Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Did they foreclose on the lien? If so, it is perfectly legal. If not, how could they have rented it out? Did you give them keys? Did they change the locks? Unless they foreclosed on the lien, I don't see how a HOA could possibly rent out a property.

I agree with Mr. McCormick. The only way that I could see a HOA renting out property is if they owned it, especially after foreclosing a lien. In that case, it would not be your property anymore.

Sounds to me as though a step is missing from the sequence of facts given. Having a lien on property does not give the lienholder a right of possession.

A lease is an instrument transferring the right of possession from someone who has the right of possession (the landlord) to another (the tenant) who acquires that right of possession in exchange for a promise to pay rent. Someone who doesn't have the right of possession lacks the power to lease the premises.

Collecting rent from property where you are not the owner or some other party with the current right of possession, or their agent, is an unlawful practice known as "rent skimming."

In your situation, I can think of a few possible explanations for this seemingly improper rental. As the other attorneys have suggested, the HOA may have foreclosed its lien. If so, you are entitled to a copy of the foreclosing trustee's or other officer's sale report showing how the proceeds of sale were applied and distributed. Some of this information may be available at the county recorder's office.

Other possibilities include a possible clause in your HOA contract giving the HOA power to declare a property abandoned under certain circumstances and step in to rent it on some basis, or perhaps giving them an agency or power of attorney to act on your behalf in the event of your default. I am seeing these power-of-attorney clauses creeping into commercial credit agreements (for sale of goods) more and more often, and it would not be surprising to find one in an HOA contract.

We would need to review your paperwork. Was the house foreclosed by the Association?

We could look up the title on the property. If the association does not have legal title, it can not rent it.