Homeowners Resist HOA Abuses in Maryland – and Are Winning

BACKGROUND: Ms. Knight had paid more than $10,000 to the Quail Valley HOA over a few years, but they wanted more. Ms. Knight is long-time resident of this common community. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen, an African American, a widow, and a grandmother. Here is her letter to the HOA from the year 2020 [with slight redactions]. She copied it to Commissioner Financial Regulation, Maryland Department of Labor; Maryland State Bar Association; Montgomery County Office of Common Ownership Communities; and county and state elected officials.
Who ended up helping her? Read on ...

** ******************************* **

[To the Quail Valley HOA]

Cease and desist sending bills to me. All harassment and punitive actions against me must end. For example, the HOA blotted out the number on my parking space. That must be restored. When I return home in the dark after caring for elderly clients through the night, I need to park safely in front of my own home, in my own designated parking space. I’m paid up on my monthly HOA assessments. I owe the Quail Valley HOA and its vendors zero dollars.

Our family has been paying the HOA and its debt collection agents for years. Please consider the record. By May 2021, my late husband and I had paid more than $10,000 as a result of HOA “property violations,” fines, and fees. The Maryland District Court stated, “post-judgment garnish­ment” was “SATISFIED” on 4/25/2018, and then again two years later, “SATISFIED” on 4/22/2020. (Attachment A). We needed these dollars to maintain and repair our townhome, but we paid the full amounts.

That should have been the end of it. Yet, like clockwork, the debt against us continued to grow. I informed you that my husband passed away in March 2022 and requested that you waive “all fines and release my account.” (Attach. B) [The property manager for QV HOA] responded, writing that if I paid $1,500, she would retire my debt.

I have made three payments of $500, beginning in August 2022. Yet, apparently, [she] has not honored her promise. Instead, I’m receiving, over and over, the same letter. The “statement of account” racks up, upon month, various fees and fines for things like “loose cable wire” and “repaint storm door.” The letter claims that, “according to the association,” my account is somehow “delinquent in the amount of $4,391.03.” We find this to be incredible, abusive, and a breach of good faith.

Much about this letter and the attached “statement of account” is unclear. For example, the letter lists only the first of three $500 payments (which I send by money order). There is a grand total of amount due, but no entry at all for total payments/credits. The letter is undated and unsigned. It’s unclear who is keeping the authoritative record of my account.

I would like to receive one more correspondence: an up-to-date and signed letter from the HOA clearly itemizing each payment I have made (sans monthly assessments); showing to what specific category of debt each payment was applied (e.g., court fee; debt collection fee; HOA fee; etc.); and stating that I have no remaining debt.

I need every dollar to pay for maintenance and repairs of my home, among other urgent needs. We are a Liberian American family, and we have lived in Quail Valley for more than 20 years, raising our three children in this community. The HOA digs a bottomless pit of debt for me and my family. Are we experiencing racial discrimination? Are we being slowly pushed out of–evicted from–the neighborhood? Are these predatory practices?

In the future, if there is any perceived problem with my property, then an HOA representa­tive can arrange a meeting with me to talk about it. I am eager to follow HOA rules and regulations, and to maintain my home.

All harassment and punishment must stop. The perpetual financial attacks against me and my family must end. Cease and desist.

Sincerely,

[Ms. Knight, ** a pseudonym, for privacy]

** ******************************* **

The result? Despite meeting with the HOA board of directors to plead her case, the harassment did not end for Ms. Knight. No government agency or office stepped forward to help her. A housing advocate advised her to try filing a request for mediation with the Consumer Protection Division (CPD) of the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland using this form.

She did, and over a few months, she received copies of letters that the CPD sent to the HOA. (See photo.) Apparently, that was part of the "mediation process." It seems that the Quail Valley HOA could not, or did not, respond to the AG's repeated request for a clear accounting of where all of Ms. Knight's money had gone.

What happened next? Apparently, no explanation was given to Ms. Knight. But suddenly the lien on her home was removed, and the HOA restored her reserved parking space, with the number painted on the curb. That is very good news, although Ms. Knight has received no compensation from the QV HOA for any possible overpayment, or for the stress of receiving enormous bills from the HOA, or for the monthly dues paid during the period that the HOA denied the rights and privileges of HOA membership to her . The "mediation" apparently ended at that point.

** ********************************** **

State Agencies can be a source of partial justice for the homeowner. The Maryland Consumer Protection Division (CPD) of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has explained that it “deals only with statutory matters” such as state laws, but not community bylaws. In other words, disputes regarding rules in your association governing documents “must be addressed with your governing body, or you may file a lawsuit.”

However, if your association is “fining you or removing your rights without providing a dispute settlement process as required by law,” then you can file a complaint with the CPD here: www.marylandattorneygeneral.go...

“Debts owed to a debt collection agency fall under the regulatory authority of the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) which is part of the Department of Labor.” More information is available at: www.labor.maryland.gov/finance/consumers/comphow.shtml

** ******************************* **

The courts can also be a source of partial justice for the homeowner. But litigation is very stressful and expensive. Judges do not follow up to see whether their decisions are respected. Sending a request for mediation to the AG may be a better route.
In 2021, a Maryland District Court Judge ruled that homeowner Mr. Hoan Nguyen owed Quail Valley HOA zero dollars, not $21, 000, as the HOA had alleged at one point. He defended himself without a lawyer in Quail Valley HOA v. Hoan Nguyen. Even after this second ruling in his favor, Mr. Nguyen continued to received threatening letters from the HOA until he sent a "cease and desist" letter, on his own, to the HOA.

** ******************************* **

ANNOUNCEMENT: COURT WATCH PARTY. [[This situation has resolved, as reported here.]]
On Wednesday August 7, 2024, join Quail Valley neighbors in courtroom 413 to support Mr. Eric Olea Segura, a model citizen and leader in this community, at the District Court of Maryland, 191 East Jefferson Street, Rockville, MD 20850. Case # 06-01-0011083-2021. Press conference at 8:00 am, and the trial is at 9:00 am. (Call the Court that morning, 410-260-1392, and ask whether the trial has been rescheduled or postponed before you travel to Rockville.)
In 2019, Eric received notice of two alleged “property violations” from the HOA: “dead/bare grass” and “repair stoop/ stairs/ walkway.” These “violations” are the source of the HOA’s charges against Eric’s account, which had risen to $13,643 by June 2023.
Read: "HOA Denies Community Pool Passes to Hispanic Family for Six Years."

** ******************************* **

QV HOA homeowners plan to discuss these matters and possible state reforms with Maryland Delegate Gabe Acevero the week of July 16. The struggle for economic justice continues.
Sign a petition to end HOA abuses in Maryland.

** ******************************* **

Steven Sellers Lapham is a 24-year resident of Quail Valley HOA and author of the Cuckoo Court blogs at tinyurl.com/CuckooCourt.