What Bay Area Condo Buyers and Sellers Need to Know About Special Assessments
A guide for East Bay and South Bay homeowners, buyers, and anyone thinking about making a move
If you own or are shopping for a condo in the East Bay or South Bay, the words "special assessment" deserves your full attention. A special assessment is a one-time charge levied by a homeowners association on top of your regular monthly dues, typically to pay for a major repair or capital improvement that the reserve fund cannot cover. They can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, and they can arrive with little warning.
A recent Sun Sentinel column asked whether a condo board could legally impose a $42,000 special assessment for structural repairs. The short answer is yes, in most cases. But the more important question for Bay Area buyers and sellers is: how do you see one coming, and what are your rights when it does?
First, Know What You Actually Own: Condos vs. Townhouses in California
This is one of the most misunderstood distinctions in California real estate, and it has real consequences for how you finance a home, what your HOA can charge, and who is responsible for what.
Condominium Ownership
A condominium is a type of legal ownership, not a style of building. When you buy a condo in California, you own the airspace inside your unit — essentially everything from the interior walls inward — and you hold a fractional interest in the common areas of the building and grounds. The HOA owns the building structure, roof, exterior walls, hallways, and shared systems like plumbing and elevators.
Because the HOA owns the physical structure, it also bears responsibility for maintaining and repairing it. When a major structural repair comes up, the HOA can levy a special assessment against all unit owners to cover the cost. You have little choice but to pay.
Townhouse Ownership and the PUD Distinction
Here is where California gets nuanced. A townhouse is an architectural style, not a legal ownership type. A multi-story attached home with a shared wall might be listed as a "townhouse" on Zillow or Redfin, but it could legally be either a condominium or a Planned Unit Development, commonly called a PUD.
In a PUD, also referred to as fee-simple ownership, you own 100 percent of your unit and the land under it. The HOA owns and maintains only the common areas. This difference matters in two important ways.
On financing: lenders treat PUD townhouses the same as single-family homes, which means standard loan underwriting with minimal HOA scrutiny. Condominiums require Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac project approval, which involves review of the HOA's reserve funding, owner-occupancy ratios, delinquency rates, and any pending litigation. If a condo complex fails that review, financing can fall through entirely.
On maintenance responsibility: in a PUD, you are generally responsible for your own building exterior and roof. In a condo, the HOA handles all of that and can bill you when something fails.
The catch is that you cannot tell which type you have from the listing photos or the street view. You have to check the deed. The legal description will reference either California Civil Code Section 783 for a condominium, or describe fee-simple ownership of the lot for a PUD. Many buyers skip this step and discover the difference only when the lender flags it during escrow.
In practice, most attached townhomes in the South Bay and East Bay are held in condo ownership. Newer planned communities in Dublin, San Ramon, and parts of Pleasanton tend to have more PUD-style townhomes, but it varies by development. When in doubt, ask your agent to pull the preliminary title report before you make an offer.
What Drives Special Assessments in the Bay Area
California does not have the same post-Surfside structural inspection mandates that are causing widespread large assessments in Florida right now. But Bay Area condo owners face their own set of pressures that make significant assessments increasingly common.
Insurance premiums have skyrocketed in California, especially after major wildfires, with some associations seeing their rates jump 40 percent in a single year. When a board fails to budget for that kind of increase, a mid-year special assessment is one of the only tools available to bridge the gap.
The East Bay has significant condo inventory from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Many of these buildings have aging infrastructure including original plumbing, roofs, elevators, and parking structures. When an HOA has been underfunding its reserves for years and a major repair can no longer be deferred, a large assessment follows.
California Senate Bill 326, which took effect in 2020, requires condo associations with three or more units to inspect balconies and other exterior elevated elements every nine years. The first round of inspections was due by January 1, 2025. Buildings with deteriorated framing are required to make repairs, and for older buildings with deferred balcony maintenance, the resulting assessments can be substantial.
Finally, many boards have historically voted to underfund reserves to keep monthly dues low. That approach works until it does not.
What HOA Dues Actually Look Like in East Bay and South Bay Communities
Bay Area HOA dues rose a median of 30 percent between 2019 and 2024, outpacing inflation by a meaningful margin. The following ranges reflect typical conditions in 2025 and 2026 and are meant as general guidance, not exact figures for any specific complex.
In the East Bay, Walnut Creek condos typically run between $400 and $700 per month, with higher fees at complexes that include concierge services, pools, fitness centers, or elevators. Some older mid-rise buildings near downtown can exceed $700. Townhome-style PUD communities in Walnut Creek are generally lower, often $250 to $400.
Concord and Pleasant Hill typically see condo dues in the $350 to $550 range for standard complexes, lower for garden-style communities with minimal amenities. Pleasanton, Dublin, and San Ramon tend to have newer inventory with better-funded reserves, and dues that often run $350 to $600 for condos and $250 to $450 for PUD townhomes. Hercules and Pinole are generally more affordable, with many complexes in the $250 to $450 range.
In the South Bay, San Jose condos vary widely by neighborhood. Entry-level complexes in Berryessa or East San Jose often run $350 to $500 per month. Newer buildings near Santana Row, downtown, or the North San Jose tech corridor typically range from $500 to $800. Sunnyvale and Santa Clara condos generally run $400 to $650. Cupertino tends to be slightly higher, often $450 to $700, reflecting the premium placed on the school district. Townhome-style PUDs across the South Bay frequently run $250 to $450 and generally carry less structural assessment risk because owners bear more individual maintenance responsibility.
A word of caution on low dues: a complex with unusually low monthly fees is not necessarily a bargain. It may reflect an underfunded reserve account, which increases the likelihood of a large special assessment down the road.
Your Rights as a California Condo Owner
California's Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act gives owners meaningful protections. Under California Civil Code Section 5605, HOA boards may increase regular assessments by up to 20 percent over the previous year without a member vote. Any increase beyond that requires approval from a majority of homeowners. For special assessments, any single charge exceeding five percent of the association's annual gross budget also requires a member vote before the board can impose it.
You have the right to request the association's current budget, the most recent reserve study, the reserve fund balance, and the minutes from recent board meetings. This is information you should obtain before making an offer, not after. A reserve study showing the fund is below 30 percent of estimated need is a significant red flag.
For large special assessments, California law requires associations to offer a payment plan if requested, allowing at least 12 months to pay.
If you refuse to pay, the HOA may attach a lien to the property. In California, an HOA can foreclose on your property if your delinquent assessment exceeds $1,800 and is overdue for over one year, even if you are current on your mortgage. Contesting an assessment, you believe is improper requires requesting a hearing with the board and, if necessary, consulting a real estate attorney. Non-payment is not a strategy.
What Sellers Need to Know
California law requires sellers to disclose known special assessments as part of the transfer disclosure process. Buyers are entitled to receive copies of the HOA's governing documents, the current budget, the most recent reserve study, and any pending or approved assessments before closing.
A large assessment that has already been approved, or one that is clearly on the horizon given the state of the reserve fund, will affect a buyer's offer and sometimes their ability to finance. Getting ahead of the disclosure rather than hoping the buyer does not ask is always the better path.
An HOA with strong reserves, a clean maintenance history, and well-documented finances supports your property value. The inverse is also true.
Seven Questions to Ask Before You Buy
- What is the reserve fund balance, and what percentage funded is it relative to the reserve study?
- Has there been a special assessment in the past five years? For what and how much?
- Are there any pending special assessments or known major repairs being discussed by the board?
- Has the SB 326 balcony inspection been completed? Were any repairs required?
- What is the owner-occupancy rate? Below 50 percent can affect financing options.
- Is the complex Fannie Mae or FHA approved?
- Is this legally a condominium or a PUD? Check the deed, not the listing description.
Have questions about a specific complex in the East Bay or South Bay? Helping buyers and sellers understand the full picture, not just the list price, is what this work is about.
