In Brazil, a gated community of houses means walls and a guardhouse. In California, not necessarily. In the second episode of Cadê Moradia, realtor Sammy Veicer, who lives in San Clemente, in south Orange County, says he lives in a neighborhood with no gate, no fence and no guardhouse — but it is, in fact, a common-interest community, with monthly dues, rules and a committee. He found that out in the most embarrassing way possible for a realtor.

"Funny, I'm a realtor and I didn't dig into the HOA rules." — Sammy Veicer, on the episode

The HOA letter

Sammy parked his car on the street in front of his house and left it there overnight. A few days later he got a letter: overnight street parking isn't allowed there, and he was called in to talk to the committee. His neighbor had already warned him. The explanation he got: the association wants to preserve the area and avoid parked cars and motorhomes, especially since it's a beach area, where some people park trailers on the street to avoid paying for camping.

Jason Lanzarini sums up the difference in mindset: in Brazil, a condominium is designed for security; here, it's about preserving standards and home values. That's why the association gets into details Brazilians find intrusive.

What an HOA typically regulates

• Parking on internal streets and guest spaces.
• Appearance: exterior paint color, roof type, exterior remodels (almost always with prior approval from an architectural committee).
• Landscaping: Sammy mentions a maximum shrub height of about three feet, subject to fines.
• Pets: number and size.
• Rentals: especially short-term rentals such as Airbnb.

He notes that older neighborhoods in Orange County often don't have an HOA at all — the city itself took care of everything. New subdivisions built by developers come with an association from the start, and with more detailed rules, learned from the older ones' experience.

What an HOA can't prohibit

California law puts limits on what an association can require. Two points contradict the impression that "the HOA can do anything":

• Pets: under the Civil Code (section 4715), rules adopted or amended since 2001 can't prevent an owner from keeping at least one pet, subject to reasonable rules. Limits on number and behavior are allowed; an outright ban, generally, is not.
• Long-term rentals: since 2021 (section 4741), an association can't prohibit an owner from renting out the property. It can require a minimum lease term — up to 30 days — which in practice allows it to ban short-term rentals.

Sammy also mentions associations that must approve a buyer before a sale. He himself notes that this isn't common in California — it's more typical of apartment co-ops in other states, such as New York.

When the rule comes from the city, not the HOA

Not every restriction comes from the association. Sammy says that when he lived in an area of San Clemente without an HOA, it was the city itself that required a resident permit on the car to park overnight; without it, you'd get a ticket or be towed. Jason recalls the parking officers who chalk tires to track parking time. Those are municipal rules, and they vary from street to street.

New wildfire rules

Sammy says his HOA has started restricting what kind of vegetation can be next to the houses because of fire risk. It's a statewide trend: in August 2026, the California Board of Forestry approved the rules for the so-called Zone 0, the strip of about 5 feet around a home where flammable materials — wood fencing, mulch, dry branches — are banned or restricted. They apply to properties in very high fire hazard severity zones and were in the final stage of rollout in September 2026, with phased deadlines. Associations that maintain exterior areas tend to adapt their own rules.

Read before you buy

When buying a home in an HOA, the seller must provide the association's documents — CC&Rs, bylaws, rules, budget, dues and any planned special assessments. It's during this period, within the contract's contingencies, that the buyer should read everything and ask: Can I park on the street? Can I keep my dog? Can I rent it out if I move? The monthly dues and what they cover have their own article in this newspaper.

Sources and verification

• Episode 2 of the Cadê Moradia podcast (February 2026), with Sammy Veicer and Jason Lanzarini.
• California Civil Code, sections 4000 et seq. — Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act.
• California Civil Code, section 4715 — right to keep at least one pet.
• California Civil Code, section 4741 (AB 3182, 2020) — ban on prohibiting rentals longer than 30 days.
• California Civil Code, section 4525 — documents the seller provides to the buyer.
• California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection — Zone 0 emergency regulations, approved 08/19/2026 (AB 3074).

This topic comes from the full episode — watch it:

CADÊ BRAZIL