Before You File A Complaint
It is inevitable that members of common ownership communities will have disputes with the decisions taken by their boards. Filing a formal complaint with the CCOC should be a last resort; the commissioners must apply the law and cannot substitute their own judgment for how your association should be run.
Read the Common Ownership Community Manual & Resource Guide chapter: “How to Complain Effectively”.
Association documents (the declaration or covenants, bylaws, and rules) give a lot of power to the board of directors to run the everyday operations of the association. These powers are usually spelled out in detail at the beginning of the association's bylaws. They include the right to adopt budgets, to decide how to spend the association's money, and to make and enforce rules. On the other hand, boards cannot do anything that conflict with the bylaws or rules, or state or local law. In addition, the association documents always grant certain rights to the members.
If you disagree with something your board has done, or if you think the board should do something it is not doing, then you should first read your documents to find out whether the board has the right to do, or whether the board is required to do, something it is not doing. If it looks like the board is within its rights, but you still think it is making bad decisions, consider getting on the board yourself at the next election. You could also consider petitioning for a special meeting to vote on removing directors from the board, or to vote on repealing or changing some rule adopted by the board, or even to vote on adopting a new rule. Talk to your neighbors to get their support for your proposals.
Remember that the law gives you the right to inspect almost all of your association's documents so that you can do your own research to find out why it did what it did, and where its money goes. You also have the right to attend board meetings, and to speak at those meetings under certain conditions.
Filing complaints with the CCOC or the courts is a bit of a gamble, because no one can predict the outcome. Read your association's documents carefully and use the rights that they grant you first.
Exhaustion of Remedies
The CCOC will not accept a complaint from a member or resident against an association unless they have first followed any written procedures or remedies in the association documents governing the resolution of disputes. However, if the member or resident has attempted to follow those procedures by providing written notice of the dispute to the association and the association has failed to resolve the dispute within 60 days, or has denied the relief requested by the owner or resident, then the Commission will consider the member or resident as having satisfied the requirements of County Code Section 10B-9 (b).
A Respondent who wishes to object to a dispute filed with the Commission on the grounds that the Complainant has not properly exhausted the available procedures or remedies will be expected to provide a copy of the written dispute resolution procedure and any other relevant documents that show the Complainant did not comply with the standards.
If the parties to a dispute do not agree in good faith on whether the complainant has properly complied with the applicable dispute resolution procedure, and if the parties are unable or unwilling to mediate the dispute, the staff will present the dispute to the Commission, which will determine the appropriate action.
Unsafe or Unhealthy Conditions
If you are suffering from a water leak into your unit from the neighbor's unit or from a part of the building owned by your condominium association, or if you represent a condominium or homeowner association and wish to do something about a member's trash, dilapidated shed, weeds, or peeling paint, you should contact the Housing Code Enforcement Unit of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. This is often the fastest way to resolve such problems.
Code Enforcement preserves housing and property standards by enforcing Chapters 26 (Housing & Building Maintenance Standards), 48 (Solid Waste), and 58 (Weeds), of the County Code. When they receive a complaint (which can remain confidential), a Code Inspector will visit the property and can order the owner to make the necessary repairs.
To contact Code Enforcement, call the Montgomery County MC311 service at 311 or (240) 777-0311.