For those who like the scent of fresh air and the warmth of the sun when drying your clothes, you no longer have to fear your HOA or your landlord. California passed legislation last year that went into effect on January 1, 2016, as Civil Code sections 1940.20 and 4750.10, that you can hang your clothes on a clothesline or drying rack outside without fear of being fined or bothered.
To be honest, it is pretty sad that we need legislators to come up with a law to allow the public to hang out their clothes. For many families, especially those that live in HOA communities, drying clothes outside was a big no-no in the past. After all, who wants to see your clean laundry (it’s not your dirty laundry, after all) hanging out to dry?
As always, certain restrictions apply to the new law. Your clothesline can’t interfere with the maintenance of the property or cause a health or safety hazard. If you rent your home, you’ll have to get permission from your landlord to install a clothesline on any building structure, and a landlord can create reasonable time or location restrictions on how clotheslines or drying racks are installed and maintained.
I’ll end this way. If someone could show me how to avoid stiff, wrinkled shirts when I hang them on a clothesline, I would probably take advantage of this new law and dry my clothes outside more often.
