New California Real Estate Laws Coming 2012: Water-Converving, Mining, No Fee Bundling for HOA Disclosures

Three New California Real Estate Laws Coming in 2012 are:
1. Senate Bill 837: Sellers Disclose Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures
2. Senate Bill 110: NHD Companies Disclose Mining Operations
3. Assembly Bill 771: No Fee Bundling for HOA Disclosures

In more detail:
1. Senate Bill 837: Sellers Disclose Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures
Effective January 1, 2012, the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) will include a check-box in Section A for the seller to disclose whether the property has water-conserving plumbing fixtures (e.g. low-flow toilets, shower heads, and faucets under section 1101.3 of the California Civil Code.

2. Senate Bill 110: NHD Companies Disclose Mining Operations
Starting January 1, 2012, any natural hazard disclosure (NHD) must disclose whether the property is located within one mile of a mining operation, according to the map coordinate data from the Office of Mine Reclamation.

3. Assembly Bill 771: No Fee Bundling for HOA Disclosures
The HOA cannot bundle the fee for providing required HOA disclosures with any other fees, fines, or assessments. This law will prevent an HOA's third-party document preparation company from bundling together both mandatory and non-mandatory HOA documents and charging a higher fee for providing ALL the documents.

Also, the HOA is prohibited from charging any additional fees for electronic delivery. These must be available to a requesting party if the HOA maintains the documents electronically.

Additionally, at buyer's request, the HOA must provide 12 months of approved minutes of the association board of directors meeting.

Delivery of the required HOA documents must be accompanied by a cover sheet itemizing the documents.