Senate Bill 136, now pending in the Maryland General Assembly, would make condominiums, cooperative housing corporations, and homeowners associations eligible to receive grants from the Maryland Solar Energy Grant Program to contribute to the cost of acquiring and installing photovoltaic and solar water heating equipment.
Legislation pending in the Maryland General Assembly would limit attorney’s fees recoverable by condominiums from unit owners, and by homeowners associations from lot owners, in connection with collecting assessments or fines. House Bill 1532 would add new Section 11-110.1 to the Maryland Condominium Act and new Section 11B-117.1 to the Homeowners Association Act. It would prohibit a council of unit owners or homeowners association from demanding, collecting or seeking to recover attorney’s fees from a unit owner “unless the amount of the attorney’s fees is reasonable in relation to the amount in controversy or the nature of the non-monetary violation. (more…)
House Bill 811, now pending before the Maryland General Assembly, would establish new notice requirements before a condominium, cooperative housing corporation or homeowner association would be able to pursue lien foreclosure for unpaid assessments. The proposed enactment of new Section 7-105.13 of the Real Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland would require that an action to foreclose a lien may not be filed until 45 days after written notice of intent to foreclose is provided. A complaint foreclose a lien would have to be accompanied by an affidavit establishing the debt owed and a copy of the notice of intent to foreclose. A foreclosure sale could not occur until at least 45 days after service of the complaint and supporting documents. (more…)
A proposal to establish a new regulatory agency for the licensing of community managers, that failed in during 2012 legislative session, is again before this year’s session of the Maryland General Assembly. House Bill 576 would establish a new regulatory agency for the licensing of community managers of condominiums, cooperative housing corporations, and homeowners associations. (more…)
A bill now pending in the Maryland Legislature would prevent condominium’s, cooperative housing corporations, and homeowner associations from including in a lien foreclosure action amounts due for fines and attorney’s fees incurred in recovering fines. Instead, under House Bill 286, foreclosure of a lien could only involve delinquent monthly or special assessments. (more…)
House Bill 388, now pending before the General Assembly, would permit a condominium’s board of directors to hold a closed meeting to discuss negotiations pertinent to a business transaction. It would amend Section 11-109.1 of the Maryland Condominium Act to permit closed board meetings for “consideration of the terms and conditions of a business transaction in the negotiation stage if the disclosure could adversely affect the economic interests of the council of unit owners.” (more…)
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.