HOA Homefront: Are we required to rebuild our balconies under new law?

Q: Our HOA is claiming that 2019’s SB 326 adds to the Davis-Stirling Act and requires homeowners to retrofit our balcony railings to existent gathering codification requirements. I don’t spot thing successful the measure that requires specified retrofitting. Am I missing something? — R.M., San Diego

A: In 2019, Senate Bill 326 was passed and became instrumentality successful 2020. It added Civil Code Section 5551. The instrumentality followed a akin caller instrumentality regarding flat buildings, which besides arose from a fatal balcony illness incidental astatine a Berkeley flat gathering successful 2015.

Section 5551 requires each HOAs with attached residences to get inspection of “exterior elevated elements” constructed of wood nary aboriginal than Jan. 1, 2025, and again astatine slightest each 9 years afterward. The 2025 deadline seems acold off, but HOAs present person lone 3 years to implicit those inspections. Prudent HOAs should commencement readying now.

What indispensable beryllium inspected: All wood gathering components extending beyond the exterior walls, including walkways, decks, balconies, stairways (or different items intended for radical to basal oregon locomotion on), and railings, which are much than 6 feet supra ground. The inspection indispensable besides see waterproofing, protecting the structural components from moisture harm (i.e., adust rot).

Who indispensable behaviour the inspection: Licensed structural engineers oregon architects.

What benignant of inspection: A ocular inspection, which whitethorn see ocular reflection oregon tools specified arsenic moisture meters, infrared device, oregon boroscope (a conduit with a camera attached which is utilized to look into confined spaces).

How overmuch of the gathering indispensable beryllium inspected: A “statistically important sample” of the full building, meaning 1 that creates a 95% level of assurance that the illustration represents the information of the full building. The inspector indispensable make a random database of locations to check.

What benignant of study does the inspector create: A written report, identifying the components checked, describing their condition, projecting the remaining utile beingness of the components, recommending immoderate indispensable repairs, and describing immoderate contiguous threats to residents.

What happens to the report:  It is incorporated into the HOA’s adjacent reserve study.

Does the section gathering section get involved? If the inspector observes immoderate contiguous threats, the study indispensable beryllium provided to the section gathering authorities wrong 15 days. The HOA indispensable instrumentality contiguous information measures to support immoderate areas of contiguous hazard and past prosecute repairs.

Is determination an exemption if the HOA has nary money? No.

How agelong does the HOA support the report: At slightest 2 inspection cycles, meaning up to 18 years if the HOA is complying with the law.

Are immoderate HOAs exempted? HOAs with less than 3 attached units, oregon HOA buildings with less than 3 attached units (i.e., lone duplexes).

What happens if we don’t comply? Probably nothing, until idiosyncratic sues the HOA for noncompliance, oregon unless a gathering constituent fails and idiosyncratic is injured. Then determination could beryllium a terrible liability for the HOA and board.

There are galore imaginable challenges successful compliance, specified arsenic uncovering structural engineers and architects who volition bash this. HOAs should not hold for 2024 and hazard being retired of compliance with this law.

Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is simply a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Partner of Richardson Ober DeNichilo LLP, a instrumentality steadfast known for assemblage relation advice. Submit questions to Kelly@rodllp.com.