Sen. Curry appointed to lead review of Maine condominium and homeowners association laws

AUGUSTA – Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, has been appointed by Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, to chair a bipartisan commission examining whether Maine should modernize and consolidate the laws governing condominiums, planned communities and other residential community ownership associations.

The appointment builds on Sen. Curry’s work as Senate chair of the Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee, where he has helped lead efforts to expand housing production, protect residents of manufactured housing communities, reduce unnecessary development barriers and make housing more affordable for Maine people.

“Condominiums can provide an important path to homeownership, but our laws need to keep pace with the way Mainers buy homes and manage shared property,” said Sen. Curry. “When laws are inconsistent or difficult to navigate, homeowners can be left uncertain about their rights, while volunteer boards may struggle to understand their responsibilities. This commission gives us an opportunity to bring everyone to the table, determine where Maine’s current system is working and identify where clearer, more consistent standards may be needed.”

As Maine works to create more opportunities for homeownership, condominiums and other shared-ownership communities can provide another pathway for people looking to buy a home. For current and future homeowners, the laws governing these communities can affect everything from monthly housing costs and major repairs to voting rights, access to financial records and the eventual sale of a home. The commission will examine whether Maine’s current patchwork of laws provides homeowners, volunteer association boards and housing professionals with clear, fair and workable rules.

The Commission to Study the Need to Codify or Recodify Laws Regarding Residential Community Ownership Associations by Adopting the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act was established through LD 760, sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-Eliot, which became a Resolve to Establish the Commission to Study the Need to Codify or Recodify Laws Regarding Residential Community Ownership Associations by Adopting the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act.

The Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act is a model law that provides consistent rules for condominiums, housing cooperatives and planned communities. Maine currently has different laws and legal standards depending on the type and age of a community.

The 12-member commission is charged with:

• Reviewing data on existing condominium and non-condominium community ownership associations in Maine;
• Examining the state laws and court decisions governing those communities;
• Reviewing how other states have addressed problems involving community ownership associations; and
• Determining whether adopting the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act or other laws would be appropriate for Maine.

In addition to legislators, the commission will include homeowners, attorneys with experience in condominium and community association law, and representatives of municipalities, real estate developers, lenders and the Commission on Uniform State Laws.

The commission will submit its findings and recommendations, including any suggested legislation, to the Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee by Dec. 1, 2026. The committee may then introduce related legislation for consideration by the 133rd Legislature in 2027.\

Visit legislature.maine.gov/residential-community-ownership-associations-commission to follow along.

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