Common Action Needed For Common Ownership Communities

Common Ownership Communities (COCs) cannot be an afterthought of County government; they deserve their place at the forefront of how the County Council approaches consumer protection in Prince George’s County.

Though the reach of their impact is broad, COCs rarely generate much attention during campaign season. COCs can be homeowner associations, condominiums, and cooperatives. In District 4, they are diverse. A COC’s composition might look like Greenbelt Homes Inc. or Amber Meadows II. As a Prince Georgian, I live in a COC. Professionally, from 2018 to 2025, I served as the Director of Prince George’s County Office of Community Relations, the office which oversees the Common Ownership Communities (COC) Program.

In that capacity, my team and I engaged a cross section of County agencies to resolve everyday resident concerns. We saw the disputes and frustrations of owners learning to live under covenants, paying annual, monthly, and in cases of dire need, special assessments which could exceed thousands of dollars. We know that buying a home can be someone’s largest investment they ever make in their lives. We saw the scale of the emotional weight of these investments and the fear of the possibility of real generational wealth slipping away; and it was likely those emotions which led the County to act nearly 20 years ago to bring some support to the homeowner, the County’s most critical stakeholder.

In response to the outcries of homeowners, a task force of County Council staff, homeowners, and industry professionals was formed that established the COC Program (often referred to as the Division or Office) in November 2007 through the enactment of Council Bill CB-015-2007. The group intended for this to be a watchdog agency that would ensure fair and transparent actions from permitting to delivery. What was approved was a program that provides education, training, and alternative dispute resolution services to owners that took effect January 22, 2008.

Fast forward-- the County Council’s last major push to offer better oversight and smoother mediation opportunities became 2015’s CB-49. This bill came after years of community engagement and conversations. Ultimately, the bill created a Commission on Common Ownership Communities (CCOC) and a resource hub for education, training and dispute resolution.

What is clear today is that more is needed to ensure decent management and quality oversight. In 20 years, PGC has seen great increase in the number of these communities and an increase in the number of cases received about property management services, Boards of Directors actions, and homeowner violations that are tangled up in assessment fee collections, vendor services and contracts, and policy regulations. The CCOC is becoming overrun with such cases and, without the appropriate enforcement tools to respond, the frustration felt by residents is mounting.

Even with these efforts, we still have a mixed bag of financial, legal, social and cultural challenges that become either neglected or costly legal battles. It is past time that the Council act again.

As your District 4 Council member, I will pursue the following:

• Strengthening the State and County’s response to COCs as a consumer protection matter by recreating a local Office of Consumer Protection. This office existed in the past and was cut due to shrinking budgets. The responsibility was then pushed out to the Office of the Attorney General. The astronomical growth of COCs across the state has overwhelmed the limited resources offered to the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection, leading to anemic local response. Prince Georgians deserve an engagement point which is accountable to the local public as such function exists in Howard and Montgomery counties.

• Accelerate the transfer of HOA management powers from builders to unit owners to 50% with a 60-day window for implementation in all COCs. Currently, delivery happens at 75% for homes and 50% for condominiums. Consistency across composition types is sought to improve resident involvement in the management of and advocacy for their own communities. All financial stakeholders should be more involved through the completion of their community, to work with builders on matters that are affecting them in real time. This could potentially avoid problems that are not addressed prior to the release of the builder’s responsibilities and relieve the stress which accompanies this transition.

• Advocate to state legislators and residents on the need to fill the legal gaps between the work of COC, the Commission, community Boards of Directors, and property managers by reviewing and improving failed state bills to be reintroduced and passed. It is clear

• Conduct a review and report of the COC policies and procedures to determine measurable growth and need for service improvements throughout the County government.

Prince George’s County cannot continue treating Common Ownership Communities as a niche issue affecting only a handful of residents. They are home to thousands of families whose financial stability, quality of life, and generational wealth depend on fair governance, transparent management, and responsive oversight. As our County continues to grow, so too must our commitment to protecting homeowners from neglect, confusion, and avoidable conflict. By strengthening accountability, modernizing oversight, and empowering residents with stronger consumer protections, we can build communities that are not only well-managed, but worthy of the trust and investment Prince Georgians place in them every day.