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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Within the next nine days, California Governor Gavin Newsom must decide whether to sign or veto a bill that threatens to raise homeowners association (HOA) fees for millions of homeowners in the state, critics warn.
The proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 2050, was introduced in February by Democrat Jessica Caloza and passed after several amendments last month, with support from co-authors Republican Diane Dixon and Democrat Richard Chavez Zbur.
The bill has since landed on Newsom’s desk, who has until September 30 to decide what to do with it—not an easy decision considering that many are worried about the impact it could have on homeowners already struggling with higher housing costs.
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What Is In The Bill?
Similarly to legislation introduced by Florida after the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside in June 2021, which killed 98 people, the bill would require HOAs to be financially prepared to shoulder significant maintenance and repairs.
HOAs, as organizations which govern a community’s common areas, are responsible “for the ongoing repair, maintenance, and replacement” of these areas and their parts, “including, but not limited to, roofs, paving, mechanical systems, and critical infrastructure,” the bill states.
As such, they have to “proactively and adequately save for these significant long-term structural and operational obligations” in order to keep their residents (and their assets) safe and sound.
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This is partially what happened in Surfside over five years ago. Investigations following the incident revealed that there were foundational construction and design errors dating back to the building’s completion in 1981, followed by decades of deferred maintenance and neglect. Crucially, a 2020 report had found the condo lacked the funds necessary for the required repairs, but nothing was done to ensure the building remained safe to live in.
For Florida lawmakers, the incident revealed that HOAs and how they work had to change.
“The Surfside collapse exposed some really strong safety concerns that required quick action,” Robert Smith, president of residential property management company FirstService Residential’s South Region, told Newsweek on the anniversary of the Surfside collapse earlier this year.
“There was this balance that had to take place of safety, reserve funding, long-term building health, and then affordability. There were always owners who were going to face real challenges because of it. But the government knew that there was a severe safety concern that they had to tackle.”
California’s AB 2050 would establish a minimum reserve contribution level, requiring HOAs for properties like condominiums to maintain a 30-year reserve fund and ensuring account balances do not fall below zero over that period. As of 2032, HOAs whose reserve funds are projected to fall into the red would have to contribute at least 15 percent of their annual budgets to reserves until those projections show a positive balance.
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If the budget cannot support that contribution, the association would have to levy a “special assessment” on homeowners to cover the gap.
“AB 2050 is about affordability, fairness, and protecting homeowners from financial surprises. Today, too many homeowners are being hit with massive special assessments seemingly overnight because their associations haven’t adequately planned for major repairs and long-term costs,” Caloza told Newsweek in a statement.
For families already struggling with the high cost of housing, an unexpected bill for thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars can be devastating. And for many first-time homebuyers, a condo is their first opportunity to own a home and begin building wealth. Unpredictable HOA costs can put that first home further out of reach or make it harder to afford once they finally get the keys,” she added.
Like the building safety legislation introduced in Florida after 2021, AB 2050 would also require HOAs to inspect the building and significant common areas at least once every three years.
“AB 2050 gives associations a clear, six-year path to responsibly build their reserves, strengthen transparency, and plan ahead so homeowners aren’t left holding the bill all at once,” Caloza said.
"At a time when families are already being squeezed by California’s housing and affordability crisis, we should be making homeownership more attainable and sustainable, not adding another financial shock. We can protect the long-term financial health of our communities while protecting families today. I’m hopeful Governor Newsom will recognize that balance and sign AB 2050 into law.”
Why Has It Caused Backlash?
In the lead-up and the aftermath of the new building safety rules being implemented, sales of condos in Florida spiked, especially in the southern part of the state, as many owners tried to get rid of their units before facing a huge increase in HOA fees. The problem was that nobody wanted to buy them for the same reason, and condo values plunged just as upkeep costs rose.
HOA fees spiked after new legislation took effect. Palm Beach County-based Gina Clausen Lozier, one of Florida’s top experts in property insurance and a founding partner of Clausen Choquette PLLC, previously told Newsweek that “the price of everything” is going up.
“A lot of people, now, have mortgages on these units that they can’t sell because the special assessments or maybe the integrity study came out with something. So now they’re behind on their mortgages or they're just abandoning them,” she said. “There was definitely a snowball effect from everything that kind of followed from the reform, legislatively.”
Last year, the median HOA fee in Florida was $390, up from $232 in 2022, according to Realtor.com. That marked a 68 percent rise in three years.
Many in the Golden State fear the same would happen to California homeowners.
Robert Herrell, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, told the San Francisco Chronicle he would have preferred it if lawmakers had pushed forward a policy which would have capped fee increases instead.
“We’re not against reserving, but it ought to be combined with some reasonable limitations on what could be increased and how rapidly, along with some important guardrails on financial protection and responsibility so the residents don’t get ripped off because the board acts like a kangaroo court,” he said.
A separate bill that would have capped annual increases in regular assessments at 8 percent, unless approved by a quorum of homeowners, stalled in the legislature and died in committee.
“I don’t know that you want to sign a bill that’s essentially going to directly lead to massive assessment increases on 14 million Californians,” Herrell said.
Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly a quarter (23.7 percent) of Californian households paid a median monthly HOA fee of $278 in 2024, roughly double the national median of $135. The margin of error was +- 0.3.
The Golden State has roughly 13.8 million households, meaning roughly 3.3 million households could face higher HOA fees if AB 2050 were turned into law. A 5-15 percent increase would mean roughly $15–$45 more a month, or $180–$540 a year.
While a potential rise in HOA fees could hurt California homeowners, supporters of the bill say it's necessary. “No one wants to pay more than they have to […] but the reality is those bills aren’t going away,” Robert DeNichilo, legislative co-chair at the Community Associations Institute’s California Legislative Action Committee, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“This is budgeting the actual cost of ownership.”
Newsweek contacted Gov. Newsom’s office, DeNichilo and the Consumer Federation of California for comment by email on Monday. Newsom’s office said it doesn’t typically comment on legislation that is pending on the governor’s desk.
Update, 9/23/2026 3:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a comment from Assemblymember Caloza and a response from Gov. Newsom’s office.
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