| Baltimore Vacant Property Ordinance |
| Friday, 12 January 2001 | |
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Here we go again, Baltimore just joined the cities of Chicago, LA, Philadelphia, St. Paul, NYC, and Albany to ensure that we continue to have job security. Following please find the new Baltimore city ordinance requiring registration of non-owner occupied residential properties. The information was provided by the Ron Deutsch Cohn, Goldberg & Deutsch, LLC. Robert RDeutsch@cohn-goldberg-deutsch.com We have learned that State of Maryland is attempting to enforce a section of the Baltimore City Code, which requires registration of non-owner occupied residential properties. This section is found in Ordinance No. 382. The Ordinance requires that every owner of a non-owner occupied dwelling unit, must file a registration statement (Part A) with the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development. The registration statement must be filed upon the date of transfer AND on every September 1st annually thereafter. A $15.00 registration fee is required but in no event shall any owner be liable for registration fees in excess of $2,500.00 Failure to file the registration statement is a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 per day that the statement is not filed. After the Part A is filed properties that are added or later sold can be reported on the Part B. Government agencies must register their properties but are exempt from the $15 registration fee. The purpose of the Ordinance is to facilitate the City in locating the responsible individual in the event that a violation notice must be forwarded. The Part A designates the authorized agent who must be an individual who is at least 18 years old and is customarily present in the City or resides there. The Registration statement must be returned to the Department of Housing and Community Development, 417 East Fayette Street, Room 202, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Any one having questions, can contact me at (410) 296-2550 x3030 or the Director of Finance at (410) 396-4139 Ron Deutsch From: Robert Klein Ron, I would like to ask you the 64k question the industry has. Is the servicer of the loan who does not have possession of the property (pre-sale) or does not take title in its name (post sale) fall under the category of "owner"? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Robert From: "Ron Deutsch"
rdeutsch@cohn-goldberg-deutsch.com Hi Robert! My opinion, which of course has not been tested by a Judicial opinion yet would be that "pre-sale" clearly would not be subject to this Ordinance. "Post Sale" might, if an aggressive States Attorney argued that after ratification but before a deed has been recorded title has been transferred. But that would be an aggressive argument. Perhaps for $15 it is better to be safe than sorry. The statute states that government agencies must register but are not obligated to pay the $15. |
