOA Disputes – Can A Homeowners Compel an HOA To Enforce CC&Rs?

According to Cal. Civ. Code § 5975, a homeowner is authorized to bring an enforcement action against another homeowner or the HOA itself to enforce a covenant, condition or restriction (CC&Rs). In many cases, an enforcement action of this type also warrants injunctive relief. In case where Gholian Law’s HOA Dispute Attorneys have pursued a preliminary injunction, it boils down to a question of what action is required to seek enjoinment, or is it necessary to compel an HOA to enforce CC&R provisions.

Unraveling these questions is imperative when seeking an enforcement of CC&Rs action. Largely because an HOA will usually argue that enforcing CC&Rs is at the association’s sole discretion. On the contrary, however, California courts have held that if an HOA refuses to enforce its CC&Rs, a homeowner is at liberty to seek injunctive relief and compel the HOA to take enforcement action. [See Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Condominium Homeowners Assn., (1999) 21 Cal. 4th 249, 268]

California courts have upheld injunctions instructing an HOA to use all mechanisms at their disposal to enforce their CC&Rs. [See Ekstrom v. Marquesa at Monarch Beach Homeowners Ass’n, (2008) 168 Cal. App. 4th 1111, 1125]