At long last, AB 1458 has brought some relief to many associations that struggle year after year to reach a quorum to elect directors. Some associations have tried to address homeowner apathy by amending the quorum requirements for membership meetings, only to find that the owners are equally as disinterested in voting on amendments to the governing documents as they are in voting for directors.

Effective January 1, 2024, Civil Code section 5115 will be amended to reaffirm that a homeowners association does not need to have a quorum requirement. If the governing documents require that a quorum be obtained for the election of directors, and the adjourned quorum requirement is more than twenty percent (20%), you will want to make a change to the pre-election general notice that lists the candidates’ names and the date, time, and place of the annual meeting. In addition to the information you are already including in that posting, you should now add:

Per Civil Code section 5115, the Board of Directors may call a subsequent meeting at least 20 days after a scheduled election if the required quorum is not reached, at which time the quorum of the membership to elect directors will be 20% of the association’s members voting in person, by proxy, or by secret ballot.

If proxies are not permitted by the governing documents, the language should be changed to remove the reference to proxies.

At the election meeting, if a quorum has not been established, the Board should pick a date, time, and place for the adjourned meeting. The date should be 20-45 days from the original election meeting. The date, time, and place of the adjourned meeting should be announced at the original election meeting prior to adjournment.

Finally, at least 15 days before the adjourned meeting you must post another notice. This notice will include the date, time, and place of the adjourned meeting, the list of the candidates, and the following statement:

Per Civil Code section 5115, 20% of the association present or voting by proxy or secret ballot will satisfy the quorum requirements for the election of directors and the ballots will be counted if a quorum is reached.

Again, if proxies are not permitted by the governing documents, the language should be changed to remove the reference to proxies.