In the 2016 session of the Maryland General Assembly, legislation under House Bill 1192 was passed that alters the contents of required disclosures, authorizes additional fees, and sets limits on the fees that may be charged to a seller by a condominium council of unit owners for providing resale documents.

 

Owners of a condominium unit or a unit in a homeowners association (HOA) should be aware that this legislation set a maximum amount that can be charged by the condo association, HOA, or any authorized agent of either. The maximum amount set is $250, and the legislation further clarified that the amount charged shall, “not exceed the actual cost to the council of unit owners and up to a maximum of $250, for providing specified information in the form of a certificate within 20 days after receiving a written request from a unit owner.”

 

In many cases locally, it is customary for these resale documents to be received within the time frame of a few days, but the legislation states a council of unit owners may also charge a reasonable fee of up to $50 for delivery of the certificate within 14 days after a written request by a unit owner, or a fee of up to $100 for delivery of the certificate within 7 days.

 

The new law makes multiple changes to the required contents of a disclosure that a seller must provide to a purchaser. The changes include the repeal of the requirement to disclose:

a statement as to whether the council of unit owners knows that any alteration to the unit violates any provision of specified rules or regulations and

a statement of the remaining term of any leasehold estate in the condominium and any provisions governing any extension or renewal.

 

And, the legislation clarifies that the disclosure must include:

the current operating budget of the condominium, including the current reserve study report or a summary, a statement of the status of any reserve or replacement fund, or a statement that there is no reserve fund and

a statement of any unsatisfied judgments or pending lawsuits to which the council of unit owners is a party, excluding assessment collection suits.

 

The bill clarifies the standard of knowledge in a statement as to whether the council of unit owners has actual knowledge of any violation of the health or building codes with respect to the common elements of the condominium. It also requires the disclosure to contain a statement of the common expense assessment and any unpaid common expense or special assessment adopted by the council of unit owners that is due from the selling unit owner.

 

Lauren Bunting is a licensed Associate Broker with Bunting Realty, Inc. in Berlin, MD.

Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.