The Baltimore County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to ask its representatives in Annapolis to amend a 2022 law to give common-ownership communities more time to conduct reserve studies.

The resolution asks that such communal associations, whether they be homeowner or condo associations, have five years to collect the necessary fees to cover major infrastructure expenses; some must have the money in hand every three years under the current law.

The council is also asking the Maryland General Assembly to modify the law to reflect the different needs of the communal associations.

Representatives of associations that oversee developments such as townhomes have argued that they should be exempt from the reserve studies because it would require them to spend a large portion of their dues to evaluate their finances; they also tend to have less expensive shared spaces than condo associations. Homeowner associations’ communal assets tend to be smaller — signs, sidewalks and parking spaces.

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The council unanimously approved that change, too. Councilman David Marks, a Republican who introduced the legislation, said legislators are already working on a bill.

The current state law, which Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. championed after a condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida, in 2021 that killed 98 people, sets deadlines for common-ownership communities to collect money for maintenance and upgrades. Costs can collectively run into the millions for repairing walls, beams, staircases or pool decks. It applies to all homeowner associations in Maryland with more than $10,000 in common assets.

Many older adults in Baltimore County have turned to condo living for the ease of maintenance. But Marks said they cannot afford these shared huge repair bills on a fixed income. He wants to extend the time allowed for replenishing the reserves.

“I think it’s appropriate for us to weigh in. We have a very high proportion of senior citizens in this county,” the Upper Falls Republican said. “This law is a well-intentioned effort, but one that is burdening them with very, very high costs.”

County Councilman Julian Jones agreed and asked to co-sponsor Marks’ resolution, which urges lawmakers to amend the law and provide more time to collect funds and evaluate fiscal assets to make sure the homeowners and condo boards can cover shared maintenance expenses.

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“It was a horrible situation in Florida, but what happened was, I’m not going to call it a knee-jerk reaction, but a lot of these states jumped in with these requirements,” said Jones, a Woodstock Democrat. “And it’s almost like a one-size-fits-all, making people have the reserves to cover something extremely catastrophic that may never happen.”

Natalie Stuppard, a Tiers of Laurel Lakes condo owner and condo association board member, describes the community reaction when notice-to-vacate signs appeared when the condo’s staircases were deemed unsafe. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

Holmes’ law, while designed to ensure that associations have the funds, can pinch townhouse or condo owners, who sometimes have as little as three years to pay their share of millions of dollars in maintenance or repairs split 40 or 50 ways, depending on the number of units. It’s almost impossible for many seniors on a fixed income to come up with, say, $20,000 on short notice.

That’s the picture at Rockland Run, an aging Baltimore County condominium community. Dues are set to rise 15% next year. That’s on top of a $250,000 special assessment that the complex’s roughly 241 households are being asked to split. Even as they ready to pay more money, some question where the dues they have already paid have been spent. The complex has a sinkhole in the parking lot, water damage in various apartments, and a tennis court that needs repaving.

And in late November, a group of Laurel condominium owners panicked when they saw notices posted outside their doors: The city deemed much of their 170-unit complex unsafe. A majority of the condo complex’s 58 staircases didn’t meet city standards, and the cost of repairing them would total millions. The owners and board are working through the issue. As at Rockland Run, many condo owners in the Tiers of Laurel Lakes are on fixed incomes.

Exposed studs and cinderblock are seen in the living room of Rockland Run resident Diana Evans following a recent water leak. She has had to deal with water coming through the ceiling in her first floor condo multiple times in the past couple of years.
Exposed studs and cinderblock are seen in the living room of Rockland Run resident Diana Evans following a water leak. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

Holmes, known as the “housing guru” in the legislature, is continuing to advocate on behalf of communal dwellers. Three times, he has tried to sponsor a regulation to create a “bill of rights” for residents of common ownership communities. This year, he is working to establish a statewide commission for such communities, which already exist in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Holmes also plans to reintroduce a bill that would set licensing standards for property managers, who he said usually have few qualifications outside of their “business cards.”

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In another matter, the County Council also unanimously voted to ask the delegation to oppose a proposal that would allow beer, wine and liquor sales at groceries, which they say would hurt small businesses. Maryland has long prohibited such sales, but a devoted cohort tries to change the law almost every year. Gov. Wes Moore had announced that he supported letting groceries sell beer and wine, but he also said he would not be lobbying this session to change the law.

Hallie Miller contributed to this report.