2026-09-12 · Maryland · Legislation

What happened. Maryland has raised the ceiling on what a condominium unit owner can be charged when damage starts inside their unit from $10,000 to $25,000, and has for the first time made carrying a unit-owner policy a statutory duty rather than a lender's preference. Senate Bill 747 was approved by the Governor on 26 May 2026 as Chapter 717 of the Acts of 2026, amending Real Property § 11-114 of the Maryland Condominium Act and adding a new § 11-114.3.¹

It does not take effect until 1 October 2027. That thirteen-month runway is the most important fact on this page, and the one most often mis-stated: nothing in Chapter 717 binds a Maryland association or owner today.

What the statute does

The bill's own title is Condominiums – Unit Owner Responsibility for Damage or Destruction and Mandatory Insurance Coverage. The legislature's synopsis describes two operative parts: requiring councils to inform owners annually of their responsibilities, and requiring owners to maintain condominium unit-owner insurance — or substantially similar property coverage — with specified provisions.¹

As practitioners summarising the enrolled text describe it, the owner of the unit where a loss originates becomes responsible for the lowest of three figures: the actual cost of repair or replacement, the council's property-insurance deductible, or $25,000.² The structure of the old rule survives — it is still a cap keyed to the deductible, not open-ended liability — but the number moves.

The reported coverage floors on the owner's own policy are loss assessment coverage of at least $25,000 and dwelling or building property coverage set at the greater of $25,000 or the cost to repair the unit and its improvements.² Brokers have been blunt about the consequence for anyone still carrying the older limit: a policy written to the $10,000 world leaves a $15,000 gap.³

Who is outside it

Two boundaries matter. Chapter 717 reaches residential condominiums, and it does not reach a condominium composed solely of detached units.² Maryland already treats all-detached regimes differently for master-policy purposes, and that distinction carries through here.

1. Senate Bill 747, Maryland General Assembly 2026 Regular Session — bill record, Chapter 717, approved 26 May 2026, effective 1 October 2027 (Real Property §§ 11-114, 11-114.3) ↩
2. Whiteford Taylor Preston, 2026 Maryland Legislative Update for Common Ownership Communities (coverage minimums, annual notice and proof-of-insurance duties, detached-unit exclusion) ↩
3. Huff Insurance, Law change for loss assessment can cause a major gap in your condo insurance (the $15,000 gap on legacy limits) ↩
4. House Bill 469 (2026), Condominiums – Mandatory Insurance Coverage — cross-file, died in House Economic Matters ↩
5. House Bill 1211 (2026), Condominiums – Unit Owner Responsibility for Damage or Destruction — uncapped liability, died in committee (cross-file SB 633) ↩
6. Senate Bill 332 (2026), Condominiums – Property Insurance Deductibles – Unit Owner Responsibility — died in Senate Judicial Proceedings ↩
7. Maryland Insurance Administration, Condominium Insurance (consumer guidance describing the $10,000 rule in force until October 2027) ↩