I will be speaking at the Community Associations Institute’s Delmarva Breakfast Conference on Friday, April 12, 2024 at the Atlantic Sands Hotel in Rehoboth, Delaware. My primary topic will be condominium and homeowner association resale disclosure requirements.
Proposed legislation pending in the Maryland General Assembly would reduce the percentage of approval votes required to amend a condominium declaration from 80 percent to 66 2/3 percent. House Bill 1496, which was cross-filed with Senate Bill 665, would change the amendment process in Section 11-103(c) of the Maryland Condominium Act to provide for the lower percentage requirement. However, the reduced percentage would not apply in the event that any units are still owned by the developer, in which case the 80 percent requirement would still be effective. As is the case under current law, the percentage requirement would not apply to a purely corrective amendment of a typographical error under Section 11-103.1, which can be accomplished by the condominium’s board of directors.
Legislation introduced in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly would include electric bicycles within the requirements for electric charging stations at condominiums. House
Bill 159 would amend Section 11-111.4 of the Condominium Act to expressly include electric bicycles along with motor vehicles subject to the Section’s requirements. Section 11-111.4 provides that condominiums cannot prohibit or unreasonably restrict the installation or use of electrical vehicle charging equipment. If approval is required for the installation or use, the condominium is required to review the application as it would any submission for approval of an architectural modification. It may not willfully avoid or delay review, and, if the condominium does not deny the application in writing within 60 days, it is deemed to have been approved, unless the delay is caused by a reasonable request for additional information. The Bill is pending before the House Environmental and Transportation Committee.
House Bill 143, cross-filed with Senate Bill 46 in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly, would require contracts for the initial sale of a condominium unit to include a statement as to whether the seller has actual knowledge of the presence of asbestos on the site, along with a description of the location of the asbestos, whether an abatement has been performed, and the date of any abatement. The bills propose to add new subsection (iii) to Section 11-126(a) of the Condominium Act, which identifies items that an initial sales contract must contain in conspicuous type. The items presently required are (i) the purchaser’s right to receive a public offering statement and the purchaser’s rescission rights; and (i) the warranties under Section 11-131 and whether the council has entered into an agreement to settle or release the council’s claims under the common element warranties. A similar asbestos disclosure bill passed the House during the 2023 session, but did not receive a vote in the Senate.
I am pleased to confirm that, as of January 1, 2024, I have moved my practice and become a member or Gordon Feinblatt, LLC. www.gfrlaw.com. As you can see, the blog has a fresh new look, and you can expect continuing information and commentary, particularly as issues relevant to condominiums, homeowner associations and real estate development arise during this year’s session of the Maryland General Assembly.
The Maryland Condo Law Blog is written by Raymond Daniel Burke. One of the region's top construction and real estate development lawyers, Ray has more than 35 years of experience in matters relating to condominium and other multi-use development matters.