Governor signs HOA document fee bill

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that prohibits companies from charging home buyers in a common interest development such as a condominium or townhouse from being charged excess document fees.

Homeowner associations are required to provide specific documents to prospective purchasers of such homes, where each homeowner has an exclusive interest in a unit and a shared interest in the common area property. In addition to the standard residential property disclosures, they must receive basic information about the structure, operation and management of the association. The cost has generally been between $75 to $250. But the job had been delegated to third party vendors or contractors who, under a 2007 court decision, are exempt from this fee limitation. Fees as high as $1,000 were charged for documents bundled with the required documents.