After the lightning-fast adoption of major amendments to Civil Code Sections 5850 and 5855 — proposed and passed in just four days in June — regarding HOA member discipline, here are some tips to consider, along with key issues that still need to be resolved.

Here are the changes in the order they appear in the two statutes.

Civil Code Section 5850(a) now has a new sentence: “Monetary penalties shall be reasonable.” What is “reasonable” is going to depend upon the circumstances and may be the subject of future disputation.

Section 5850(c) now limits monetary penalties (aka “fines”) to $100 per violation. Many HOAs with higher fines may need to revise their schedule of fines to avoid imposing fines over the limit. Continuing fines, meaning fines which automatically are added on each mont

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