Latest Legal Updates
Latest Legal Updates
HOA and condominium association legislation, court rulings and regulatory changes across every state, the District of Columbia and federal law — newest first.
Showing 1,033–1,056 of 1,989 updates
The bill to give Maine a community-association code contained one paragraph
LD 760 was filed as a Joint Rule 208 concept draft with no operative text at all, and was replaced by a study commission at its first work session five weeks later — so there is no draft Maine code to analyse.
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Michigan Supreme Court: a co-owner injured in the common elements is an invitee
Janini v London Townhouses overruled Francescutti and held that possession and control, not title, decide premises-liability status — reopening claims Michigan associations had been winning outright for nine years.
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NC court upholds HOA dues collected for a clubhouse the HOA does not own
In Myers v. Smoky Mountain Country Club POA the North Carolina Court of Appeals held clubhouse dues remitted to a developer are a real covenant running with the land, reversing summary judgment for the homeowners; review has been sought in the Supreme Court.
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Springfield cut 25 zoning districts to 14 and legalised granny flats citywide
A new land development code and a citywide zoning map approved 6 April 2026 allow accessory dwelling units in all single-family districts and expand eligibility for administrative subdivisions — removing a public hearing neighbours used to attend.
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Minnesota cities can no longer require developers to create an HOA
A new article 5 of the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act bars local governments from conditioning residential development approval on the creation of a homeowners association, for communities created on or after 1 January 2027.
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Nebraska's Attorney General is suing over the risk scores on your listing
The state sued climate-risk data firm First Street on August 27, 2026, alleging its property-level flood and fire scores are inaccurate and depress Nebraska home values.
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Maryland has ordered a building-by-building reserve shortfall census of its older condos, due 1 December
Chapter 779 requires DHCD to report to the General Assembly on every Maryland condominium building over 40 years old — including the gap between what each reserve fund holds and what it is required to hold.
Read the full updateLimited Review is gone, and small Michigan condo projects just got a reprieve — unless there's a master association
From August 3, 2026 established projects need a Full Review or an expanded waiver. Standalone projects of two to ten units largely escape review — but not if they sit under a master association.
Read the full updateMaine's Condominium Act went untouched from 2024 to 2026
A section-by-section read of all 44 pages of Title 33, chapter 31 finds one amendment since 2023 — and it is not about records, reserves, elections or inspections. Everything new for Maine associations was enacted outside the Act.
Read the full updateA Missouri association's fee appeal died on a filing technicality
In Stonebridge Homeowners Association v. Draper, the Western District dismissed the association's appeal because a Rule 74.16 attorney-fee motion is an independent action requiring its own denominated judgment.
Read the full updateNC court voids an 'annoyance or nuisance' covenant for vagueness
In Villazon v. Osborne the North Carolina Court of Appeals held a covenant barring anything tending to cause annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood is void for vagueness and unenforceable, following Steiner v. Windrow Estates.
Read the full updateMinnesota caps HOA fines at $100 a violation from January 2027
Chapter 82 caps a single-violation fine at $100, late fees at the greater of $20 or five percent, and interest on delinquent assessments at eight percent — with four carve-outs that survive the cap.
Read the full updateMaryland strips governing documents of the power to stop a board installing EV chargers
Chapter 753 takes effect 1 October 2026 and applies retroactively: a Maryland condominium or HOA declaration can no longer unreasonably restrict the governing body from putting charging equipment in common parking.
Read the full updateMichigan's new anti-SLAPP law changes what it costs a board to sue a critic
The Uniform Public Expression Protection Act took effect March 24, 2026. It gives a defendant an early dismissal motion that freezes discovery, and awards costs and attorney fees to a prevailing movant.
Read the full updateOne motion killed every Nebraska HOA bill in the biennium
On April 17, 2026 a single disposition motion indefinitely postponed every undisposed bill in the 109th Legislature, and nothing carries into 2027.
Read the full updateMiss 1 June and Maine can dissolve your association
Nearly every Maine HOA and COA is a Title 13-B nonprofit corporation owing a $35 annual report by 1 June. The Secretary of State mails no formal notice, and unpaid late penalties lead to administrative dissolution.
Read the full updateA Southfield condo's dues rose 63% after its insurer walked away
Cumberland Condominium residents told WXYZ their assessments rose 63% in a year, some paying over $645 a month, after the carrier discontinued coverage citing claims history and ageing electrical panels.
Read the full updateMissouri covered condo master policies after the storms, then excluded the HO-6
Insurance Bulletin 25-11 is the only Missouri agency document in twelve months whose operative text is addressed to community associations. It lasted 209 days.
Read the full updateMaryland's House voted 133-0 to record every HOA board meeting. The Senate never took it up
HB 1362 would have required audio or video recording of all condominium and HOA board and committee meetings — with an amendment letting any owner present veto the recording. It died in Senate Judicial Proceedings without a vote.
Read the full updateMinnesota's Starter Homes Act was voted down 7–5 in March
The Yes to Homes coalition's lead bill would have barred mandatory homeowners associations statewide and stripped certain design standards. It failed on a House committee roll call on 23 March 2026 and got no Senate hearing.
Read the full updateNC Supreme Court sends the 'household pets' question to the jury
In Schroeder v. Oak Grove Farm Homeowners Association the Supreme Court of North Carolina reinstated a jury verdict that sixty backyard chickens were not household pets, holding the trial court properly construed the covenant and left the factual question to jurors.
Read the full updateFreddie Mac rewrote its condo project rules in May
Bulletin 2026-6 folded new condominium project and property insurance requirements into the Guide and widened the exemption for small projects not part of a master association.
Read the full updateMichigan municipalities can now hold twice as much of a condo fire settlement
2024 PA 82 raised the cap on the withheld portion of a residential fire-loss settlement from $12,000 to $24,000, indexed annually to the Consumer Price Index.
Read the full updateMaryland's owners' bill of rights has now died in four consecutive sessions without a single committee vote
HB 537 would have given a million Marylanders in community associations secret ballots, neutral election administration, recall rights, cross-examination at fining hearings, and half-price amenity access. It carried a $316,100 first-year cost.
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