Charles County, MD HOA Rules: HOA Disputes (2026)

Filing starts with § 247-4: either party submits a written description of the dispute naming all parties, on a Board-approved form, and the County Commissioners may charge a filing fee to cover administrative costs. A party generally must first make a good-faith attempt to exhaust the association's own internal grievance procedures, but if the association hasn't resolved the matter within 60 days of that internal process starting, the party can bring it to the county Board anyway (§ 247-4(B)-(C)). Filing triggers a stay: the association cannot enforce or implement its own decision while a dispute is pending, other than by filing a civil action, and if a related civil action is already underway involving the same parties and facts, the Board pauses its case until that lawsuit resolves (§ 247-4(E)-(F)).

Before any hearing, either party may request mediation, and the County must provide a qualified mediator within 30 days of that request; if a party refuses to attend or mediation fails within 10 days of the first session, the Board schedules a hearing (§ 247-6(C)-(F)). At a hearing, parties get at least 14 days' notice by personal delivery or certified mail, may bring counsel, and the Board must apply state and county law to the facts and issue a written decision within 14 days after the evidence closes (§ 247-7(B)-(F)). That decision is binding but reviewable by the Circuit Court for Charles County on a timely petition for judicial review (§ 247-7(G)).