Maine HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Maine's principal association statute is the Maine Condominium Act, 33 M.R.S. ch. 31, §§ 1601-101 to 1604-118, which governs condominium creation, alteration, termination, management, purchaser protection, assessments, liens, insurance, records, and resale disclosures.1 The Act defines a condominium as real estate with separately owned portions and common ownership in the remainder, and it states that clustered detached single-family residences are not condominiums unless the declaration designates them as such.2 Maine also keeps Title 33, chapter 10, Unit Ownership, which holds older unit-ownership provisions and the 2025 EV-charging statute now codified at 33 M.R.S. § 576-A.3
Maine's Judicial Branch identifies the Supreme Judicial Court as the appellate Law Court and identifies Superior and District Courts as principal trial courts, so civil association appeals proceed from trial court to the Law Court rather than through an intermediate appellate court.4
Maine does not present a dedicated HOA ombudsman model in the sources cited here. The Real Estate Commission regulates real estate brokerage licensees, and the Attorney General states that mutual benefit corporations such as condominium associations sit outside charitable oversight.5,6
Maine therefore stands as a condominium-centered, lower-volume association-law state that is now studying whether broader common-interest ownership codification makes sense.7
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Maine Condominium Act, 33 M.R.S. ch. 31, §§ 1601-101 to 1604-118. The main condominium governance chapter, covering association powers, meetings, assessments, liens, insurance, records, and resale certificates.8
- Maine Unit Ownership, 33 M.R.S. ch. 10. Holds unit-ownership provisions, including bylaws, books and records, common-charge liens, foreclosure, insurance, and 33 M.R.S. § 576-A on EV charging.9
- Maine Judicial Branch, Supreme Judicial Court and trial courts. The Supreme Judicial Court sits as the Law Court for appeals; Superior and District Courts handle trials.10
- Maine Real Estate Commission. The Commission licenses real estate agencies, brokers, associate brokers, and sales agents; the cited official page does not identify a separate community association manager license.11
- Maine Attorney General, Consumer Protection and nonprofit guidance. The AG runs consumer complaint and mediation channels; its nonprofit guidance excludes condominium associations from charitable-oversight disputes as mutual benefit corporations.12,13
4. Maine's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Maine's recent association legislation runs targeted: one EV-charging law, one common-interest study resolve, and one emergency technical-corrections bill touching the condominium lien statute.14,15,16
LD 1133, SP 457 · PL ch. 280 · 132nd Legislature, First Special Session
Lawmakers signed LD 1133 on June 12, 2025, as Public Law chapter 280, and enacted 33 M.R.S. § 576-A. Beginning January 1, 2026, a declaration or bylaw provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation or use of an EV charging station in a unit parking space or limited common element parking space is void and unenforceable. The law sets application, insurance, cost, disclosure, removal, and fee-shifting rules.[17][18][19]
| Property managers | EV-charger request workflows need written intake, 30-day acknowledgment, 60-day decision tracking, insurance collection, and cost allocation. |
| HOA board members | Check existing parking and architectural rules for outright bans or restrictions that materially increase cost or reduce charger performance. |
| Community association attorneys | Revise governing documents and forms before issuing enforcement letters or denials under the new statute. |
| Homeowners | A unit owner can seek approval for qualifying EV charging in a covered parking space, but the owner carries installation, electricity, repair, removal, and disclosure duties. |
LD 760, SP 301 · Resolve ch. 167 · 132nd Legislature, Second Regular Session
Lawmakers finally passed and signed LD 760 on April 16, 2026, as Resolve chapter 167. The resolve establishes a 12-member commission to study residential community ownership association law rather than enacting a Maine common-interest ownership act immediately.[20][21][22] The commission must review data on condominium and noncondominium community ownership associations, state statutes and case law, other states' approaches, and whether the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act or other laws may fit Maine, with a report due December 1, 2026 and possible 2027 legislation.[23]
| Property managers | No new operating code applies yet, but watch document templates and manager training for possible 2027 legislation. |
| HOA board members | Boards should expect policy discussion over whether Maine should move beyond a condominium-centered statutory structure. |
| Community association attorneys | The study process is the main forum for statutory design — scope, transition rules, owner rights, and enforcement mechanisms. |
| Homeowners | The study may affect future rights in condominium and noncondominium associations, but it does not itself create new owner remedies. |
LD 2170, HP 1458 · PL ch. 655 · 132nd Legislature, Second Regular Session
Lawmakers emergency-enacted LD 2170 on April 13, 2026, and the Governor emergency-signed it the same day as Public Law chapter 655.[24][25] For condominium operations, the affected-statute list identifies an amendment to 33 M.R.S. § 1603-117, and current § 1603-117 addresses how a money judgment against an association may become a lien against condominium units without becoming a lien on common elements or other unit-owner property.[26]
| Property managers | Route association judgment and lien questions to counsel before owner communications or ledger treatment. |
| HOA board members | A judgment against the association can have unit-level title consequences even when common elements are not directly liened. |
| Community association attorneys | Use the current § 1603-117 text and related Title 14 lien-order references for collection, title, and judgment-lien analysis. |
| Homeowners | Unit title can carry exposure from an association judgment lien, but the statute limits exposure of other owner property. |
Recent Court Rulings
The Law Court has decided three association cases in 24 months — on foreclosure intervention, declarant withdrawal rights, and adverse possession between neighboring condominiums.
Oak Hill Condominiums v. Marchetti
The Law Court affirmed the denial of a nonowner occupant's motion to intervene in a condominium foreclosure over unpaid charges, assessments, fines, and legal fees.[27] The court reasoned that the occupant's claimed civil-rights issues could move through other processes or through the owner's defenses, while the foreclosure primarily concerned the owner's title and contractual interests.[28]
| Property managers | Collection files involving occupants should separate owner title issues from accommodation requests and complaint processes. |
| HOA board members | Foreclosure authority does not eliminate the need to track disability-accommodation communications and related agency filings. |
| Community association attorneys | Coordinate intervention, fair-housing, and foreclosure strategy without treating every occupant interest as a title interest. |
| Homeowners | Nonowner occupants may use separate civil-rights channels even when they are not parties to the owner's foreclosure case. |
The Village at Ocean's End Condominium Association v. Southwest Harbor Properties LLC
The Law Court held that a successor declarant's properly reserved and transferred development rights could be used to withdraw land from a condominium without the 80 percent unit-owner approval required for an association conveyance of common elements under 33 M.R.S. § 1603-112(a).[29][30]
| Property managers | Start common-area and shorefront questions with the declaration, plats, and any reserved or transferred development rights. |
| HOA board members | Unit-owner approval thresholds may not apply when a declarant exercises valid reserved development rights. |
| Community association attorneys | The opinion makes declaration drafting, special-declarant-right transfers, and § 1603-112 analysis central to land-withdrawal disputes. |
| Homeowners | Land that appears functionally common may still carry declarant rights preserved in recorded condominium documents. |
Longview Hotel Condominium Association v. Pearl Inn Condominium Association
The Law Court affirmed in part a judgment recognizing adverse possession of a parking area used by residents of a neighboring condominium, but it vacated the metes-and-bounds description where the record did not support actual or continuous use of all land included in the judgment.[31][32]
| Property managers | Document parking encroachments, seasonal use, and shared-access patterns before they mature into title disputes. |
| HOA board members | Delay in responding to known encroachments can weaken later property-boundary enforcement. |
| Community association attorneys | Seasonal coastal-use facts can satisfy continuous-use analysis, but the remedy still must match the land actually used. |
| Homeowners | Long-standing parking practices can affect title and access between neighboring condominium associations. |
Regulatory Developments
The Maine Human Rights Commission found reasonable grounds in a 2025 condominium disability-discrimination case and directed conciliation.
Maine Human Rights Commission
In its October 27, 2025 meeting minutes, the Commission recorded a 4-0 vote finding reasonable grounds to believe Oak Hill Condominiums discriminated based on disability and directing conciliation under 5 M.R.S. § 4612(3).[33][34] The minutes frame the matter as an administrative reasonable-grounds and conciliation action.[35]
| Property managers | Log accommodation requests, escalate them, and track them separately from covenant, lien, or foreclosure workflow. |
| HOA board members | Disability-housing disputes can move through an agency process even when related association litigation exists. |
| Community association attorneys | Litigation strategy should account for Maine Human Rights Act processes and any parallel federal fair-housing exposure. |
| Homeowners | Disability-discrimination complaints against associations may move through the state human-rights process. |
Active Policy Debates
LD 760 is the main active policy issue for Maine associations. The commission must study condominium and noncondominium community ownership associations, compare state law and other states' approaches, and consider whether the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act or other laws should be adopted in Maine.36 Its report is due December 1, 2026, and the housing committee may submit related legislation to the 133rd Legislature in 2027.37
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly will expand its Maine coverage as new bills, Law Court decisions, and state regulatory actions emerge. Federal frameworks — the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD rule — can also affect Maine associations, and federal coverage will live at /federal/ once that section opens.38,39,40,41,42
Footnotes
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 31, Maine Condominium Act ↩
- 33 M.R.S. § 1601-103, Maine Condominium Act definitions ↩
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 10, Unit Ownership ↩
- Maine Judicial Branch, Courts overview ↩
- Maine Real Estate Commission, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation ↩
- Maine Attorney General, Guide for Board Members of Charitable Corporations ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 760, 132nd Legislature ↩
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 31, Maine Condominium Act ↩
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 10, Unit Ownership ↩
- Maine Judicial Branch, Courts overview ↩
- Maine Real Estate Commission, purpose and licensing responsibilities ↩
- Maine Attorney General, File a Consumer Complaint and Request Mediation ↩
- Maine Attorney General, Charities and Public Benefit Corporations ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 1133, 132nd Legislature ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 760, 132nd Legislature ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 2170, 132nd Legislature ↩
- Public Law chapter 280, LD 1133, 33 M.R.S. § 576-A ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 1133 status and chaptered law ↩
- Public Law chapter 280, EV charging provisions ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 760 status and chaptered law ↩
- Maine Legislature, 132nd Legislature Second Regular Session general effective date ↩
- Resolve chapter 167, LD 760 commission established ↩
- Resolve chapter 167, LD 760 commission duties and report ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 2170 status and emergency signature ↩
- Maine Legislature, LD 2170 final disposition and chaptered law ↩
- 33 M.R.S. § 1603-117, Other liens affecting the condominium ↩
- Oak Hill Condominiums v. Marchetti, 2026 ME 31 ↩
- Oak Hill Condominiums v. Marchetti, 2026 ME 31, intervention ruling ↩
- The Village at Ocean's End Condominium Association v. Southwest Harbor Properties LLC, 2025 ME 85 ↩
- The Village at Ocean's End Condominium Association v. Southwest Harbor Properties LLC, 2025 ME 85, development-rights holding ↩
- Longview Hotel Condominium Association v. Pearl Inn Condominium Association, 2024 ME 69 ↩
- Longview Hotel Condominium Association v. Pearl Inn Condominium Association, 2024 ME 69, adverse-possession ruling ↩
- Maine Human Rights Commission, October 27, 2025 meeting minutes ↩
- Maine Human Rights Commission, Oak Hill Condominiums reasonable grounds vote ↩
- Maine Human Rights Commission, October 27, 2025 meeting minutes, conciliation direction ↩
- Resolve chapter 167, LD 760 commission duties ↩
- Resolve chapter 167, LD 760 report and 2027 legislation provision ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act ↩
- ADA.gov, ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business ↩
- Federal Trade Commission, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act text ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act summary ↩
- 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, restrictions impairing reception devices ↩