by Tom Schild

The 2015 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly ended April 13 after lots of talk but not much action on bills concerning condos, coops and homeowner associations.

Legislation to extend resale disclosure requirements to homeowner associations and cap the fees which may be charged by condos and HOAs died in the final hours of the legislative session.  As passed by the House of Delegates, the bill would also have limited the liability of a condo or HOA for issuing an incorrect resale disclosure statement. The Senate approved the fee cap but did not agree to the liability limits. Therefore, the legislation was not enacted.

A bill to prevent developers from limiting condominium statutory warranty rights was withdrawn; and a bill to require access to common areas for political candidates was rejected on initial review by a House legislative committee.

A proposal  to eliminate a 3-month waiting period before a housing coop can initiate legal action to evict a coop member for not paying assessments was referred for further study.  Legislation to regulate community association managers was not considered this year for the first time in several years

Although not limited to community associations, several other bills would have made it more difficult to collect assessments from delinquent owners.  One bill would have restricted the ability to collect court judgments by increasing the amount  exempt from garnishment.  Several other bills proposed to delay residential foreclosures.  These bills were not enacted.

These topics may get another look next year.  For 2015, the General Assembly session had lots of talk—but no new laws regarding governance of condos, coops and HOAs.

POSTED BY: Thomas Schild Law Group, LLC, www.schildlaw.com