Per SFGATE, California is now a "right to dry" state after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Thursday restricting homeowners associations from banning clotheslines, which the groups deemed unsightly additions to neighborhoods.

The article, Brown signs bill reversing bans on clotheslines - SFGate, makes it clear that renters have those rights.
Now, the law states landlords must allow tenants to air-dry their clothes in their own backyard if they wish, as long as "the clothesline or drying rack will not interfere with the maintenance of the rental property and the use of the clothesline or drying rack does not violate reasonable time or location restrictions imposed by the landlord."

For its application to Homeowner's Associations, one must look to other sources such as this qfragment of the Legislative Counsel's Digest quoted here:AB 1448 - HOAs Banned from Restricting Clotheslines | Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO)

This bill would make any provision of a governing document, as defined, void and unenforceable if it effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a clothesline or a drying rack, as defined, in an owner's backyard, except that reasonable restrictions, as defined, would be enforceable. The bill would specify that these provisions would only apply to backyards that are designated for the exclusive use of the owner. - See more at: http://www.echo-ca.org/hoa-advocacy/ab-1448-hoas-banned-restricting-clot...