The Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill that would require that condominium unit owners, under certain qualifying circumstances, be permitted to rent their units even where the condominium governing documents limit the number of units that can be rented. House Bill 1195 would add new Section 11-111.4 to the Maryland Condominium Act, and provide that unit owners who had experienced a “financial event” be allowed to rent their units despite a provision in the governing documents limiting the number or percentage of units that can be rented.
A “financial event” is defined as (1) a reduction in household income by more than 50%; (2) an increase in household expenses of 33% or more: (3) death of a unit owner or their spouse; (4) a change in location of the unit owner’s or spouse’s permanent place of employment that is 50 miles or further from the unit; (5) military deployment of the unit owner or their spouse for 12 months or more; or (6) divorce of the unit owner.
A unit owner seeking to qualify would be required to submit a written request to the condominium’s governing body with evidence that (1) they had experienced a financial event; (2) the unit is their primary residence; (3) they were a resident of Maryland at the time of the financial event; and (4) the appraised value of the unit is less than 90% of the amount that is owed on it.
Exceptions to rental restrictions under this proposal would be for a period of three years.
