House Bill 98, making changes to condominium insurance requirements, was passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Governor Moore.  It amends Section 11-=114 of the Condominium Act concerning the mandatory insurance that is required to be maintained by the Council of Unit Owners.  These changes, which will take effect on October 1, 2023, differentiate between “attached” and “detached” units for insurance purposes.  The new law changes subsection (a)(1), which presently provides that the Council is required to maintain “[p]roperty insurance on the commo ..read more

House Bill 55, now pending in the Maryland General Assembly, would authorize a county or municipality to “establish a local trust fund or other appropriate fund for the purpose of repairing or rehabilitating infrastructure with communities that are subject to the requirements of the Maryland Condominium Act or the Maryland Homeowners Association Act.”  The bill, which would add new Section 1-1318 to the Local Government Article, is expressly intended to address circumstances in communities in which the original developer designated roads and other infrastructure a private components to be ..read more

As previously reported, during the 2022 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular reserve studies of common area components.  The Governor did not sign the bill, but it became law under Art. II, Sec. 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution, which provides that a bill send to the Governor becomes law if the Governor does not veto the bill with 30 days of its presentment.   Under the new law, which takes effect on October 1, 2022, a community that has had a ..read more

The Maryland General Assembly has passed new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular reserve studies of common area components.  Under House Bill 107, the reserve study requirement, which was previously applicable to only Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, is applicable statewide.  A community that has had a reserve study conducted on or after October 1, 2018 must have that reserve study updated within five years from the date to that study, and every five years thereafter.  A community that has not had ..read more

House Bill 358, now pending in the Maryland General Assembly, would allow alterations in the percentage interests assigned to each unit in the common elements by a vote of less than 100% of the unit owners.  Under current law, amendments to a condominium declaration generally require the approval of 80% of the unit owners.  However, there are four specific changes that cannot be made without the consent of all unit owners and mortgagees:  (1)  the boundaries of any unit: (2) the undivided percentage interest in the common elements of any unit; (3) the liability for common e ..read more

House Bill 1061, now pending the the General Assembly, would authorize counties and municipalities in Maryland to create a fund to assist in the repair of infrastructure in condominiums and homeowner associations.  It is intended to provide for repair and rehabilitation of property that is part a condominium or homeowners association, but of is a nature that would be “traditionally maintained by the county or municipality for the benefit of the general public, including roads and stormwater management facilities.”  It would not apply to “recreational facilities used for the exclusive ..read more

The tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers Condominium in Surfside Florida, and the horrific consequences to residents and their families, will, no doubt, continue to be the subject of multiple news reports and long-term investigations.  And it will be some time before we learn the true cause of the disaster, and how it might have been prevented.  But the fundamental issue — deteriorated building conditions — is something about which all condominium unit owners and property managers need to be especially conscientious.  Previously, I have written about the high importance of re ..read more

A bill that proposed significant changes to the Maryland Condominium Act, as well as the Maryland Homeowner Association Act, concerning the period during which the developer is in control of the council of unit owners or the homeowner association, was passed in the House of Delegates by a vote of 101 – 31.  However, it was never brought to a vote in the Senate.   As it relates to condominiums, the bill would require that the developer hold at least two meeting per year, rather than the current one annual meeting, and that the unit owners have an opportunity to comment on condomi ..read more

A bill proposed in the Maryland House of Delegates would make significant changes to the Maryland Condominium Act that relate to the period during which the developer is in control of the council of unit owners.  House Bill 352 would require that the developer hold at least two meeting per year, rather than the current one annual meeting, and that the unit owners have an opportunity to comment on condominium matters during those meetings.   Additionally the bill would require that, if the condominium has a board of directors, within 30 days after 25% of the units have been title ..read more

Compliance with Section 10-702 of the Maryland Real Property Code has been a source of some considerable discussion.  It requires that a home seller provide the buyer with a either a “disclosure statement,” by which information is provided relating to the seller’s knowledge of defects, or a “disclaimer statement,” which applies to “as is” sales, but still requires disclosure of “latent defects.”  It should be noted, however, that neither statement is required in connection with the sale of a unit in a property containing five or more units, because the statute expressly applies “only ..read more