Homeowners at Villa Moura in San Clemente are pushing back after each unit was hit with a more than $26,000 emergency assessment for roof replacements, a bill residents say could force some owners to borrow, tap savings or sell. Beverly Albright said the charge has left her wondering whether she can stay in the home she worked to keep.
Residents at the 198-unit complex said they were given three ways to pay the San Clemente HOA roof fee: pay the full amount at once, split it into two payments, or add more than $2,000 to the monthly bill for six months and $400 after that. Albright said, “I will have to move. And this was my... I’ve worked very hard to make it so that I could be here.”
The dispute is now moving beyond the bill itself. Homeowners said they are seeking to recall members of the HOA board and filing a claim alleging the board violated the law, while residents say they have been warned that liens could be placed on properties if the assessment is not paid. One resident said, “They’re threatening, also, to put a lien on our property if we don’t comply and we don’t pay.”
Noah Martin said the project does not qualify as an emergency under California Code of Regulations, 5610, and that homeowners should have been allowed to vote on how to handle the roof work. Residents said the HOA board had known for several years that repairs would be needed to the tile roofs, and they contend the roofs are not leaking. Instead, they say, only the underlayment needs replacement, not all of the tiles.
That disagreement goes to the center of the case: whether the board could treat a known repair as an emergency and bypass a homeowner vote. Adam Dubin said homeowners want multiple bids submitted competitively and negotiated in the best interest of the owners, while Michael Kushner said homeowners generally must pay assessments even while challenging them because California law does not recognize a right of offsets. As one resident said, the board’s answer has been to impose the charge now and sort out the fight later.
For Albright, the issue is immediate and personal. She said she is retired, single and does not see a path to refinancing if the assessment stands, a reality that leaves the final question less about bookkeeping than about who can afford to remain in San Clemente at all.
