Civil Code Assessments & Liens
Emergency Assessment Increases
Chapter 8 · Assessments and Assessment Collection · Establishment and Imposition of Assessments
Text current as of 2026-07-07 · Last amended by SB 900, eff. 2025-01-01
The code says CIV §5610
Section 5605 does not limit assessment increases necessary for emergency situations. For purposes of this section, an emergency situation is any one of the following:
(a) An extraordinary expense required by an order of a court.
(b) An extraordinary expense necessary to operate, repair, or maintain the common interest development or any part of it for which the association is responsible where a threat to personal health or safety or another hazardous condition or circumstance on the property is discovered.
(c) An extraordinary expense necessary to repair or maintain the common interest development or any part of it for which the association is responsible that could not have been reasonably foreseen by the board in preparing and distributing the annual budget report under Section 5300. However, before the imposition or collection of an assessment under this subdivision, the board shall pass a resolution containing written findings as to the necessity of the extraordinary expense involved and why the expense was not or could not have been reasonably foreseen in the budgeting process, and the resolution shall be distributed to the members with the notice of assessment.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 288, Sec. 3. (SB 900) Effective January 1, 2025.)
How courts have read this
Editorial summaries — not the court’s words.
- Ruffier v. Volcano Hills Road Maintenance Assn. 2026 A board cannot raise regular assessments without member approval or budget compliance.
central to this opinion — cited 10×
- James F. O'Toole Co. v. Los Angeles Kingsbury Court Owners Ass'n 126 Cal. App. 4th 549 · 2005 Courts can compel an emergency assessment to pay a judgment against an association.
decided before the current text (eff. 2025-01-01, SB 900)