Association fees
If you live in a condominium, or any kind of planned unit development, it is likely that you pay an association fee.
I am often asked: Can the association fee be raised to any, potentially infinite, amount?
First, a homeowners association, or HOA, is as the name implies, an association comprising of the homeowners. As a homeowner of that association, you have a voice and a vote. You can also run for a Board position where you can have more influence on all that affects the property.
California Civil Code Section 1366 explains restrictions on HOA assessments. There are limits to how much the HOA can assess. The text of the Code is rather long; you can Google it and read about the specifics.
You will see there that some of the restrictions on association fees assessments do not apply in cases of specific emergencies, such as a court-ordered expense or required repairs to the property when there is a threat to personal safety. In that sense, the association fee can potentially be raised to any amount.