Prince George's bill would fund administrative hearings for community associations through registration fees

The County Affairs committee reviewed PG408, a bill that would require Prince George's County to use revenue from annual community association registration fees to support an administrative hearings process (or alternative dispute resolution) for disputes between community associations and unit or lot owners.

Committee staff read the bill: "The bill requires the Prince George's County office of community relations to provide revenue from annual community association management registration fees to fund alternative dispute resolution for disputes between community associations and owners in Prince George's County." The reading said the bill defines a community association to include condominium councils, homeowners associations and cooperative housing corporations and defines "owner" to mean a unit owner or lot owner.

Delegate Holmes, who introduced the bill, told the committee that the County Council had passed CB 31 after significant constituent demand and said the legislation transfers the existing $100 fee to be payable to the Office of Community Relations so that that office can administer dispute-resolution services. Holmes said he shared Montgomery County budget materials with the committee for comparison and that the amendments offered by Delegate Williams provide greater detail on administrative functions.

The amendments rename the registry to the "community association registry," require associations to register and renew by Jan. 31 each year, allow the county executive to set a fee sufficient to cover the establishment and administration of the hearings process, and permit per-unit renewal charges and developer charges when documents are recorded. The amendment also allows fees to cover technical assistance and makes the governing body of an association responsible for compliance; a person who fails to register or who provides false information may be barred from filing a dispute under the county process until they register.

During committee discussion a member asked for Montgomery County figures and said they had not received them; another member warned that allowing charges by unit could produce large disparities, noting a $100 flat fee is different from a per-unit calculation that could rise into the thousands in some communities. One committee member said Delegate Williams' amendments were intended to mirror Montgomery County's approach and indicated willingness to move the bill out of committee for full delegation consideration.

Members moved the amendments and then the bill; a roll-call vote was taken and the chair announced the amendments and motion had passed. The bill as amended will proceed for further consideration.

Why it matters: The measure would create a county-administered fund, drawn from registration and service fees, to underwrite administrative hearings or dispute-resolution services for condominium and homeowners associations and their owners. Debate in committee focused on fee-setting authority and the potential for per-unit charges to create uneven costs across different types of communities.