Maryland Covenant Override Statutes
Eight sections of the Real Property Article that beat your governing documents. Four of them define “restriction on use” to include the bylaws or rules of a condominium or homeowners association — so a board cannot escape them by calling the restriction a rule.
Most of Maryland's homeowner protections live inside the Condominium Act and the Homeowners Association Act. These do not. They sit in the general Real Property Article and apply to residential property whether or not there is an association at all — which means an owner looking only at Title 11 or Title 11B will miss them.
All eight are reproduced below in full. Read the notes on § 2-121 before you rely on it: it is the one section here that excludes condominiums, homeowners associations and cooperatives.
The phrase that does the work
Sections 2-119, 2-124, 2-125 and 2-126 all define “restriction on use” the same way — a covenant, restriction or condition contained in:
- a deed;
- a declaration;
- a contract;
- the bylaws or rules of a condominium or homeowners association (§ 2-126 says “of a homeowners association”);
- a security instrument; or
- any other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of real property, or any other interest in real property.
The fourth item is the important one. A board that adopts a rule rather than amending the declaration has not stepped outside these sections; the rule is a restriction on use.
Four of them also share an exemption: historic property listed in, or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in, the Maryland Register of Historic Properties. That carve-out appears in §§ 2-119(d), 2-124(c), 2-125(d), 2-126(c) and, in a narrower form, 14-130(b).
Solar collector systems — § 2-119
A restriction on use regarding land use — the operative clause in all four of these sections carries that phrase — may not impose or act to impose unreasonable limitations on installing a solar collector system on the roof or exterior walls of improvements, provided the owner owns or has the exclusive right to use them. What makes this section unusually usable is that it says what unreasonable means. A restriction is unreasonable if applying it to a particular proposal:
- increases the installation cost by at least 5% over the projected cost of the initially proposed installation; or
- reduces the energy generated by at least 10% below the projected generation of the initially proposed installation.
The owner carries the documentation burden. Under § 2-119(b)(3) the owner must provide documentation satisfactory to the community association showing the restriction is unreasonable, and it must be prepared by an independent solar panel design specialist who is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, or who has attested by affidavit to designing at least 30 solar collector systems in the course of trade within the prior 3 years. Getting the percentages right is not enough on its own; the specialist is part of the rule.
Common areas are different. An association may prohibit or restrict installation in the common area or common elements, and may set reasonable restrictions on the number, size, place or manner of placement there. And § 2-119(b)(4)(iii) gives the board discretion to install a solar collector system in the common area notwithstanding the governing documents, so long as no other law prohibits it.
Subsection (c) is a separate tool: an owner may negotiate a written solar easement, conveyed in perpetuity, limiting the use of neighbouring land to preserve sunlight. It has to state its dimensions in measurable terms — angles in degrees, or the hours of the day on specified dates when direct sunlight may not be obstructed — the restrictions on vegetation, structures and other objects, and the terms for revising or terminating it, and it must be recorded.
Family child care homes — § 2-121, and its exclusion
Read subsection (b) first. This section does not apply to a recorded covenant or restriction affecting property that is governed by Title 11B, part of a condominium regime governed by Title 11, or part of a cooperative housing corporation. If you live in one of those three, this is not your section — yours is § 11-111.1 for a condominium, § 11B-111.1 for a homeowners association, and Corporations and Associations § 5-6B-22.1 for a cooperative, each reproduced on its own page.
Where it does apply, it is a rule of construction rather than a prohibition: a recorded covenant in a deed that prohibits or restricts commercial or business activity in general, but does not expressly apply to family child care homes, may not be construed to prohibit or restrict them, and operating one “shall be considered a residential activity” for construing such a covenant. A covenant that names family child care homes expressly is outside the section.
It also does not reach a building of more than four dwelling units on one parcel, a covenant imposed with a Community Development Administration loan, or a lease. “Family child care home” means a unit registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article in which the provider or one or more of the children cared for resides.
Portable basketball apparatus — § 2-124
A restriction on use may not impose an unreasonable limitation on the location and use of a portable basketball apparatus, where the owner owns or has exclusive use of the area concerned. An unreasonable limitation includes one that significantly increases the cost of using it or significantly decreases the ability to use it as designed and intended. Note the word portable: a permanently installed hoop is not what this section is about.
Low-impact landscaping — § 2-125
Low-impact landscaping means techniques that conserve water, lower maintenance costs, provide pollution prevention and create habitat for wildlife — and the definition names bio-habitat gardens, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and xeriscaping and other forms of landscaping that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.
A restriction on use may not impose unreasonable limitations on it, provided the owner owns or has exclusive use of the property and maintains and regularly tends to the landscaping. An unreasonable limitation includes one that significantly increases its cost, significantly decreases its efficiency, or “[r]equires cultivated vegetation to consist in whole or in part of turf grass.” A mandatory-lawn rule is named in the statute.
The balance is in subsection (c): nothing here stops a restriction including reasonable design and aesthetic guidelines on the type, number and location of low-impact landscaping features. The association keeps a say over how it looks; it loses the power to forbid it.
Accessory dwelling units — § 2-126
Where the owner has the exclusive right to use the property and abides by all applicable laws and regulations, a restriction on use may not impose an unreasonable limitation on the ability to develop or offer for rent an accessory dwelling unit — and an unreasonable limitation “[i]ncludes a limitation that prohibits, either explicitly or by effect of the restrictions, the development of an accessory dwelling unit”. A flat ban is named as the paradigm case.
There is one carve-out inside the definition: a limitation on the short-term rental of an accessory dwelling unit is not an unreasonable limitation. An association may still restrict short-term letting.
The term itself comes from § 4-501 of the Land Use Article: a secondary dwelling unit on the same lot, parcel or tract as a primary single-family detached dwelling, not greater than 75% of the size of and subordinate in use to that primary dwelling, whether separate from it or attached as an addition. Note what that excludes — a lot whose primary dwelling is not a single-family detached house.
Do not mistake § 11B-111.11 for a second override. Title 11B's only accessory dwelling unit section is a single sentence, and it runs the other way: notwithstanding the governing documents, the governing body of a homeowners association “has the authority to treat an accessory dwelling unit as a separate lot for purposes of voting on a homeowners association matter.” It is a power given to the association, not a protection given to the owner. It is reproduced on the Homeowners Association Act page.
The United States flag — § 14-128
This one is drafted to leave no room. It applies to any residential property, including property subject to Titles 8, 8A, 11, 11A or 11B of the Real Property Article or to Title 5, Subtitle 6B of the Corporations and Associations Article — landlord-and-tenant, mobile home parks, condominium, time-share, homeowners association and cooperative alike.
Regardless of the terms of any contract, deed, covenant, restriction, instrument, declaration, rule, bylaw, lease or rental agreement, a homeowner or tenant may not be prohibited from displaying one portable, removable flag of the United States on the premises they are entitled to reside in, in a respectful manner consistent with 4 U.S.C. §§ 4 through 10, subject to reasonable rules adopted under subsection (d). Subsection (c) says the same thing from the other side: such documents may not prohibit or unduly restrict that right.
The procedure for making rules is mandatory. Before adopting any rule on the placement and manner of display of the flag or of a flagpole, the board of a condominium, homeowners association or housing cooperative, or the landlord, must:
- hold an open meeting on the proposed rules so affected homeowners and tenants have an opportunity to be heard; and
- give advance notice of its time and place, by community newsletter, community bulletin board, the means the governing documents or the lease provide, or other means reasonably calculated to inform those affected.
The section attaches no express consequence to skipping that meeting. But subsections (b) and (c) make the right subject only to rules “adopted pursuant to subsection (d)”, and (d)(2) says the board shall hold the meeting first — so the better reading is that a flag rule made without one is not a rule the right is subject to. That is an inference from the text, not a sentence in it.
Clotheslines — § 14-130
The same shape, for single-family property — which the section defines to include a single-family detached home, a townhouse, and property subject to Title 11, Title 11B or the Cooperative Housing Corporation Act, but not property containing more than four dwelling units.
Subsection (c) says such documents may not prohibit installing or using clotheslines; subsection (d) says that notwithstanding any other provision of law or any such document, a homeowner or tenant may not be prohibited from doing so. Subsection (e) preserves reasonable restrictions on the dimensions, placement or appearance of clotheslines for the purpose of protecting aesthetic values, and on placement for the protection of persons or property in a fire or other emergency.
And, as with the flag, subsection (f) requires an open meeting with advance notice before any clothesline restriction is adopted.
The historic-property exemption here is narrower than the others: it applies to a restriction concerning the installation or use of clotheslines on historic property.
Transfer fees — § 10-708
This is the override written the other way round. A transfer fee is a charge payable on the transfer of an interest in real property, or payable for the right to accept a transfer of one. A person conveying a fee simple interest may not record a covenant for the payment of a transfer fee, and a covenant that requires payment of a transfer fee on the conveyance of a fee simple interest is void. The statute does not merely make it unenforceable against a particular owner; it voids the covenant.
Association charges are exempted. Section 10-708(b)(6) takes out a fee required to be paid to a homeowners association as defined in § 11B-101, a council of unit owners as defined in § 11-101, the managing entity of a timeshare plan, any other owners association governed by recorded covenants, conditions and restrictions, or an agent for any of them. So a resale packet fee, a working-capital contribution or a transfer charge payable to your own association is outside this section. What is inside it is the private, developer-style covenant that follows the land and pays a third party on every future sale.
The other exemptions are the ordinary machinery of a conveyance: the purchase price itself; payments under a mortgage loan agreement on a sale by the mortgagee; contributions of real property to a company or partnership; an agreement for a series of related transfers that states its essential terms; affordable housing covenants, including — the list is illustrative, not exhaustive — those executed by public bodies, federal agencies, affordable-housing corporations, an LLC with at least one such corporation as a member, consumer housing cooperatives and federally recognised tribes; and a real estate brokerage commission.
Some of these have a twin inside the association statutes, and some do not. Solar, basketball, landscaping, transfer fees, the flag and clotheslines are answered here. Family child care homes are answered here only if you are not in a condominium, homeowners association or cooperative — § 2-121(b) removes all three, and § 11-111.1, § 11B-111.1 and Corporations and Associations § 5-6B-22.1 take over for a condominium, a homeowners association and a cooperative respectively. Accessory dwelling units are answered here alone: Title 11B's § 11B-111.11 is a voting rule, not an override.
The overrides that are not on this page, because they sit inside the acts themselves and are reproduced there: electric vehicle recharging equipment (§ 11-111.4 and § 11B-111.8, each making a conflicting covenant, declaration provision, bylaw or rule “void and unenforceable”); candidate and proposition signs (§ 11B-111.2); composting (§ 11B-111.9); and, for cooperatives, §§ 5-6B-22, 5-6B-22.1, 5-6B-23 and 5-6B-23.1 of the Corporations and Associations Article.
Removing an unlawful covenant is a different procedure. Real Property § 3-112 lets an owner, or a qualifying nonprofit required to enforce neighbourhood covenants, or a county or municipality after notice, record a restrictive covenant modification striking an ownership restriction based on race, religious belief or national origin — but § 3-112(b) expressly excludes a homeowners association declaration or uniform general scheme. Those go through § 11B-113.3, which makes the governing body delete the covenant, without a vote of the lot owners, within 180 days of a written request. See the Discrimination in Housing page.
Where an accommodation is needed, this page is not the route. A request to change a rule because of a disability is answered by State Government § 20-706(b)(4), which reaches rules, policies, practices and services generally — not only the subjects listed here.
The rest of the picture. The Condominium Act, the Homeowners Association Act and the Cooperative Housing Corporation Act are each reproduced in full on this site.
Contents · 8 sections ▾
- § 2-119Covenants restricting installation of solar collector systems
- § 2-121Covenants restricting family day care homes
- § 2-124Unreasonable restrictions on location of portable basketball apparatus prohibited - Historic property
- § 2-125Restrictions imposing unreasonable limitations on low-impact landscaping prohibited - Reasonable design and aesthetic guidelines allowed - Historic properties exempted
- § 2-126Unreasonable limitation
- § 14-128Display of United States flag by homeowner or tenant
- § 14-130Installation and use of clotheslines on residential property
- § 10-708Transfer fees prohibited
No sections match that filter.
What a covenant may not stop you doing
§ 2-119 Covenants restricting installation of solar collector systems
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) “Restriction on use” includes any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in:
(i) A deed;
(ii) A declaration;
(iii) A contract;
(iv) The bylaws or rules of a condominium or homeowners association;
(v) A security instrument; or
(vi) Any other instrument affecting:
1. The transfer or sale of real property; or
2. Any other interest in real property.
(3) “Solar collector system” means a solar collector or other solar energy device, the primary purpose of which is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for electricity generation, space heating, space cooling, or water heating.
(4) “Solar easement” means an interest in land that:
(i) Is conveyed or assigned in perpetuity; and
(ii) Limits the use of the land to preserve the receipt of sunlight across the land for the use of a property owner’s solar collector system.
(b) (1) A restriction on use regarding land use may not impose or act to impose unreasonable limitations on the installation of a solar collector system on the roof or exterior walls of improvements, provided that the property owner owns or has the right to exclusive use of the roof or exterior walls.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, a restriction on use is unreasonable if application of the restriction on use to a particular proposal:
(i) Increases the installation cost of the solar collector system by at least 5% over the projected cost of the initially proposed installation; or
(ii) Reduces the energy generated by the solar collector system by at least 10% below the projected energy generation of the initially proposed installation.
(3) (i) The owner shall provide documentation that is satisfactory to the community association to show that the restriction is unreasonable under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(ii) The documentation required under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be prepared by an independent solar panel design specialist who:
1. Is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners; or
2. Has attested by affidavit to designing at least 30 solar collector systems in the course of trade within the prior 3 years.
(4) (i) A community association may prohibit or restrict the installation of a solar collector system in the common area or common elements within the real estate development served by the association.
(ii) A community association may establish reasonable restrictions as to the number, size, place, or manner of placement or installation of a solar collector system installed in the common area or common elements.
(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of the governing documents and provided that the installation is not otherwise prohibited by applicable law, the board of directors for a community association shall have discretion to install a solar collector system in the common area or common elements within the real estate development served by the community association.
(c) (1) A property owner who has installed or intends to install a solar collector system may negotiate to obtain a solar easement in writing.
(2) Any written instrument creating a solar easement shall include:
(i) A description of the dimensions of the solar easement expressed in measurable terms, including vertical or horizontal angles measured in degrees or the hours of the day on specified dates when direct sunlight to a specified surface of a solar collector system may not be obstructed;
(ii) The restrictions placed on vegetation, structures, and other objects that would impair the passage of sunlight through the solar easement; and
(iii) The terms under which the solar easement may be revised or terminated.
(3) A written instrument creating a solar easement shall be recorded in the land records of the county where the property is located.
(d) This section does not apply to a restriction on use on historic property that is listed in, or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in, the Maryland Register of Historic Properties.
§ 2-121 Covenants restricting family day care homes
(a) In this section, “family child care home” means a unit:
(1) Registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article; and
(2) In which the family child care provider or one or more of the children cared for resides.
(b) This section does not apply to a recorded covenant or restriction affecting property that is:
(1) Governed by the provisions of Title 11B of this article;
(2) Part of a condominium regime governed by Title 11 of this article; or
(3) Part of a cooperative housing corporation.
(c) (1) A recorded covenant or restriction in a deed that prohibits or restricts commercial or business activity in general, but does not expressly apply to family child care homes, may not be construed to prohibit or restrict the establishment or operation of family child care homes.
(2) The operation of a family child care home shall be considered a residential activity for purposes of construing a covenant or restriction described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to:
(1) A building containing more than four dwelling units located on one parcel of property or at one location;
(2) A covenant or restriction imposed in connection with a loan made or purchased by the Community Development Administration under Title 4, Subtitle 2 of the Housing and Community Development Article; or
(3) A lease.
§ 2-124 Unreasonable restrictions on location of portable basketball apparatus prohibited - Historic property
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) “Portable basketball apparatus” means a portable apparatus or device designed for recreational use in conjunction with the game of basketball.
(3) “Restriction on use” includes any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in:
(i) A deed;
(ii) A declaration;
(iii) A contract;
(iv) The bylaws or rules of a condominium or homeowners association;
(v) A security instrument; or
(vi) Any other instrument affecting:
1. The transfer or sale of real property; or
2. Any other interest in real property.
(b) (1) A restriction on use regarding land use may not impose or act to impose an unreasonable limitation on the location and use of a portable basketball apparatus, provided that the property owner owns or has the right to exclusive use of the area in which placement and use of the portable basketball apparatus is to occur.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, an unreasonable limitation includes a limitation that:
(i) Significantly increases the cost of using a portable basketball apparatus; or
(ii) Significantly decreases the ability to use a portable basketball apparatus as designed and intended.
(c) This section does not apply to a restriction on use on historic property that is listed in, or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in, the Maryland Register of Historic Properties.
§ 2-125 Restrictions imposing unreasonable limitations on low-impact landscaping prohibited - Reasonable design and aesthetic guidelines allowed - Historic properties exempted
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) (i) “Low-impact landscaping” means landscaping techniques that conserve water, lower maintenance costs, provide pollution prevention, and create habitat for wildlife.
(ii) “Low-impact landscaping” includes:
1. Bio-habitat gardens and other features designed to attract wildlife;
2. Pollinator gardens and other features designed to attract pollinator species;
3. Rain gardens and other features that use natural biological principles to return rainwater to the soil and to filter rainwater of excess nutrients; and
4. Xeriscaping and other forms of landscaping or gardening that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.
(3) “Restriction on use” includes any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in:
(i) A deed;
(ii) A declaration;
(iii) A contract;
(iv) The bylaws or rules of a condominium or homeowners association;
(v) A security instrument; or
(vi) Any other instrument affecting:
1. The transfer or sale of real property; or
2. Any other interest in real property.
(b) (1) A restriction on use regarding land use may not impose or act to impose unreasonable limitations on low-impact landscaping, provided that the property owner:
(i) Owns or has the right to exclusive use of the property; and
(ii) Maintains and regularly tends to the low-impact landscaping.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, an unreasonable limitation includes a limitation that:
(i) Significantly increases the cost of low-impact landscaping;
(ii) Significantly decreases the efficiency of low-impact landscaping; or
(iii) Requires cultivated vegetation to consist in whole or in part of turf grass.
(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a restriction on use from including reasonable design and aesthetic guidelines regarding the type, number, and location of low-impact landscaping features.
(d) This section does not apply to a restriction on use on historic property that is listed in, or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in, the Maryland Register of Historic Properties.
§ 2-126 Unreasonable limitation
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) “Accessory dwelling unit” has the meaning stated in § 4-501 of the Land Use Article.
(3) “Restriction on use” includes any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in:
(i) A deed;
(ii) A declaration;
(iii) A contract;
(iv) The bylaws or rules of a homeowners association;
(v) A security instrument; or
(vi) Any other instrument affecting:
1. The transfer or sale of real property; or
2. Any other interest in real property.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2)(ii) of this subsection, if a property owner has the exclusive right to use the property and abides by all applicable laws and regulations, a restriction on use regarding land use may not impose or act to impose an unreasonable limitation on the ability of the property owner to develop or offer for rent an accessory dwelling unit.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1) of this subsection, an unreasonable limitation:
(i) Includes a limitation that prohibits, either explicitly or by effect of the restrictions, the development of an accessory dwelling unit; and
(ii) Does not include a limitation on the short-term rental of an accessory dwelling unit.
(c) This section does not apply to a restriction on use on historic property that is listed in or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in the Maryland Register of Historic Properties.
§ 14-128 Display of United States flag by homeowner or tenant
(a) The provisions of this section shall apply to any residential property, including property that is subject to the provisions of:
(1) Title 8, Title 8A, Title 11, Title 11A, or Title 11B of this article; or
(2) Title 5, Subtitle 6B of the Corporations and Associations Article.
(b) Regardless of the terms of any contract, deed, covenant, restriction, instrument, declaration, rule, bylaw, lease agreement, rental agreement, or any other document concerning the display of flags or decorations by a homeowner or tenant on residential property, a homeowner or tenant may not be prohibited from displaying on the premises of the property in which the homeowner or tenant is entitled to reside one portable, removable flag of the United States in a respectful manner, consistent with 4 U.S.C. §§ 4 through 10, as amended, and subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
(c) The terms of any contract, deed, covenant, restriction, instrument, declaration, rule, bylaw, lease agreement, rental agreement, or any other document concerning the display of flags or decorations by a homeowner or tenant on residential property may not prohibit or unduly restrict the right of a homeowner or tenant to display on the premises of the property in which the homeowner or tenant is entitled to reside one portable, removable flag of the United States in a respectful manner, consistent with 4 U.S.C. §§ 4 through 10, as amended, and subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted under subsection (d) of this section.
(d) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the board of directors of a condominium, homeowners association, or housing cooperative, or a landlord may adopt reasonable rules and regulations regarding the placement and manner of display of the flag of the United States and a flagpole used to display the flag of the United States on the premises of the property in which the homeowner or tenant is entitled to reside.
(2) Before adopting any rules or regulations under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the board of directors of the condominium, homeowners association, or housing cooperative, or the landlord shall:
(i) Hold an open meeting on the proposed rules and regulations for the purpose of providing affected homeowners and tenants an opportunity to be heard; and
(ii) Provide advance notice of the time and place of the open meeting by publishing the notice in a community newsletter, on a community bulletin board, by means provided in the documents governing the condominium, homeowners association, or housing cooperative, or in the lease, or by other means reasonably calculated to inform the affected homeowners and tenants.
§ 14-130 Installation and use of clotheslines on residential property
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) (i) “Single-family property” includes:
1. A single-family detached home;
2. A townhouse; and
3. A property that is subject to:
A. Title 11 of this article;
B. Title 11B of this article; or
C. Title 5, Subtitle 6B of the Corporations and Associations Article.
(ii) “Single-family property” does not include property that contains more than four dwelling units.
(3) “Townhouse” means a single-family dwelling unit that is constructed in a horizontal series of attached units with property lines separating the units.
(b) This section does not apply to a restriction concerning the installation or use of clotheslines on historic property that is listed in, or determined by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for inclusion in, the Maryland Register of Historic Properties.
(c) A contract, deed, covenant, restriction, instrument, declaration, rule, bylaw, lease agreement, rental agreement, or any other document concerning the installation or use of clotheslines on single-family property may not prohibit a homeowner or tenant from installing or using clotheslines on single-family property.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or the terms of any contract, deed, covenant, restriction, instrument, declaration, rule, bylaw, lease agreement, rental agreement, or any other document concerning the installation or use of clotheslines on single-family property, a homeowner or tenant may not be prohibited from installing or using clotheslines on single-family property.
(e) This section does not prohibit reasonable restrictions on:
(1) The dimensions, placement, or appearance of clotheslines for the purpose of protecting aesthetic values; or
(2) The placement of clotheslines for the purpose of protecting persons or property in the event of fire or other emergencies.
(f) Before adopting any restriction concerning the installation or use of clotheslines on single-family property, a landlord or the governing body of a condominium, homeowners association, or housing cooperative shall:
(1) Hold an open meeting on the proposed restriction for the purpose of providing affected homeowners and tenants an opportunity to be heard; and
(2) Provide advance notice of the time and place of the open meeting by publishing the notice:
(i) In a community newsletter;
(ii) On a community bulletin board;
(iii) By means provided in the lease or governing documents of the condominium, homeowners association, or housing cooperative; or
(iv) By other means reasonably calculated to inform the affected homeowners and tenants.
Fees on the sale of your home
§ 10-708 Transfer fees prohibited
(a) In this section, “transfer fee” means a charge payable on the transfer of an interest in real property or payable for the right to accept a transfer of an interest in real property.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) An instrument conveying a fee simple interest in real property that provides for consideration paid by the purchaser to the vendor for the interest being transferred;
(2) The payment of principal, interest, or fees under a mortgage loan agreement on the sale of property by the mortgagee;
(3) A limited liability company, limited liability partnership, corporation, joint venture, or partnership agreement in which a member, shareholder, or partner contributes real property to the limited liability company, limited liability partnership, corporation, joint venture, or partnership agreement;
(4) An agreement providing for a series of related transfers of a fee simple interest in real property if the agreement states the price of the transferred interest, any consideration exchanged, the name of the vendor, the name of the purchaser, and any other essential terms for each transfer of interest;
(5) An affordable housing covenant, servitude, easement, condition, or restriction in a deed, declaration, land sale contract, loan agreement, promissory note, trust deed, mortgage, security agreement, or other instrument, including instruments executed by:
(i) A public body;
(ii) An agency of the federal government;
(iii) A corporation whose purposes include providing affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income households;
(iv) A limited liability company with at least one member that is a corporation described under item (iii) of this paragraph;
(v) A consumer housing cooperative; or
(vi) A federally recognized Indian tribe;
(6) A fee required to be paid to:
(i) A homeowners association as defined in § 11B-101 of this article;
(ii) A council of unit owners as defined in § 11-101 of this article;
(iii) A managing entity of a timeshare plan as defined in § 11A-101 of this article;
(iv) Any other owners association that is governed by recorded covenants, conditions, and restrictions; or
(v) An agent for an association or managing entity described in this paragraph; or
(7) An agreement with a person licensed to provide real estate brokerage services under Title 17 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article to pay a commission to the licensee for the real estate brokerage services provided.
(c) (1) A person who conveys a fee simple interest in real property may not record a covenant against the title to the real property for the payment of a transfer fee.
(2) A covenant that requires the payment of a transfer fee on the conveyance of a fee simple interest in real property is void.
Source. Reproduced from the official text of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Maryland's covenant-override provisions in the Real Property Article (Md. Code, Real Property §§ 2-119, 2-121, 2-124 – 2-126, 10-708, 14-128 and 14-130), as published by the General Assembly of Maryland. Section headings are from the Michie’s Annotated Code table of contents; the General Assembly’s own compilation prints none. General information, not legal advice; the statutes are amended every session, so confirm the current text against the official source.