2023 Maryland Legislature Considers Condominium and Homeowner Association Legislation

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Tom Schild

The 2023 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly is underway and several changes to the Maryland Condominium Act and Maryland Homeowners Association Act are under consideration.

Among the bills introduced are:

Community Association Manager Licensing. A Maryland Board of Common Ownership Managers would be created to license and regulate managers of condos, HOAs, and housing cooperatives. (House Bill 80)

Homeowner Bill of Rights. Homeowners would be granted certain statutory rights regarding the management and operation of common ownership communities. (House Bill 29)

Smoking Policies. The board of directors of a common ownership community would be required to develop a smoking policy if the property is a multifamily building. (House Bill 315)

Clean Energy Equipment. The condominium vote to approve the installation of certain clean energy equipment in the common elements would be reduced to make it easier to install vehicle recharging equipment and solar, geothermal or other energy-efficient equipment. (House Bill 101)

Homeowner Association Fines. A homeowners association would be provided statutory authority to levy reasonable fines for violations of the HOA declaration, bylaws or rules. (House Bill 532)

Task Force on Common Ownership Communities. A Maryland state task force would be created to study 21 issues related to the management and operation of common ownership communities. Topics include the education needs of boards and homeowners; establishing statewide dispute resolution services; association assessments; developer transition of new communities and much more. (House Bill 423)

The 2023 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly runs until mid-April.

Posted by Thomas Schild Law Group, LLC which represents condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives throughout Maryland (including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Howard County, Frederick County, and Baltimore) and Washington, D.C.

2022 Maryland Condominium and HOA Laws Enacted

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Tom Schild

The Maryland Legislature considered various bills regarding the management and operation of condominiums, homeowners associations and housing cooperatives in 2022. Although most were not approved, several significant new laws took effect October 1, 2022.

Reserve Studies Statewide (HB 107). Most Maryland condos, HOAs and coops will now be required to obtain a reserve study of the association common property at least every 5 years to determine the remaining useful life of each major component of the common property and the estimated cost for long-term repair and replacement. The reserve study must also state the estimated annual reserve amount necessary to accomplish any identified future repair or replacement. This extends statewide the reserve study requirements previously enacted for communities in Prince George’s and Montgomery County.

Where a reserve study is required, the recommended annual reserve amount must be included in the annual budget. However, if the most recent reserve study is an initial reserve study, up to 3 years is allowed to attain the annual reserve funding recommendation level.

No reserve study is required for homeowner associations where the initial purchase and installation costs of components which require periodic repair and replacement is less than $10,000. The reserve study law amends the Maryland Condominium Act, Maryland Homeowners Association Act, and Maryland Cooperative Housing Corporation Act.

Continue reading →

2021 Maryland Condo and HOA Legislation Introduced

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Tom Schild

The 2021 Maryland legislative session is now underway and runs until mid-April. Although the top priority for the Maryland General Assembly is Covid-19 relief funding, several bills affecting governance of condominiums, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives have been introduced and are under consideration by Maryland House and Senate legislative committees.

Replacement Reserve Funding. Legislation proposes to require all Maryland condos, HOAs and co-ops to conduct a study of the reserves necessary for major repair and replacement of common property components. The developer would be required to have the initial reserve study prepared and contribute to the reserve fund. The board would then be required to have a reserve study done every 5 years and would be required to fund the recommended amount of reserves. (House Bill 313).

A separate bill to require a reserve study and funding the recommended reserve amount only in Montgomery County was also introduced (House Bill 567). A similar reserve study and funding requirement applicable only in Prince George’s County was enacted in 2020.

Board Member Training. Legislation would require all board members to complete a training course on the responsibilities of being a board member or officer of a Maryland condominium, HOA or housing cooperative within 90 days of first being elected or appointed. A similar training requirement currently applies in Montgomery County. (House Bill 361)

Regulation of Community Association Managers. A proposal requiring community association mangers to be licensed by a Maryland State Board of Common Ownership Community Managers is again under consideration. Requirements for obtaining a community association manager license are based on training, community association management work experience, and knowledge of state laws and regulations concerning common ownership communities. Similar legislation has been introduced for the past several years.

The manager licensing legislation also requires each community association to register annually with the State of Maryland. (House Bill 367)

Electric Vehicle Re-charging Equipment. Covenants and other restrictions of a condominium or homeowners association which prohibit, or unreasonably restrict, the installation or use of electric vehicle recharging equipment in a parking space owned by, or designated for exclusive use by, a homeowner would be void and enforceable under proposed legislation. Additionally, an association board would have to approve a homeowner’s request to install electric vehicle re-charging equipment in the parking space if the owner agreed to comply with specified safety and use conditions. Similar legislation has been considered for the past several years. (House Bill 116/Senate Bill 144)

These bills and other related information can be found on the website of the Maryland General Assembly. To be enacted, proposed legislation must be passed by the Maryland House of Delegates and Maryland Senate, and be approved by the Governor.

2018 Maryland Legislative Update–New Laws Help Condos and HOAs

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Tom Schild

The hot topic during the 2018 Maryland legislative session was how Maryland will adapt to recent changes in federal income tax and health insurance laws.

Beyond the headlines, the Maryland General Assembly considered many bills which directly affect Maryland condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives. Several new laws which help condos and HOAs were enacted. Continue reading →

Maryland General Assembly OKs Bill to Help Condos Collect Delinquent Assessments

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Tom Schild

The Maryland General Assembly has approved legislation to make it easier for condominium associations to suspend use of the common area parking lot, pool and other recreational amenities when an owner is delinquent in paying the condo assessments for more than 60 days.

The new law allows approval by owners with 60 percent of the total eligible votes to amend a condominium declaration to provide for the suspension of use of these portions of the condominium common property. This is far less than the 80 percent minimum required by the Maryland Condominium Act for other declaration amendments, and some older condo documents require as much as 100 percent unanimous approval. Continue reading →

2017 Maryland Condo and HOA Legislation–The Final Score

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Tom Schild

During the 2017 Maryland legislative session, the General Assembly considered many bills regarding condominium and homeowner association governance, foreclosure procedures, state registration of community associations, and regulation of community association managers.

Legislation passed includes bills to make it easier to amend condo bylaws and an HOA declaration; require lender notice of foreclosure sale postponement and cancellation; and require community associations to provide owner notice of common property sales, including government tax sales. Continue reading →

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