Blog

Do You Need to Amend or Restate Your Governing Documents?

Article By Melissa Bauman Ward, Esq., CCAL

This article first appeared in the Communicator Magazine, Spring 2026 Issue.  

Association boards are familiar with their fiduciary duty to maintain their buildings and other common area components, pursuant to their governing documents and the law. Many directors don’t realize that they have an obligation to maintain their corporations as well. An important way to maintain your governing documents is to make sure they are up to date and comply with the law. How do you know if your documents need updating? We’ll discuss the ways to tell and options for amendment or restatement.

What Are Governing Documents?

The Davis-Stirling Act defines governing documents as the declaration (usually known as covenants, conditions & restrictions or CC&Rs), bylaws, articles of incorporation (or articles of association if the association is not incorporated) and the operating rules. Each of these docu...

By Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq., CCAL and Meigan Everett, PCAM

This article first appeared in the Fall 2021 Issue of The Communicator here.

MANY ASSOCIATIONS ADOPT architectural guidelines when the community is formed and don’t look back. Some boards keep the guidelines forever stuck in time. Even though the community evolves and changes and becomes its own unique place, the guidelines are often forgotten, ignored, or things are done the way they always have been done. But architectural guidelines can evolve with the community’s needs and change to comply with new laws and the more mature look of the association.

Provided that the association’s CC&Rs give the board authority to adopt architectural guidelines, also known as rules and regulations, the board should review them every few years to ensure that they meet the community association’s needs.

THE PROCESS

California Civil Code § 4355 requires that architectural rules be adopted pursuant to §4360 and §4365. Section 4360 requires t...