Delegate circulates letter asking colleagues to support extending reserve-study deadline for common ownership communities

A delegate asked the Baltimore County delegation to review and consider signing a short letter supporting changes to reserve-study requirements for common ownership communities (condominiums, co-ops and homeowners associations). The requested change would extend the compliance timeframe from three years to five years, giving communities more time to build reserve funds and spread the cost of required assessments.

The delegate said the issue had been raised repeatedly by communities in District 8 and that earlier legislation (HB 107, sponsored previously by Delegate Marvin Holmes) had created reserve-study requirements. He said Delegate Holmes reintroduced the amendment this year, the House passed it last year but it stalled in the Senate, and that the current approach seeks to ease the financial burden on some communities by lengthening the timeline for compliance.

The delegate asked members to review the letter posted in the meeting’s Google Docs and to let his office know by Monday afternoon if they wished to sign on; he said signatures could be digital or handwritten and he would collect them. He noted that because the bill’s hearing was in another committee that day, the delegation could not submit testimony in advance but he planned to bring the letter to the committee personally.

Delegates in the meeting expressed awareness of the issue and regional interest, particularly on the east side where council and community leaders have expressed support. No formal delegation action was recorded; the item was informational and a voluntary sign-on request.