Question: The CC&Rs for my association state that the only signs that owners may display on their individually owned lots are "For Sale" and "For Lease" signs. Yet several owners have placed political signs on their lots. Our association's board of directors states that these signs must be permitted. Is this true?

Answer: Your board of directors is correct. Civil Code Section 1353.6, part of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, states that an association's governing documents, including the rules and regulations, may not prohibit the display of noncommercial signs, posters, flags, or banners on an owner's separately owned property. The only exception is for circumstances where a prohibition is necessary to protect the public health or safety or if the posting or display would violate a local, state, or federal law.

Note that the statute only applies to noncommercial signs, posters, flags and banners, so advertising signs, for example, are not protected by the statute.

The statute further states that a noncommercial sign, poster, flag, or banner may be made of paper, cardboard, cloth, plastic, or fabric, and may be posted or displayed from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of owner's property. The sign, poster, flag or banner "may not be made of lights, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or decorative component, or include the painting of architectural surfaces."

Associations may prohibit noncommercial signs and posters that are more than 9 square feet in size, and noncommercial flags or banners that are more than 15 square feet in size.

Margaret G. "Gen" Wangler, Esq. is a senior shareholder with the firm of Fiore, Racobs & Powers, A Professional Law Corporation, which devotes its practice to homeowners associations.