Maryland HOA laws are set out in the Maryland Homeowners Association Act (MHAA), found in Title 11B of the Real Property Article. The statute controls how boards run meetings, adopt budgets, keep records, enforce rules, and collect unpaid assessments, and it grants homeowners rights that no HOA declaration or bylaw can take away. Your community’s own governing documents fill in the local details, but they cannot contradict what state law requires.
Maryland courts have consistently held that an HOA must stay within the boundaries of both its own governing documents and the MHAA. In Black v. Fox Hills North Community Association, the Court of Special Appeals reinforced that an HOA cannot act beyond the authority granted in its declaration and state law. A rule that conflicts with either source can be challenged.
What Your HOA Board Can and Cannot Do
The board of directors, elected by the homeowners, manages the day-to-day business of the association. Board members owe fiduciary duties to the community: they must make informed decisions, act in good faith, and avoid conflicts of interest. The same standard applies to corporate directors. If a board member steers a contract to a relative’s company without disclosure, that decision can be challenged.
Amendments to the governing documents must follow the procedures those documents lay out, which typically require a vote of the membership. A board cannot unilaterally rewrite the declaration or bylaws. In communities still under developer control, Maryland law requires a transition meeting within 60 days after 75 percent of the lots have been sold to residential buyers, at which point lot owners take over the board.
Meetings You Can Attend
The board must hold at least one open meeting each year where any topic related to the association is on the table. All meetings of the board, committees, and the membership must be open to homeowners or their authorized agents, and the association must give reasonable advance notice of regularly scheduled meetings.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 11B-111 – Meetings of Homeowners Association or Its Governing Body The MHAA does not fix a specific number of days; what counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances, and your bylaws may set a tighter window.
The board can close a session only for a narrow list of reasons: employee matters, privacy concerns, legal consultation, pending or potential litigation, criminal investigations, sensitive business negotiations, and discussion of individual assessment accounts.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 11B-111 – Meetings of Homeowners Association or Its Governing Body When the board closes a session, the minutes of the next open meeting must record the time, place, and purpose of the closed meeting along with each member’s vote to close it. General business decisions cannot be made behind closed doors.
A quorum must be present to conduct business, defined by the governing documents. Votes taken without a quorum can be invalidated. HOAs may allow proxy and electronic voting if their bylaws permit it, and homeowners have the right to speak at open meetings, subject to reasonable time limits.
Records You Can Request
You have the right to examine and copy the association’s books and records during normal business hours after giving reasonable notice. When you submit a written request, the HOA must provide records prepared within the last three years within 21 days, and older records within 45 days.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property 11B-112
Accessible records include board resolutions, vendor contracts, insurance policies, and financial statements. The HOA may charge a reasonable copying fee, but it cannot set the price so high that it effectively blocks access. Some records containing personal information about individual owners or privileged legal communications are exempt. If the association refuses a legitimate request or misses the statutory deadline, you can seek a court order compelling production.
Assessments, Budgets, and the 15 Percent Rule
Every lot owner is liable for HOA assessments that come due while they own the property.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-117 – Liability for Assessments Assessments typically cover landscaping, snow removal, insurance, and common-area maintenance. The board must submit a proposed annual budget to lot owners at least 30 days before the budget is adopted, and adoption must happen at an open meeting.4Justia Law. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-112.2 The adopted budget must go out to lot owners within 30 days of the vote.
The 15 percent rule catches many homeowners off guard. If the board wants to spend more than 15 percent above the previously adopted budget during the current fiscal year, it must get approval at a special meeting with at least 10 days’ written notice to all lot owners.4Justia Law. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-112.2 The only exception is an emergency expenditure needed to prevent a health or safety threat or significant property damage. Homeowners can sue an association whose board fails in its fiduciary duty over funds, as the Court of Special Appeals recognized in Greenstein v. Council of Unit Owners of Avalon Court Six Condominium.
Liens If You Fall Behind
If you fall behind on assessments, the HOA can place a lien on your property under the Maryland Contract Lien Act.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-117 – Liability for Assessments The lien attaches to your lot and must be resolved before you can sell with clean title. The association can pursue collection through the courts and, in some cases, foreclose on the lien.
Maryland gives HOA assessment liens limited priority over first mortgages recorded on or after October 1, 2011. The priority portion covers up to four months of unpaid regular assessments and is capped at $1,200. It does not include interest, late fees, fines, special assessments, attorney’s fees, or collection costs.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-117 – Liability for Assessments If the HOA files a lien and a mortgage holder requests information about the priority portion, the association has 30 days to respond; missing that deadline eliminates the priority. Even a small assessment debt can create real problems for your title, so addressing it early is far cheaper than dealing with a lien later.
Rules the HOA Can Enforce, and the Limits
Most Maryland HOAs regulate the appearance of homes and lots through architectural guidelines covering paint colors, fencing, decks, and landscaping. The MHAA requires associations to have a clear review process for proposed changes, and homeowners who skip that process risk fines or an order to undo the work at their own expense.
Restrictions must be reasonable and enforced consistently. In Ridgely Condominium Association v. Smyrnioudis, the Maryland Court of Appeals struck down a bylaw amendment that prevented commercial unit owners’ clients from accessing units through the lobby, finding the restriction did not reasonably relate to the health, happiness, and enjoyment of the unit owners.5Justia Case Law. Ridgely v. Smyrnioudis – 1996 – Maryland Supreme Court Decisions The same standard applies to architectural rules: an arbitrary or selectively enforced restriction can be challenged.
Several other rules are outside an HOA’s reach no matter what the governing documents say.
Solar Panels
Under Real Property Code ยง2-119, a covenant or HOA rule cannot impose unreasonable limitations on solar collector systems installed on a roof or exterior wall that the homeowner owns or has exclusive use of. An unreasonable limitation includes anything that significantly increases the system’s cost or significantly decreases its efficiency.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property Code 2-119 The one exception is historic properties listed in or eligible for the Maryland Register of Historic Properties. Reasonable guidelines on placement and aesthetics are fine; a blanket ban is not.
Assistance Animals
Even if your HOA bans pets or restricts certain breeds, federal law requires the association to grant reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities who need an assistance animal, including emotional support animals. Under the Fair Housing Act, the housing provider must allow the animal when the resident has a disability-related need and provides reliable supporting information if that need is not obvious.7U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals Denial is only allowed if the accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden, fundamentally alter operations, or create a direct threat to others’ safety. Pet deposits and pet fees cannot be charged for assistance animals.
The American Flag
The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act prohibits any residential association from restricting a member’s right to display the U.S. flag on property the member owns or has exclusive use of.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 5 – Display and Use of Flag by Civilians The HOA can enforce reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions necessary to protect a substantial community interest, such as flag maintenance or dangerous flagpole placements. An outright ban is off the table.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule bars HOAs from restricting the installation of satellite dishes one meter or smaller, TV antennas designed for local broadcast signals, and certain fixed wireless antennas one meter or smaller.9Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule The rule covers property you own or have exclusive use of, like a balcony or patio. It does not cover AM/FM radio antennas, ham radio equipment, or antennas for distant TV signals. An HOA can suggest alternative placement if it does not add unreasonable cost or delay, but it cannot flatly prohibit a covered device.
Disability Accommodations
The Fair Housing Act also requires HOAs to make reasonable accommodations in their rules and policies for residents with disabilities. That could mean waiving a rule against exterior modifications so a resident can install a wheelchair ramp, or allowing a reserved parking space closer to a unit entrance. The association can decline only if the accommodation would impose an undue burden or fundamentally change community operations.7U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
The Process Before an HOA Can Fine You
Maryland law requires HOAs to follow a detailed process before imposing fines, suspending voting rights, or taking away any other homeowner right. Skipping steps is one of the most common board mistakes, and it gives the homeowner grounds to challenge the penalty.10Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Real Property 11B-111.10
- The board must first send a written cease-and-desist notice identifying the alleged violation, the action needed to fix it, and a period of at least 15 days to correct the problem without penalty. For a one-time (non-continuing) violation, the notice must warn that repeating the same violation could lead to sanctions after a hearing.
- If the violation continues past the cure period, or the same rule is broken again within 12 months, the board sends a second written notice. This one must describe the violation, explain how to request a hearing, give at least 10 days to make that request, and state the proposed penalty.
- If the homeowner requests a hearing, the board must schedule it at least 10 days out. The homeowner can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The results and any sanction must be recorded in the meeting minutes.
- If the homeowner does not request a hearing within the allowed time, the board can impose the proposed sanction at its next meeting.
Penalties can include fines, suspension of common-area privileges, or legal action. Any sanction must be supported by the governing documents and proportional to the violation, and it must survive the reasonableness standard the courts applied in Ridgely.5Justia Case Law. Ridgely v. Smyrnioudis – 1996 – Maryland Supreme Court Decisions If the board wants to pursue a lien for unpaid fines, it must follow the separate procedures under the Maryland Contract Lien Act.
Disclosures Required When You Sell
If you sell a lot in a Maryland HOA community, the sale contract is not enforceable unless the buyer receives a disclosure package either before signing or within 20 calendar days afterward.11Justia Law. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-106 – Resale of Lot The disclosure must include:
- Current assessments, including monthly fees, total charges from the prior fiscal year, and any delinquent amounts.
- The management agent or authorized officer’s name, address, and phone number.
- Any pending lawsuits against the association, covenant violation actions, or notices of default against the specific lot, to the seller’s actual knowledge.
- Copies of the articles of incorporation, declaration, recorded covenants and restrictions, bylaws, and rules.
If the buyer does not receive the full disclosure package at least five calendar days before signing the contract, the buyer has five days after receiving it to cancel. The buyer also gets three days to cancel after receiving notice of any changes in mandatory fees or other substantial amendments that are unfavorable.11Justia Law. Maryland Real Property Code 11B-106 – Resale of Lot Sellers who skip this step risk having the entire contract declared unenforceable.
How to Push Back When the HOA Is Wrong
Most HOA disputes do not need to end up in court, and lower-cost options often produce better results. Many associations have internal grievance procedures in their bylaws. Starting there creates a paper trail that strengthens your position if the matter escalates.
The Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO) provides access to mediation and other alternative dispute resolution programs statewide.12Maryland Courts. Alternative Dispute Resolution Resources Mediation is voluntary and less adversarial than litigation, and any agreement reached is typically enforceable. The Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division also has authority to enforce the MHAA, so filing a complaint there is an option when a board systematically ignores the law.
When informal methods fail, homeowners can file suit seeking judicial review. Courts can overturn improper penalties, order the association to comply with the MHAA, or award damages when the board acted unlawfully. The enforcement statute’s detailed hearing requirements work in your favor: if the board skipped any step, a court is far more likely to side with the homeowner.