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SUSPENDING PRIVILEGES

Who Can Be Suspended & Why


Common area privileges can be suspended for rules violations, provided due process is followed and the right to suspend is part of the association's published policy for rules enforcement. Associations may suspend a member's privileges for unpaid fees, fines, and assessments provided the right to suspend is in the association's collection policy and due process is followed. If a unit or lot has multiple owners, the suspension of privileges for one owner applies to all owners and residents of that unit/lot. Associations can suspend a renter’s common area privileges if the owner is delinquent. When owners lease their units, they transfer their common area privileges to their tenants. (Liebler v. Point Loma.) If the owner's privileges are suspended, the loss flows to the tenant.

Allowable Suspensions
 

  • Cable TV. Those services can be suspended if an association has a bulk contract with the cable company.
  • Meeting Facilities. Use of the clubhouse for functions unrelated to association elections can be suspended.
  • Committee Membership. A delinquent owner can be removed from committees.
  • Laundry Facilities. The service can be suspended if laundry machines are paid through owners' dues. However, if they are coin-operated, the service cannot be suspended.
  • Miscellaneous. Receiving and sending calls through the association's switchboard (mostly highrise associations) can be suspended, as can signing for packages and deliveries (mostly associations with on-site staffing). The announcement of guests can be suspended (mostly gated communities and highrises), i.e., guests can be turned away and told to contact the owner and have him/her meet the guest at the front gate or building entrance.
  • Parking. Associations providing valet parking (mostly highrise associations) can suspend those privileges to delinquent owners, their families, and guests. Guest parking can also be suspended, so guests must find parking outside the development.
  • Recreational Facilities. Use of the association's recreational facilities, such as the pool, gym, tennis courts, etc., may be suspended.

Disallowed Suspensions


Elevators. Associations cannot suspend elevator service, as elevators are classified in landlord-tenant law as a utility that cannot be suspended. Moreover, if an elderly or medically challenged owner or guest is forced to walk up stairwells and has a heart attack, the association will likely be sued.

Ingress/Egress. Associations cannot bar owners and guests from walking through the lobby. Owners have the right of ingress/egress.

Meeting Attendance. The right to attend meetings is different from using the swimming pool. Meeting attendance is a right conferred by the Davis-Stirling Act: "Any member may attend board meetings, except when the board adjourns to or meets solely in executive session." (Civ. Code § 4925(a).) 

Meeting Facilities. Facilities during association elections cannot be suspended.

Utilities. California's Supreme Court has determined that associations are "for all practical purposes" a landlord. (Francis T v. Village Green.) Under landlord-tenant law, landlords may not willfully cause, "directly or indirectly," the interruption or termination of utility service to a tenant's residence. Utilities covered include, but are not limited to, water, heat, light, electricity, telephone, gas, elevators, and refrigeration. (Civ. Code § 789.3.) A judge could decide that trash collection qualifies as a "utility" and could not be withheld by the association.

Voting Rights. As of January 1, 2020, a member's voting rights can no longer be suspended. (Civ. Code § 5105(h)(1): a ballot cannot be denied to a member for any reason other than not being a member at the time when ballots are distributed.)

ASSISTANCE: Associations needing legal assistance can contact us. To stay current with community association issues, subscribe to the Davis-Stirling Newsletter.

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