How Much Can HOA Fees Increase in California? The 20% Rule, the 5% Rule, and the Votes That Unlock More

The short answer: 20% a year — if the board does its homework

California caps how far a board can raise regular assessments without asking the members. The headline numbers, both from Civil Code §5605(b):

• The board may not impose a regular assessment more than 20% greater than the prior fiscal year's regular assessment without member approval.
• The board may not impose special assessments that in aggregate exceed 5% of the fiscal year's budgeted gross expenses without member approval.

These caps override the governing documents in one direction only: they apply notwithstanding more restrictive limits placed on the board, meaning a CC&R clause that promises "dues can never rise more than 3%" does not bind the board the way owners assume. Conversely, the statute does not give the board more room than 20% — beyond that, the members vote.

But there's a catch self-managed boards routinely miss, covered next. For the special-assessment side in depth, see the Davis-Stirling special assessment guide; for the budget process itself, the California HOA budget season guide. Confirm every figure here against the current statute or with counsel before you rely on it.

The catch: no budget, no increase at all

The 20% headroom is conditional. Under Civil Code §5605(a), the board may impose any annual increase in regular assessments only if it has distributed the annual budget report in compliance with the relevant paragraphs of Civil Code §5300 for that fiscal year — or obtained the approval of a majority of a quorum of members.

In plain terms: a board that skipped or fumbled the annual budget disclosure has no unilateral power to raise regular assessments at all, not even 2%. The budget paperwork is the key that unlocks the 20% — which is one more reason the annual budget disclosure is the most load-bearing document a self-managed board produces each year.

Two more guardrails sit alongside the caps:

• Assessments can't exceed need. An association may not impose or collect an assessment or fee that exceeds the amount necessary to defray the costs for which it is levied (Civ. Code §5600(b)).
• Notice before the increase bites. The association must give individual notice of any increase in regular or special assessments not less than 30 nor more than 60 days before the increased assessment becomes due (Civ. Code §5615).

What "member approval" actually means

When an increase needs member approval — a regular increase above 20%, or special assessments above the 5% aggregate — the standard is a majority of a quorum, per Civil Code §4070: a majority of the votes cast in a duly held election in which a quorum is represented, where those affirmative votes also constitute a majority of the required quorum.

That second clause trips people up. In a 100-home association with a 50%-plus quorum requirement, 51 ballots returned is a quorum — but if the vote splits 26–25, the 26 yes votes must also be a majority of the required quorum for the measure to pass. Run the math before the meeting, not after. Member votes on assessments follow the secret-ballot election procedure — see the secret-ballot walkthrough and quorum requirements guide.

The emergency exception

Section 5605's caps do not limit assessment increases necessary for emergency situations (Civ. Code §5610). The statute recognizes three, narrowly:

1. A court order requiring an extraordinary expense.
2. Extraordinary expenses necessary to operate, repair, or maintain the development where there's a threat to personal health or safety, or hazardous conditions.
3. Unforeseen extraordinary repair or maintenance expenses — but only if the board adopts a resolution with written findings on why the expense is necessary and why it couldn't have been foreseen in the budget, distributed with the assessment notice.

"We'd rather not raise dues openly" is not an emergency, and the written-findings requirement in category 3 exists precisely to make boards show their work. Emergency assessments are litigation bait — get counsel involved before levying one.

Special cases boards should know exist

• Deed-restricted affordable units. For associations whose original declaration records on or after January 1, 2025, regular-assessment increases on deed-restricted affordable housing units are capped at 5% plus the change in regional CPI, never more than 10% (Civ. Code §5605(c), added by AB 572) — see the AB 572 explainer.
• Underfunded reserves don't suspend the caps. A board staring at a failing reserve study still needs a member vote to exceed the limits — which is why chronic underfunding eventually becomes a special-assessment crisis. Pressure-test your trajectory with the reserve funding calculation guide.

Where increases go wrong

The same handful of mistakes shows up in almost every assessment dispute:

• Raising before the budget ships. The board votes a 15% increase in November, distributes the budget report in January. Wrong order — the §5300 distribution is the precondition under §5605(a), not an afterthought. Calendar the budget first, the increase second.
• Treating the 20% as an entitlement. The cap is a ceiling, not a target. Section 5600(b) still requires that assessments not exceed what's necessary to defray the costs they're levied for — a board that raises to the cap "because we can" without a budget rationale invites a challenge it doesn't need.
• Notice that misses the window. A letter sent 75 days early or 20 days late doesn't satisfy §5615's 30-to-60-day band. Tie the notice date to the due date of the first increased payment and work backward.
• Splitting one project into several "small" special assessments. The 5% test is aggregate across the fiscal year — three 2% special assessments need a member vote just as surely as one 6% assessment.
• Voice-vote approvals. Member approval of an over-cap increase is an election — votes on assessments legally requiring a vote must be held by secret ballot under the statutory election procedures (Civ. Code §5100(a)), not by a show of hands at the annual meeting.

A board's assessment-increase playbook

1. Distribute the annual budget report on time, every year. It's the precondition for any unilateral increase. (§5605(a), §5300.)
2. Compute the ceiling: prior-year regular assessment × 1.20; special assessments ≤ 5% of budgeted gross expenses in aggregate. (§5605(b).)
3. Size the increase to actual need — the budget, not the cap, is the justification. (§5600(b).)
4. Send individual notice 30–60 days before the increased assessment is due. (§5615.)
5. Above the caps? Run a proper secret-ballot member vote and confirm majority-of-quorum math beforehand. (§4070.)
6. Tempted by the emergency route? Write the findings resolution and call counsel first. (§5610.)

The free HOA budget generator builds a §5300-shaped annual budget, and the special assessment calculator shows whether a planned special assessment clears the 5% line. To see how your dues compare, try the fee comparison tool.

Raise dues without raising a lawsuit

Most assessment-increase fights aren't about the money — they're about a skipped budget disclosure, a late notice, or quorum math done on the night of the meeting. Propty's California HOA platform tracks the budget-report deadline, computes the 20%/5% ceilings from your own numbers, and generates the 30–60-day increase notices — so a self-managed board raises what the budget requires and keeps it enforceable.

Related reading

• HOA Annual Budget Disclosure in California (§5300)
• Davis-Stirling Special Assessments
• California HOA Budget Season Guide
• How to Calculate HOA Reserve Funding
• HOA Quorum Requirements in California
• AB 572: Affordable Housing Assessment Caps
• Davis-Stirling Compliance Checklist
• How to Run a Self-Managed HOA in California