Maryland homeowners associations are governed by the Maryland Homeowners Association Act, Real Property § 11B-101 et seq. Compared to states like Florida, Maryland's Act leaves more to each community's own declaration and bylaws — but it's been actively amended recently, most notably a 2025 law that changed how HOA board elections have to be run.
Fines: what your HOA can and can't charge
Maryland's HOA Act sets no statutory dollar cap on fines — that's left entirely to your community's declaration and bylaws. What the Act does mandate is a specific, multi-step disciplinary process:
- Cure notice first: the association must give written notice of the violation and the corrective action needed, with at least 15 days to fix it before any penalty attaches.
- If it happens again within 12 months: you get a written notice describing the violation, how to request a hearing, and a request window of at least 10 days.
- The hearing: held in executive session, with at least 10 days' notice, where you can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
- No hearing requested: the board can deliberate and impose the sanction at its next meeting.
- Appeal: a board's decision under this process can be appealed to Maryland's courts.
See our guide on how to fight an HOA fine for the general playbook.
Unpaid assessments, liens, and foreclosure
Maryland HOAs collect through the state's general Contract Lien Act, not a separate HOA-specific lien statute:
- 30 days' notice of intent to lien, by certified/registered mail or personal delivery, stating the amount owed and your right to request a hearing.
- You then have 30 days to file a court complaint contesting the lien before it's recorded.
- What can be foreclosed: only the regular assessments, interest, and reasonable collection costs — late charges, fines, and attorney's fees are excluded from the amount an association can actually foreclose on.
- Super-lien priority: up to 4 months of unpaid regular assessments, capped at $1,200, can jump ahead of a first mortgage — but that priority amount excludes interest, late charges, fines, and special assessments.
- Late fee cap: the greater of $15 or 10% of the delinquent amount, charged only once per missed payment, and only after 15 days' delinquency.
- 12-year window to bring a foreclosure action after the lien is recorded.
More on this in our guide to what happens if you don't pay HOA dues.
Meetings and quorum
The Act guarantees members "reasonable notice" of regular meetings rather than a fixed day count, plus at least one open annual meeting. If a meeting fails for lack of quorum, the association can call a reconvened meeting with at least 10 days' notice — and at that reconvened meeting, whoever shows up (in person or by proxy) constitutes quorum, no percentage required. Quorum for the original meeting isn't set by the Act itself; that's a bylaws matter, though nonprofit-corporation default rules can fill the gap if the bylaws are silent.
Board elections
This is the section that changed the most recently. As of October 2025, Maryland requires HOA board elections to be run by an independent party — someone who isn't a candidate and has no conflict of interest with one. A property management company generally can't serve in that role unless the HOA owns its own management company; a lot owner can serve as the independent administrator only if they don't campaign for any candidate and aren't objected to by more than 25% of eligible voters. Associations can also just hire an outside vendor or use a commercial electronic-voting platform instead. Any provision in a community's governing documents that conflicts with this is void.
The Act itself doesn't set a statewide plurality-vs-majority rule, doesn't bar felons or delinquent owners from running, and leaves vacancy-filling to the bylaws — those are governing-document questions in Maryland, not state-law ones. If you think your board didn't follow the correct election procedure (notice, nominations, ballots, proxies, or quorum), you can now file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Protection in the Maryland Attorney General's office.
For the general mechanics, see how HOA board elections work.
Buying a home in a Maryland HOA
Before you buy a resale home, Maryland law entitles you to a resale package covering current assessments, the prior year's total fees, whether the seller's lot is delinquent, management contact info, known lawsuits or judgments against the association, and copies of the governing documents.
If you haven't received the complete package at least 5 days before you sign, you get 5 days to cancel once it does arrive. A fee increase of more than 10%, or any other material change disclosed after signing, gives you a separate 3-day right to cancel. (A 2026 bill would have shortened the package fee and lengthened the cancellation window, but it didn't pass — the $250/5-day figures above remain current law.)
See our full buying checklist for homes in an HOA before you make an offer.
Need help with a Maryland HOA issue? Find an HOA attorney in Maryland, or find a management company in Maryland.