What the Governor signed: the new HOA laws LA condo owners face in 2027

The new HOA laws for 2027 are settled. Of the six condo bills that were waiting on the Governor when we last wrote, five were signed and one was vetoed, and a seventh bill on assessment payments was vetoed as well. The signed laws change two things that matter to anyone who owns or is buying in a Los Angeles condominium: how much an association has to save, and what it is allowed to say no to.

Every status below comes from the Legislature’s own bill histories, with chapter numbers. Unless a bill sets its own date, a law enacted this session takes effect January 1, 2027.

The scorecard

• AB 2050 (Caloza), reserve accounts: approved September 29, Chapter 796. Its main funding rules begin January 1, 2032.
• AB 1684 (Ward), cooling systems: approved September 30, Chapter 887.
• SB 222 (Wiener), heat pump water heaters and HVAC: approved September 28, Chapter 738.
• SB 908 (Wiener), energy code compliant windows: approved September 29, Chapter 787.
• SB 1267, EV charging stations owned by members in common areas: approved September 20, Chapter 350.
• SB 1238, management: vetoed September 20.
• AB 2439, governing documents and assessments: vetoed September 20.

Two smaller bills were already law before the deadline: AB 1892 on utility service interruptions and election notices (Chapter 169, August 31), and the Los Angeles County declaration reinstatement bill we covered in September.

The reserve law: 2032 is closer than it looks

The enacted text of AB 2050 is worth reading in full, because the details shifted after the version most summaries described. Starting January 1, 2032, every reserve study has to state a minimum reserve contribution level: the yearly amount that keeps the projected reserve balance above zero for the following 30 years. The association must fund at least that amount every year.

If the projection falls below zero at any point in those 30 years, the association has to transfer a minimum of 15 percent of its gross annual budget into reserves each year until it no longer does. If the budget cannot carry the minimum, the association must levy a reserve funding special assessment, handled under the same rules as any other special assessment in Civil Code section 5605. Where the cap on assessments a board can levy without a vote is not enough, the members vote on the larger amount. And an association cannot levy this kind of assessment more than once every nine years.

A reserve study already runs 30 years out. From 2032, the bottom line of that projection stops being advice and becomes a funding floor.

The year matters less than it seems. A buyer closing in 2027 will very likely still own in 2032, and the projection that will drive the requirement exists today in the association’s current reserve study. Lenders are moving first in any case: as we noted in our piece on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo changes, a Full Review will look for 15 percent of annual income budgeted to reserves from January 4, 2027. Two different 15 percent tests are now arriving from two directions.

The buildings this touches most are the older, larger ones. Of the 1,333 buildings in our database with more than 20 residences and a year on file, 850 were completed before 1990. Elevators, roofs, plumbing risers and facades in that generation are at or past their original service lives, which is exactly what a 30-year projection captures.

Cooling, heat pumps and windows: “no” becomes “how”

Three of the signed bills follow the same pattern. Each voids rules that block an owner from upgrading something inside their own unit, and each leaves the association a narrower role: approving the process, protecting the common area, and making sure the next owner knows.

AB 1684: cooling systems

Any provision of the governing documents or architectural guidelines that prohibits or restricts installing, replacing or using a code-compliant cooling system becomes void. The definition is broad: window and portable air conditioners, evaporative coolers, fans and heat pumps. The association cannot charge a fee for the work, require a particular product or contractor, or demand removal. It keeps two exceptions (the installation would break the law, or a required permit is not granted) and it can require a licensed contractor for permitted work, repair of common area damage, and disclosure to a buyer.

SB 222: heat pumps, and gas to electric

SB 222 adds Civil Code section 4737. A rule that prevents replacing a gas-burning appliance with a code-compliant electric one is void, and an association cannot prohibit or restrict a heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system in an owner’s unit, charge a fee for it, require a specific contractor or product, or claim a rebate on it. The same two exceptions apply, and the owner can be held responsible for damage the system causes to common area or a neighbor’s unit. Separately, from July 1, 2027 cities and counties must offer asynchronous inspections for these installs (the contractor and the inspector no longer need to be there at the same time), and by July 1, 2028 an online permit that issues in real time to qualifying licensed contractors.

SB 908: windows

SB 908 adds Civil Code section 4754 and goes further into territory towers care about. It covers windows in the owner’s unit, exclusive use common area windows, and windows the documents call common area but that serve only one unit. Rules that block replacing them with California Energy Code compliant windows are void. The association may keep reasonable installation restrictions that do not significantly raise the cost or lower the efficiency of the project.

Aesthetic restrictions survive only in one setting: a multifamily building of more than 20 units with no townhomes, and only for a replacement that changes how the window looks from outside. That carve-out reads as if it was written for buildings like Wilshire Regent (208 residences, 23 storeys, 1963) and Century Park East (480 residences, 21 storeys, 1966), where the window wall is the facade.

The owner signs on to the association’s permitted standards and inspection rights, a licensed contractor, permits with proof, and the cost. The owner and every later owner carry the maintenance, any damage, and the duty to disclose the windows to a buyer. The association may record a notice against the unit’s title and require the installer to indemnify it.

What this means for buying and selling

For buyers, a unit with new windows, a mini split or a heat pump now comes with a written trail: the approval, the permits, the contractor, and possibly a recorded notice that makes the upkeep yours. A unit without that trail is a question for the seller. In older towers like Marina City Club (600 residences, 1972) or The Comstock (217 residences, 1964), units with permitted cooling and efficient glazing may start to read differently from units that still have neither, and pricing may follow.

For sellers, the documents are the asset. If you upgraded, the approval letter and the permit sign-off belong in the disclosure package. It is also a reasonable moment to get a current read on what your condo is worth with and without those upgrades priced in.

For owners deciding whether rising reserve contributions change their plans altogether, our sister site lays out what LA condo equity buys elsewhere. And for anyone relocating to Los Angeles and weighing a condo against renting while the rules settle, there is a straightforward rent vs buy breakdown for Los Angeles.

EV chargers, and the two vetoes

SB 1267 deals with EV chargers that members own in the common area. According to CAI’s end-of-session report, it gives associations civil liability protection for certain damage involving those chargers and requires installers to indemnify associations for installation damage.

SB 1238 would have expanded who counts as an association’s agent and placed a duty of care on managers toward members. AB 2439 would have limited governing document restrictions on the use of public streets and set notice and record-keeping rules for assessment payments. Both were vetoed on September 20. We have not reviewed the veto messages, so we are not characterizing the reasons. One knock-on effect is visible in the text: AB 2050 carried extra changes to Civil Code section 5550 that would have applied only if SB 1238 were also enacted. With SB 1238 vetoed, those contingent changes do not take effect.

What owners and buyers can ask for now

• The current reserve study, read for the 30-year projection rather than the percent-funded headline. Our guide to reading an HOA budget covers where to look.
• The architectural guidelines, to see which window, cooling and appliance rules are about to stop being enforceable, and whether the board has written the replacement approval process yet.
• The board minutes for any discussion of a reserve funding plan, a dues increase or a special assessment.
• For a specific unit, the approvals and permits for any owner-installed windows, cooling or heat pump, and any recorded notice on title.

Our LA condo HOA guide covers the rest of the document package.

Common questions

When do the new California HOA laws take effect?

Most bills signed in the 2026 session take effect January 1, 2027. The main reserve funding rules in AB 2050 start later, on January 1, 2032, and the local permitting changes in SB 222 phase in during 2027 and 2028. Each bill's text sets its own operative dates, so check the section that applies.

Can a California HOA ban window air conditioners?

Under AB 1684, a governing document rule that prohibits or restricts a code-compliant cooling system becomes void, and the definition includes window and portable units. An association can still require a licensed contractor for permitted work, repair of any common area damage, and disclosure to a buyer, and the protection gives way if a required permit is denied.

Will AB 2050 raise HOA dues?

It may, for associations whose reserve studies project a negative balance within 30 years. From 2032 those associations must move at least 15 percent of their gross annual budget into reserves each year, and levy a reserve funding special assessment if the budget falls short. Associations already funding well may see little change.

This article is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or lending advice. Laws and bill statuses change, and how a rule applies depends on the building and its governing documents. Confirm anything that affects a decision with your association’s counsel, a CPA, an insurance broker or your lender. Building figures are from the Condos of LA database.