2026-09-09 · California · Legislation

A California common interest development whose declaration has been terminated cannot ordinarily bring it back. For associations in Los Angeles County rebuilding after the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, that changed on August 24, 2026.

AB 2692 was approved by the Governor that day and chaptered as Chapter 124, Statutes of 2026. It is an urgency statute requiring a two-thirds vote, which means it took effect immediately on signing rather than on the following January 1.¹

Authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, the bill adds and repeals Civil Code section 4276. The Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments 75–0 on August 6, and the bill was enrolled and presented on August 12.

The problem it addresses

Declarations can terminate — by their own terms, by expiry of a stated term, or through a termination vote. When a development is then destroyed, the owners who want to rebuild as a community may find they no longer have the instrument that made them one: no architectural standards, no maintenance obligations, no assessment power, no association.

The urgency clause states the purpose in those terms: to prevent displacement and promote the rebuilding of common interest developments damaged or destroyed by the 2025 fires.²

How reinstatement works

The approval threshold is the percentage the declaration itself required for extending its term. Where the declaration is silent, the threshold is a majority of all members.

Reinstatement takes effect only after three steps: member approval at that threshold; written certification by a designated officer or the association president; and recording with the county recorder.

The renewed term equals the number of years of the initial term of the declaration, or 20 years, whichever is less.

Balloting must follow the governing documents and applicable law, with a “reasonably diligent effort” to allow all eligible members to vote — a standard that matters in a community whose members are dispersed after a fire. Recorded copies must be delivered to members within a reasonable time.

Two limits that define it

The section applies exclusively to Los Angeles County. And it repeals itself: section 4276 “shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.”

1. AB 2692, California Legislature — bill status and history (approved by the Governor August 24, 2026; Chapter 124, Statutes of 2026) ↩
2. AB 2692, California Legislature — chaptered text, urgency clause and Legislative Counsel's Digest (adding and repealing Civil Code § 4276) ↩