February 14th monthly meeting canceled, hearings scheduled
During the January 10, 2023 Monthly Board meeting the Board voted to cancel the February 14th meeting. Instead the board will hold a hearing for residents that have no completed their inspection checklist items from June and have not been in contact with Chambers Management to remedy the situation.
How is a hearing different from a meeting? In common ownership communities a hearing is best described as a gathering of the board with a resident or unit owner for the purpose of learning the facts surrounding a complaint, dispute, or rules violation, and determining the means of resolving it. If the association’s bylaws do not provide a process for dispute resolution, the Maryland Condominium Act [Section 11-113] and Cooperative Housing Act [Section 5-6B-30] do. They provide specific steps that must be taken; if those steps fail, then a hearing may be held.
The governing body must serve the resident or unit owner with written notice of the following:
The date, time, and place of the hearing to be held “not less than 10 days from the date of the notice”,
The nature of the violation and the proposed sanction to be imposed,
The right of the resident or unit owner to make statements and produce evidence and witnesses on their behalf, and
The right of the resident or unit owner to appeal the decision to the Commission on Common Ownership Communities or the courts of the State of Maryland.
Hearings are required to be held in closed or executive session by the Condominium & Cooperative Housing Acts; the Homeowners Association Act is silent on the issue. If a HOA appoints a panel to hear a dispute, they should follow their governing documents and act in a manner that is in the best interests of their community.
