By Kieran J. Purcell, Esq.
As with real estate, what an association can do about political signs is a matter of location, location, location.
Common Area
Most associations’ CC&Rs have language regarding signs, often prohibiting all signs outright. If your association’s CC&Rs contain such a provision, you may prohibit political signs in the common area. If your association’s CC&Rs are silent on the issue, the association may adopt an operating rule prohibiting political signs within the common area. Please recall that prior to adopting an operating rule, Civil Code section 4360 requires the proposed rule be provided to the members for a 28-day review and comment period.
Separate Interest Property
There is little an association can do to prevent the display of most non-commercial signs, banners, flags and posters (collectively referred to below as “Messages”), regardless of whether they are of a political, religious or other in nature. These items, when posted on an owner’s property in an association, are protected to a large extent by the California Civil Code. Civil Code Section 4710 states that:
(a) The governing documents may not prohibit posting or displaying of noncommercial signs, posters, flags, or banners on or in a member’s separate interest, except as required for the protection of public health or safety or if the posting or display would violate a local, state, or federal law.
(b) For purposes of this section, a noncommercial sign, poster, flag, or banner may be made of paper, cardboard, cloth, plastic, or fabric, and may be posted or displayed from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the separate interest, but may not be made of lights, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or decorative component, or include the painting of architectural surfaces.
(c) An association may prohibit noncommercial signs and posters that are more than nine square feet in size and noncommercial flags or banners that are more than 15 square feet in size.
There is an argument that an association may prohibit non-commercial Messages that violate state and/or federal anti-discrimination laws, such as Messages that target specific religions, races, nationalities or sexual orientations. However, before an association attempts to do so it should first consult with its legal counsel.
Exclusive Use Areas
While Civil Code Section 4710 includes the words “yard,” “balcony,” “door” and “outside wall” as permissible locations for posting Messages, please note these areas are all qualified in section 4710 as being part of an owner’s separate interest property. While some association’s CC&Rs and/or condominium plans include some of these components within the definition of what constitutes a separate interest unit or condominium, many CC&Rs and/or condominium plans do not. Therefore, if an owner is displaying a Message-including a political sign-from an exclusive use area component such as a balcony, the association may ask them to remove it or relocate it to a location entirely within their separate interest property.