A 2022 law required HOAs to assess maintenance needs. Now it’s time to pay up.

Maryland community associations are finding themselves squeezed by a 2022 law intended to ensure maintenance of condominiums and similar housing, but which is resulting in thousands of dollars in surprise fees and assessments that are leaving some residents struggling to make ends meet. The law in question requires all Maryland housing cooperatives and condominiums, and homeowners associations with more than $10,000 in common area assets, to conduct reserve studies every five years analyzing what portions of shared infrastructure, such as a roof or boiler, might need to be replaced.