Howard County associations set up before October 1, 2022 needed a reserve study by October 1, 2023, unless they had one on or after October 1, 2018. Updates follow at least every five years, and the statewide five-fiscal-year funding window applies.
Howard County dates at a glance
| Counts as existing if set up before | October 1, 2022 |
|---|---|
| A study on or after this date counted | October 1, 2018 |
| Otherwise, first study by | October 1, 2023 |
| Latest update, if the first came at the deadline | October 1, 2028 |
| Funding | The study's recommended contribution, reached within five fiscal years of an initial study |
The Howard-only funding bill that stalled
Senate Bill 777 of 2025, "Howard County - Common Ownership Communities - Funding of Reserve Accounts and Preparation of Funding Plans", would have given Howard County cooperatives, condominiums and HOAs ten fiscal years, instead of five, to reach the funding level an initial study recommends.
The legislature's record shows a hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in February 2025 and no further action. So Howard boards work to the same rule as everyone else: five fiscal years after an initial study, under House Bill 292 of 2025.
Planning the next study
Howard has many planned communities with layered associations: a village or neighborhood association under a larger body, with condominiums inside some neighborhoods. Each association that is responsible for common areas under its own declaration needs its own study for its own components.
If your first study met the 2023 deadline, plan the update for no later than October 2028, and budget for it in the year before.
The rules themselves are statewide: see the 2022 law, in order and funding to the study.