Hoa Charging Renters Directly

Hi all!

California, HOA is directly charging each tenant $150 to even be able to access the community. So meaning my husband and I need to pay $300 total. This 300 is a non refundable deposit. Meaning it's basically just a charge to receive a card. Is this allowed? We didn't find out about this until a good while after we moved in, given just visitor passes in the interim.

These passes are valid for up to 7 days, meaning every week I have to message our property manager and hope she actually puts them in.

On top of finding giant piles of dog hair, an entire drawer of opened prep H pads, and more dust caking every surface than I care to describe... it's just frustrating.