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Office of Common Ownership Communities (OCOC)

 

 

The Office of Common Ownership Communities (OCOC) is committed to providing owners, tenants, residents, boards of directors, and management companies of self-governing residential communities with information, assistance, and impartial dispute resolution programs that:

  • Improve the quality of life in the community,
  • Strengthen the self-governing community structure, and
  • Enhance the value of residential property in community associations.

A common ownership community (COC) is a group of homes with their own government and binding rules. COCs in Maryland can be condominium owners associations (COAs), cooperative housing associations, or homeowner associations (HOAs).

  • In a COA, the members only own the insides of their units and the association owns the basic structure of the buildings and the land.
  • In a HOA, the members own their homes and the land the homes sit on.
  • In a cooperative housing association, a corporation owns the buildings and the land. Members buy shares, or stock, in the corporation. Usually, members are co-owners of the corporation who rent the home or unit from the corporation.

Landlords and tenants in condominiums, homeowner associations, or cooperatives, should be aware that they are regulated by the rules of the association as well as their own leases, and that they are subject to enforcement action by the association. To assist in resolving such disputes, the OCOC offers advice on the rights of association members and residents. OCOC also has a commission (Commission on Common Ownership Communities [COCOC]) which acts much like the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs (COLTA) in adjudicating disputes between associations, their members and residents.

Tenants who rent properties within COCs are subject to the by-laws of that community's association, and sometimes tenant rights and the by-laws conflict. Both OCOC and OLTA work to ensure that everyone’s rights are honored.

For more information on OCOC, please check out their website, read their What Is A Common Ownership Community webpage, or call, via MC311, (240) 777-0311.