November 21st, 2022 at 1:16 pm
Answer: Yes. The underlying fire hardening and defensible space laws pertain to the sale of a condominium.
Complying with the “fire hardening” aspect of the FHDS is pretty straight-forward. If the condo was built before 2010, the seller should answer the questions in paragraph 2 of the FHDS based on the seller’s own knowledge as to the property’s fire-hardening features.
Complying with the “defensible space” aspect of the FHDS can be more complicated, although some HOAs may have already obtained documentation of compliance with defensible space requirements. Otherwise, our general suggestion to our seller-clients is to attach the FHDS to their Seller Counter Offer (SCO) to clarify upfront that they “shall not pay for nor obtain any defensible space inspection or documentation of compliance before close of escrow.” As for completing the FHDS, sellers should generally refrain from checking any of the boxes in paragraphs 3B or 3C of the FHDS, so that it defaults to paragraphs 3B(1) and 3C(1).
If a seller does not address the FHDS upfront with an SCO, the buyer may ask the seller to obtain, before close of escrow, documentation of compliance with defensible space requirements. If that happens, the seller should not agree with the buyer’s request until the seller first checks with the HOA to see whether it is willing to get such documentation for the condo complex.
For more information about the FHDS, please refer to my Legal Tip of the Week dated July 1, 2022. See, in particular, Question 13 for suggested language to insert in a seller’s SCO.
-Thank You to Cherie DeAndrea (Calabasas Associate Manager) for suggesting this week’s legal tip!
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