So Cal Property News: California HOA Allows Residents to Close Garage Doors

In a quiet neighborhood in Auburn, California, residents were mandated by their homeowner’s association to keep their garage doors open from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon on weekdays. The mandate took effect on January 1. Now, said California HOA allows residents to close garage doors. Less than two weeks after the regulation took effect, the Auburn Greens HOA backed down after receiving negative feedback from its members.

Homeowners associations keep the neighborhood safe

Among the responsibilities of homeowners associations, maintaining the safety of the neighborhood remains a top priority. But this seems to be the opposite for this Auburn Greens HOA. When the HOA required its members to keep their garage doors open, the main concern of the homeowners is their safety, and understandably so. With their garage doors open practically all day, their household becomes vulnerable to thieves and unlawful entry. It’s like a welcome mat for unscrupulous characters.

What inspired the mandate?

The ruling came about when the HOA discovered that one resident allowed someone to live in their garage. While this may have been against the HOA rules, the way they tried to resolve the issue clearly wasn’t in the best interest of its members, according to the opinion of the majority.

Moreover, a penalty was attached to the ruling. Anyone found to have violated the rule will be fined a whopping $200—a fine that some members were willing to pay outright for their peace of mind.

California HOA allows residents to close garage doors

Drawing the ire of its members, the HOA backed down and reversed its ruling. It was clear to the members that their HOA didn’t think the situation and solution through. A more welcome move would have been to communicate to the members their concern about allowing someone to live in the garage and gather a consensus on the best solution to deter squatting while still maintaining the safety of its members and security of the neighborhood.

When the “California HOA allows residents to close garage doors” news broke, residents finally heaved a sigh of relief. But, from this point on, its members may keep a closer watch on their HOA’s activities and decisions to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

At So Cal Property Enterprises, Inc., our goal is to help homeowners associations perform their duties while ensuring that their members’ concerns are properly addressed.

To discuss your HOA and property management needs, we invite you to give us a call at 951-270-3700.