In 2008, the General Assembly created the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman (“Office"), and the Common Interest Community Board (“CICB"), at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (“DPOR"). In accordance with statutory requirements, this document reports on the activities of the Office for the period from November 16, 2022, through November 15, 2023.

The department had a record volume of phone calls and emails since its establishment, along with an increase in complaints, including Notices of Final Adverse Decision, subsequent to the redirection of time-share complaints to another division within the Agency.

Associations still face challenges in adopting and implementing association complaint procedures outlined in the 2012 Common Interest Community Ombudsman Regulations. Consequently, the Office remains committed to providing guidance to associations to achieve compliance and to owners, enabling them to obtain decisions on appropriately filed association complaints.

The complaint process, when simplified to its fundamental elements, entails three essential actions by the association: (1) acknowledge receipt of a properly submitted association complaint; (2) provide notice and consideration of the complaint; and (3) provide a final decision on the complaint. The Office functions as a comprehensive resource for association complaint procedures, offering guidance on both the process itself and the expectations outlined in the regulations that pertain to associations.

There was only one instance this year where the Office referred a matter to the Common Interest Community Board for enforcement. In this case, an association failed to adhere to the response requirements outlined in the Regulations and did not acknowledge receipt of the Complainant’s submitted association complaint. A Consent Order was approved by the CICB, and the CICB assessed a $450.00 penalty as well as $150.00 in Board costs.

On the legislative front, Senate Bill 740, a bill that was passed in 2022, required the Agency, rather than the CICB, to create a work group to study the adequacy of current laws addressing standards for structural integrity and for maintaining reserves to repair, replace, or restore capital components in common interest communities. In 2023, the work group completed the work it began in 2022, after holding several more meetings, and provided a report on its findings to the General Assembly.