In the 2014 update of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, the state legislature took it upon themselves to define a key vote-counting method which has tripped up Associations in the past.

 In California Civil Code Section 4070, “Approval By A Majority of A Quorum” is defined as “an affirmative vote of a majority of the votes represented and voting in a duly held election in which a quorum is represented, which affirmative votes also constitute a majority of the required quorum.”

 This level of approval is required by Civil Code Section 5605 when a board asks the members to approve any greater-than-usual increase in assessments. This includes regular assessments that are more than 20% for the preceding fiscal year, or a special assessment which in the aggregate exceed 5% of the budgeted gross expenses of the association for that fiscal year.

 If your Association is looking to increase assessments by more than the standard legal rate, be sure you have the approval of a majority of a quorum as defined in the revised Davis-Stirling Act. Call the attorneys at Kriger Law Firm for any guidance you may need.