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(a) Appointment of Board.
(1) There is a Board of Registration.
(2) The Board consists of 5 members appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council.
(3) No more than 2 members of the Board may be active in the residential construction field at the time of their appointment.
(b) Term. The term for each member is 3 years. A vacancy is filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. Unless a member is removed for good cause, each member holds office until the term of the member expires or a successor is appointed and confirmed.
(c) The Director may designate up to 2 Office employees as ex officio, nonvoting members to promote coordination with the Office’s activities.
(d) Operation of the Board; powers and duties of the Board.
(1) The Board must elect from its members a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and any other officers it deems necessary.
(2) The Board must:
(A) make recommendations to the Director whether a registration applicant, including a renewal applicant, should be registered with the Office;
(B) put its recommendations in writing; and
(C) by July 1 each year, submit an annual report of its proceedings to the Director.
(e) The County Attorney or the County Attorney’s designee serves as counsel to the Board.
(f) Board members do not receive compensation for serving on the Board. (2019 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1.)
(a) Registration required. A new home builder or a new home seller must not engage, or offer to engage, in the business of constructing, selling, or advertising a new home for sale or act in the capacity of a building contractor in the County unless the builder or seller are first registered by the Office.
(b) Application. Each application for registration must be on a form the Director requires and:
(1) provide information as to character, references, experience, education, and training in or related to erecting, constructing, or otherwise creating a new home or selling a new home;
(2) require that the applicant agree to provide the warranty required in Section 31C-8; and
(3) include any additional information required by regulation.
(c) Fees.
(1) Each application must be accompanied by an application fee.
(2) Any application fee paid is not refundable.
(d) Board recommendation. Within 60 days after receiving a completed registration application, the Board must recommend to the Director whether:
(1) the applicant is qualified to comply with the building code and laws of the County and State, and to fully perform new home building and new home sales contracts; and
(2) the applicant should be registered or receive a conditional registration that stipulates specific requirements to which the applicant must comply before the applicant’s registration can be fully recommended to the Director.
(e) Director decision.
(1) Within 75 days after receiving a completed application, the Director must notify the applicant of the Board’s recommendation and the Director’s final action regarding registration, conditional registration, or denial of registration. If the Director fails to notify the applicant within 75 days of submission, the application is deemed approved.
(2) If the applicant is denied registration approval, the Director must send the applicant written notification of the denial and the reasons for the denial.
(3) The Director must not approve a registration for a builder or seller who has or had any legal interest in a previously licensed firm who has or had a license or registration revoked or suspended for any reason listed in Section 31C-9.
(f) Expiration of license. Unless renewed under the procedures in Section 31C-6, a registration expires on the second anniversary of its effective date. Once a registration expires, it cannot be renewed. The former registrant must submit a new application for registration.
(g) Amendment. A new home builder or a new home seller must amend the registration within 30 days of any material change in the information provided in the most recent application or amendment. (2019 L.M.C., ch. 1, §1; 2019 L.M.C., ch. 23, §1.)
(a) A registered new home builder or new home seller may apply to renew their registration before the current registration expires by:
(1) submitting a completed renewal application;
(2) paying the required renewal fee; and
(3) making a payment to the Maryland Home Builder Guaranty Fund as required under State law.
(b) At least 60 days before a new home builder or new home seller registration is set to expire, the Office must send written notification to the registrant. This notice must contain:
(1) a renewal application form or online link to the renewal form;
(2) the date on which the current registration expires;
(3) the date by which the Office must receive the renewal application; and
(4) information regarding the required fees associated with the renewal.
(c) A registrant must submit a completed renewal application to the Office no later than 30 days before the registration is set to expire.
(d) The Director may request that the Board review any renewal application to ensure the applicant continues to meet the criteria in Section 31C-5.
(e) By the date on which a registration is set to expire, the Director must send the applicant written notification of the Board’s recommendation, if any, and the Director’s final action regarding renewal of a registration. If the Director fails to notify the applicant by this date, the renewal application is deemed approved.
(f) If the applicant is denied registration approval, the Director must send the applicant written notification of the denial and the reasons for the denial.
A contract for the performance of any act for which a home builder registration is required is void unless the home builder was registered at the time that the contract was signed by the contract purchaser. (2019 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1.)
(a) Warranty required. As a condition to being registered under this Chapter, a new home builder and a new home seller must give a consumer a written warranty that provides the warranty coverage required by this Chapter no later than the execution of the contract to sell the home.
(b) Liability. The new home builder and new home seller must honor the terms of the warranty and cannot discharge this warranty obligation by providing a third-party new home warranty plan to the homeowner.
(c) Performance standards.
(1) The warranty must include minimum performance standards for the construction and quality of the components of a new home.
(2) If specific minimum performance standards are not provided, industry standards for good building practice determine compliance with the new home warranty.
(d) Duration of warranty. The new home builder and the new home seller must warrant to the homeowner, and all subsequent homeowners during the warranty period, that:
(1) For 1 year, starting on the warranty date, the new home must be free from any defect in materials or workmanship as defined in the minimum performance standards.
(2) For 2 years, starting on the warranty date, the new home must be free from any defect in the electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, ventilating, and mechanical systems.
(3) For 5 years, starting on the warranty date, the new home must be free from any major structural defect.
(e) Exclusions. The written warranty may exclude:
(1) damage to real property which is not part of the home covered by the warranty and which is not included in the purchase price of the home;
(2) bodily injury or damage to personal property;
(3) any defect in, or caused by, materials or work supplied by anyone other than the builder, or its employees, agents, or subcontractors;
(4) any loss or damage which the homeowner has not taken timely action to minimize; and
(5) any additional exclusions permitted by Regulation.
(f) Statutory warranties. The statutory warranties required by this Chapter are in addition to all other implied or express warranties imposed by law or agreement. Each new home builder or new home seller must disclose the information required by, and otherwise comply with, Sections 10-601 through 10-610 of the Real Property Article of the Maryland Code.
(g) Financial security.
(1) Before entering into a contract to sell or build a new home, a new home builder or a new home seller must:
(A) inform the consumer in writing whether any bond, insurance, or other financial security is responsible for or guarantees the builder’s performance under the warranty required by this Chapter;
(B) provide proof of any such bond, insurance, or security to any buyer on request; and
(C) include the following notice in the sales contract immediately before the disclosure required by subparagraph (A):
NOTICE TO BUYER
Montgomery County law does not require this builder to furnish any bond, insurance, or other financial security to guarantee the builder’s performance of its warranty obligations. If a builder has promised you any other bond, insurance, or security to guarantee the performance of its warranty obligations, that bond, insurance, or security must be listed here:
(2) The buyer must acknowledge in writing that the buyer has read and understands the notice required under paragraph (1)(C).
(3) A new home builder or new home seller may be required to post a bond if the Director determines that the builder constructed and sold a home without being registered. (2019 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1.)
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