The Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 620, which, if signed into law by the Governor, will take effect on October 1, 2010. The newly enacted law will expand common element and common area warranty protections in condominiums and homeowners associations beyond the period of a developer’s control. It extends the implied condominium common element warranty, by providing that the warranty run for two years from the election of the first board of directors controlled by the unit owners. Similarly, it provides that the implied warranty on homeowner association common areas be extended to run for two years from the election of the first governing body controlled by the homeowners. It also requires that the common elements identified in a condominium declaration be consistent with those components that are specified as being subject to the common element warranty provisions under the Maryland Condominium Act. The Legislature did not, however, pass the proposed Residential Sustainability Act that would have provided some limited relief to condominiums and homeowners associations where foreclosure sales do not result in sufficient funds to cover unpaid association assessments.
Section 11-131(d) of the Maryland Condominium Act provides that there is an implied warranty on certain specified components of the common elements; namely, “the roof, foundation, external and supporting walls, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and other structural elements.” An issue and potential loophole arose, however, whenever a condominium declaration identified these components, or any part of them, as being included within the units rather than the common elements. The new enactment amends Section 11-103(a)(4) of the Condominium Act, which concerns the required content of a condominium declaration, for all condominiums created on or after October 1, 2010. New subsection (4)(ii) provides that “the description of the common elements shall include the” same five components listed in Section 11-131(d), “to the extent that the improvements are shared by or serve more than one unit or serve any portion of the common elements.” This ensures that developers cannot use the declaration to define these specified components as part of the units, and thereby avoid the intent of the law that these components be subject to the common element implied warranty, provided that the components serve more than one unit or serve the common elements. Additionally, the new subsection provides that “the description and designation of the common elements … may not be amended until after the date on which the unit owners, other than the developer and its affiliates, first elect a controlling majority of the members of the board of directors for the council of unit owners.” This prevents the developer from modifying the definition of common elements during the period of time that it controls the condominium’s board of directors.
With regard to the common element warranty itself, Section 11-131(d)(3) of the Condominium Act presently provides that the warranty “commences with the first transfer of title to a unit owner,” and “extends for a period of 3 years.” For common elements not completed as of the first transfer of title, the three years commences “with completion of that element or with its availability for use by all unit owners, whichever occurs later.” In many instances, however, unless condominium units sell quickly, the developer can maintain control of a majority of the council of unit owners for several years; sometimes even until after the three-year warranty has expired. The new enactment is intended to address this. It retains the provision that the warranty extends for a period of 3 years from the first transfer of title to a unit owner, or, with respect to an incomplete element, from its completion or availability for use, whichever is later; but also provides that the warranty may run for “2 years from the date on which the unit owners, other than the developer and its affiliates, first elect a controlling majority of the members of the board of directors for the council of unit owners, which ever occurs later.” As a result, developers who maintain control of a majority of the units for the first several years cannot avoid responsibility for the common element warranty, because the unit owners will still have at least a two year warranty from the time they assume majority control.
As to the homeowner association warranty, Section 11B-110(a) of the Maryland Homeowners Association Act now provides that there is an implied warranty on improvements to the common area, which runs for a period of one year. It “begins with the first transfer of title to a lot to a member of the public by the vendor of the lot.” For improvements not completed at the time of the first transfer of title, the warranty commences “with the completion of the improvement or with it availability for use by lot owners, whichever occurs later.” As in the case of the condominium common element warranty, this meant that a developer that maintains majority control of the association could avoid the warranty obligation. The new enactment make two significant changes. First, it extends the warranty from one to two years, commencing with the first transfer of title to a lot, or, with regard to an improvement not completed at the time of first transfer, from its completion or availability for use, whichever is later. Additionally, it also amends Section 11B-110(a)(3) to provide that the warranty may also commence “2 years from the date on which the lot owners, other than the declarant and its affiliates, first elect a controlling majority of the members of the governing body of the homeowners association,” if this would result in a later date for commencement of the warranty period.
House Bill 842, known as the Residential Association Sustainability Act of 2010, would have provided that a specified portion of a lien on a condominium unit or lot in a homeowners association, would, in certain circumstances, have a priority over any future first mortgage or deed of trust recorded after October 1, 2010. This was intended to assist condominiums and homeowners associations that have been left with unpaid assessments, despite having obtained a lien on the property, where the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are exhausted by the outstanding mortgage debt. This measure was defeated.
