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Please note that the following article is strictly to provide information and neither the content nor transmissions through this website
are intended to provide legal or other advice or to create an attorney-client relationship.
Effective January 1, 2018, new Civil Code §4515 (b)(5) establishes that an association's governing documents may not require prior permission, or otherwise prohibit an association member or resident from distributing or circulating information about:
This restriction of an association's power applies only if/when such distribution/circulation is conducted in a reasonable manner and at reasonable hours.
Pursuant to §4515(d) a member or resident of an association that is wrongfully prevented from distributing or circulating information in violation of this legislation may look to the civil or small claims court to enjoin (prevent) the enforcement of the offending governing document provision (which includes association operating rules) and to seek the imposition of a $500 penalty against the association for each violation.
Despite some early hype, most associations will not be substantially impacted by this legislation. This is because most associations do not require prior permission, prohibit or otherwise restrict the distribution or circulation of information within the association. In these cases, it is expected that the association will take no action unless/until a related problem arises.
The associations that already have, or wish to impose restrictions upon the distribution/circulation of information within the association project will be thankful that §4515 expressly provides that its requirements are implicated only if the distribution/circulation is conducted in a reasonable manner and at reasonable hours. However (and interestingly), §4515 does not establish any guidelines as to what a reasonable manner or a reasonable time may be. As such, pending further clean up legislation, or case law applying those vague standards, this new legislation leaves it to each association to do its best to determine what is meant by “reasonable” in its own context.
In this context, “reasonable” could potentially be read to include, among other things, only during daylight hours (or consider mimicking local ordinances for the times for lawn work), only non-commercial information, only personal delivery to an occupant of a dwelling (no door hangings or leaving material at the door or on the stoop), and possibly even a requirement that the material distributed identify the owner/resident distributing it (this may be considered pushing the limits, but it would clearly aid the association in permissibly regulating the activity by assuring that the association knows who is responsible for each distribution).
Civil Code §4514 does not impact an association's ability to prohibit members of the public from distributing or circulating information within the community. Some associations have “No Soliciting/Canvassing” signs posted at the entrances which are permissible as applied to the general public.
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