If you own a condo unit, Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-113 spells out exactly what has to happen before a fine or suspension can stand. First, the council has to send a written cease-and-desist demand identifying the alleged violation, the action required to fix it, and either a cure period of at least 15 days (for a continuing violation) or a warning that a further violation may lead to a sanction after notice and a hearing (for a one-time violation). If the violation continues or repeats within 12 months, the board must send a second written notice giving you at least 10 days to request a hearing, held in executive session, where you have the right to present evidence, call witnesses, and cross-examine the board's. The minutes have to document that notice was given and record the hearing's outcome, and a decision made this way is appealable to the Maryland courts.
If you own a lot in a subdivision HOA, none of that exists in the Homeowners Association Act. Title 11B has no fines-and-hearing section that parallels § 11-113. The authority to fine you at all comes from the declaration itself, defined in § 11B-101(d) as the recorded instrument that creates a homeowners association's power to impose mandatory fees and enforce its rules. If your declaration promises a hearing before a fine, that promise is enforceable on its own terms. If it's silent, there is no statutory backstop in this act requiring one.
If your declaration is silent, use what you do have
Silence in the Homeowners Association Act doesn't mean you have nothing. Use the records right in § 11B-112 to pull the minutes and financials behind the fine, so you can see when the rule was actually adopted and whether it's been applied the same way against everyone else (see the selective-enforcement guide). And in certain Southern Maryland counties, § 11B-104(c) authorizes the county to set up a homeowners association commission that can hear and resolve enforcement disputes through alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration — a real, if narrow, channel outside your own board if your county has created one.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-113
The condo fines statute: a written cease-and-desist with a cure period, a second notice of the right to a hearing, an executive-session hearing with evidence and cross-examination, and appeal to the Maryland courts.
Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-111
Governs how a condo rule must be adopted, noticed, and voted on before it's enforceable — the rule a § 11-113 fine has to trace back to.
Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-101
Defines "declaration" as the instrument that creates a homeowners association's authority to impose fees and enforce rules — the only source of an HOA's fining power, since Title 11B has no dedicated fines-and-hearing section.
Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-104
Lets certain Southern Maryland counties create a homeowners association commission with authority to resolve enforcement disputes, including through binding arbitration.
Step by step
How to challenge an HOA or condo fine in Maryland
A step-by-step path to dispute a Maryland fine, using § 11-113's hearing process for condos and your own declaration for HOAs.
- 01
Confirm which act actually covers you
Condo owners get the full § 11-113 process. HOA lot owners get nothing equivalent in Title 11B, so your first move is pulling your own declaration's enforcement clause, if it has one.
- 02
Condo owners: demand the § 11-113 hearing in writing
If you receive a cease-and-desist demand, note the cure period. If a second notice offers a hearing, request it in writing within the stated window and keep proof you sent it.
- 03
HOA owners: find your declaration's own process
Since Title 11B doesn't guarantee a hearing, read your declaration and bylaws for whatever notice or appeal steps they promise, and hold the board to those exact terms.
- 04
Request the rule's adoption record
For either act, ask in writing when and how the specific rule was adopted and distributed. A fine resting on a rule that was never properly adopted is vulnerable under § 11-111.
- 05
Escalate
Condo owners can appeal an adverse § 11-113 decision to the Maryland courts. HOA owners should check whether their county runs an § 11B-104(c) homeowners association commission, or otherwise raise the dispute with the full board and consult counsel.
Straight answers
Common questions
Does Maryland require a hearing before an HOA or condo can fine me?
Only for condos. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-113 requires a written cease-and-desist notice, a cure period, and, if the violation continues, a hearing before the board with the right to present evidence and cross-examine. The Homeowners Association Act (Title 11B) has no equivalent requirement; whether an HOA lot owner gets a hearing depends entirely on the declaration and bylaws.
What does the condo fine hearing actually look like?
Under § 11-113, after a cease-and-desist demand and cure period, the board must give you at least 10 days' notice of your right to request a hearing, hold that hearing in executive session with at least 10 days' further notice, let you present evidence and witnesses and cross-examine, record the result in the minutes, and allow you to appeal an adverse decision to the Maryland courts.
My HOA fined me and I never got a hearing — is that legal?
It may be, unfortunately. Title 11B doesn't include a fines-and-hearing section like § 11-113. Check whether your declaration or bylaws promise a hearing; if they do, that promise is enforceable. If they're silent, look into whether your county has created a homeowners association commission under § 11B-104(c), which some Southern Maryland counties can offer as an arbitration channel.
Can the board suddenly enforce a rule it never enforced before?
For condos, yes. Section 11-113(d) states that the council's failure to enforce a provision on one occasion is not a waiver of its right to enforce it later. That doesn't mean inconsistent enforcement against you specifically is unchallengeable; see the selective-enforcement guide for that distinction.