Both the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates passed bills that would require Homeowners Associations to make re-sale disclosure information available upon written request of a lot owner. However, the two houses were unable to agree on a portion of the proposed new law that placed limits on the fees that can be charged by a howeowners association or a condominium council of unit owners for providing resale disclosure information. The Senate version would limit those fees to the lesser of $50 or the actual cost of furnishing the information. The House version would set a limit of $250. The Senate, which was the first to pass SB 229, refused to accept HB 412. The House then refused the Senate’s request to agree to the Senate version.
Presently, Section 11B-106 of the Maryland Homeowners Association Act provides that certain information be provided to a prospective purchaser in the community, and that specific information be included in the contract of sale. The new law, as proposed by both houses, would require that, within twenty days of receiving a written request from the selling owner, the homeowners association must provide the information necessary for the owner to comply with the disclosure requirements.
As noted above, both bills would also limits the fee that could be charged to the owner for preparing the information to the actual cost up to a maximum amount, and would impose that same limit in charges by condominium councils of unit owners for furnishing the re-sale disclosure information they are required to provide under Section 11-135 of the Maryland Condominium Act.
