California HOA Design & Architectural Law

California at a glance

The Davis-Stirling Act

California common-interest developments are governed by the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §4000 and following). Unlike states that leave architectural authority almost entirely to the CC&Rs, Davis-Stirling regulates the process of association governance in detail — including how architectural review must be conducted, how rules are adopted, and what protections individual owners hold regardless of what the governing documents say. Design guidelines in California are only as enforceable as their compliance with this statutory framework.

Architectural review procedure (§4765)

Civil Code §4765 requires that an association's architectural review be conducted through a procedure that is fair, reasonable, and applied in good faith, consistent with the governing documents. Decisions must be made in good faith and may not be arbitrary or capricious, and the association must provide its decision to the applicant in writing. If a request is denied, the owner is generally entitled to an explanation and, where the governing documents provide, a right to reconsideration. The practical takeaway: a California ARC cannot simply say "no." It must follow its own published procedure, decide in good faith against stated standards, and document the result.

Solar & EV charging

Solar — §714 and §4746

California's Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714) voids any covenant or restriction that significantly restricts a solar energy system or significantly increases its cost or decreases its efficiency. For multifamily common-interest developments, §4746 sets the procedure for installations on common-area roofs. Associations may impose reasonable, narrowly defined conditions — but not de facto prohibitions.

EV charging — §4745

Civil Code §4745 makes void any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation of an EV charging station in an owner's separate interest or exclusive-use common area. The owner remains responsible for cost, maintenance, and insurance, but the association cannot stand in the way of a compliant installation.

Drought-tolerant & low-water landscaping (§4735)

Civil Code §4735 voids any provision in the governing documents that prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low-water-using plants as a group, or that prohibits water-efficient landscaping. The statute also bars an association from fining or assessing an owner for reducing or eliminating watering of vegetation during a government-declared state of emergency or local drought declaration. California design guidelines must therefore accommodate water-wise landscaping by right — the association's role is to set reasonable aesthetic and maintenance standards within that protection, not to mandate turf.

What this means for California boards & managers

California is the state where out-of-date guidelines create the most liability, because so much is dictated by statute rather than by your CC&Rs. Three priorities: confirm your architectural review procedure satisfies §4765 (fair, written, good-faith, consistently applied); strip or rewrite any provision that restricts solar, EV charging, or low-water landscaping in conflict with §§714, 4745, and 4735; and make sure your standards are objective enough to apply evenly. Guidelines that do these three things give your board defensible authority over genuine design and appearance issues.

Disclaimer: This page is a general informational overview of California law compiled June 2026 and is not legal advice. The Davis-Stirling Act is amended frequently and its application varies by community. Always confirm the current law with a licensed California community-association attorney before drafting, adopting, or enforcing governing documents.