Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
Housing Association Bill/Contract
Upon the purchase of our townhome, in a new development, we were also required to sign into a contract with the home owners association for the development. The association takes care of the basic maintanance of the common grounds of the development. Part of this maintanance is streetlights, which are located in the front of the development, where the single family homes are located. (Townhomes are located at the back.) When we phoned the association in regards to the fact we are paying for a service we are not receiving, but are expected to receive, we were told that because there were streetlights in other areas of the development, we were still responsible to pay our share. Keeping in mind that the extra cost of the townhome's common areas are not paid for by the single home owners, they are divided only amongst the townhome owners, we don't feel that we should have to pay the fee for streetlights which we have not received. Other townhome owners are feeling the same way. We have paid dues for last year, including the streetlight fees, and just received the new bill for 2000. Do we have a right to fight paying the portion of the bill for streetlights that we have yet to receive? Thank you for any response...
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Housing Association Bill/Contract
As a member of a homeowners' association, you are subject to the provisions and by-laws enacted by the members of the association. Courts rarely interfere with the right of an association to govern itself unless it is not following its own rules.
If you can convince enough members to reallocate the financial responsibilities of the townhome owners so that you aren't assessed for street lights, offer a resolution at the next meeting. On the other hand, you may be outnumbered by the single family homeowners, so this won't work. They would argue that if you use the roads on which the lights are located to access your property, you are benefitting from them, even if they aren't located near your property.
Re: Housing Association Bill/Contract
Your rights in the Homeowner's association are governed by the covenants and restrictions for the subdivision. Your responsibility for payment of the fees for the street lamps should be set out in the governing documents. The courts will generally not interfere with the workings of the homeowner's association unless it can be shown that the action of the board of directors is being arbitrarily and capriciously exercised.
Ultimately, your strongest defense is to build support among the townhouse owners and attempt to amend the governing document to either remove your responsibility or make the repsonsibility for payment proportionate to the service rendered. The percentage of owners required to amend the covenants and restrictions should be set forth in the documents.
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