Maryland Enacts Two Provisions Regarding Notice of Foreclosure Sale
House Bill 1048
Maryland has enacted House Bill 1048 which requires filing of a notice of foreclosure sale with the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. The Bill also provides limits on access to the foreclosure notice and the information contained therein.
Section 14-126.2(B) (1) requires that within 7 days of filing a complaint to foreclose a residential mortgage the person designated under the Maryland Rules to sell residential property subject to foreclosure shall provide a notice of foreclosure to the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
Section 14-126.2(B)(2) provides that the notice shall be in the form required by the Department and shall contain the following information regarding the property: 1. street address 2. tax account number (if known) 3. vacancy status (if known) 4. name, address, and telephone number of the owner (if known) 5. name, address and telephone number of the person authorized to make the sale; and 6. name address, and telephone number of a person authorized to manage and maintain the property prior to foreclosure sale (if known).
Section 14-126.2(C)(1) limits access to the form and the information contained within providing that the notice is not a public record as defined in Section 4-101 of the General Provisions Article and exempting the form from the provisions of Title 4 of said Article. Further, access to the Notice of Foreclosure Sale is limited to local jurisdictions, agencies of local jurisdictions and representatives of state agencies. However, the Department may provide information regarding a specific property described in a notice of foreclosure to a person who owns property on the same block or a Homeowners Association or Condominium in which the property is located.
Section 14-126.3 provides that only the state may enact a law requiring a notice be filed with a unit of government to register residential properties subject to foreclosure. The ability of a unit of government to require registration or notice for a purpose other than foreclosure is not affected by this provision even if the property is subject to foreclosure.
The act is not intended to repeal any local law enacted prior to January 1, 2017 that requires a substantially similar notice to be filed with a local jurisdiction. The act takes effect October 1, 2018
The full text of House Bill 1048 may be found at: https://legiscan.com/MD/text/HB1048/2017
House Bill 26
Maryland has enacted House Bill 26 which provides that a person authorized to make a foreclosure sale give notice of the sale and any postponements or cancellations to the record owner of the property and to condominium or homeowners associations.
Section 7-105.2(b) requires that a notice of foreclosure sale shall be provided by the person authorized to make the sale to the following: 1. The record owner of the property to be sold; and 2. A condominium or homeowners association that has a lien of record against the property recorded at least 30 days prior to the date of the proposed sale.
Section 7-105.2(c) provides that the notice shall be sent by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested to the record owner of the property and to a condominium or homeowners association at the address on the lien. The notice shall also be sent by first-class mail and shall state the time, place and terms of sale. The notice shall be sent not earlier than 30 days before the sale or later than 10 days before the sale.
Section 7-105.2(d) provides that in the event a foreclosure sale is postponed or cancelled, a notice of postponement or cancellation shall be mailed by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the record owner of the property and if applicable to a condominium or homeowners association which received notice of the sale pursuant to subsection (c). Said notice shall be sent within 14 days after the postponement or cancellation.
The act applies to any foreclosure sale scheduled to occur on a date after the effective date of this act. The act takes effect on October 1, 2017.
The full text of House Bill 26 may be found at: https://legiscan.com/MD/text/HB26/2017
Adam Faria, JD, is a regulatory compliance consultant with CLA. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and earned his juris doctor at Suffolk University Law School. He is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
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