Sec. 40-12A. Disclosure of Historic Designation

   (a)   If any real property:

      (1)   has been designated as a historic site in the master plan for historic preservation;

      (2)   is located in an area designated as a historic district in that plan; or

      (3)   is listed as a historic resource on the County locational atlas of historic sites, the seller must disclose that fact to each prospective buyer before the buyer signs a contract for the sale of the property.

   (b)   A prospective buyer must indicate, by signing an addendum to the contract or a separate section of the contract printed in boldface type in a clearly demarcated box, that:

      (1)   the seller has provided the information required by subsection (a); and

      (2)   the buyer understands that special restrictions on land uses and physical changes may apply to this property, and the buyer may obtain more information about these restrictions from the staff of the County Historic Preservation Commission.

   (c)   The County historic preservation staff must inform the public, by posting on a web site or another equally effective means, that the boundaries of any historic district have changed within 5 days after the change takes effect. The failure to post this notice does not invalidate any boundary change or other action. (2001 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)

   Editor’s note—2001 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 2, states that Section 40-12A, added by this Act, takes effect on April 1, 2002, and applies to any contract for the sale of real property signed on or after that date.

Sec. 40-12B. Real property sold in Agricultural Zones.

   (a)   If any real property is located in, adjoins, or confronts an area zoned agricultural, as defined in Section 59-C-9.1, the seller must disclose to each prospective buyer, before the buyer signs a contract for the sale of the property, that existing County and State law is intended to discourage owners of real property adjacent to agricultural-zoned land from filing certain lawsuits against an owner or operator of an agricultural use in those areas. The following text must be substantially included in the disclosure:

   As required under Montgomery County Code § 40-12B, you are hereby notified that the state of Maryland and Montgomery County have enacted laws that establish agriculture as the preferred use on land zoned Rural Density Transfer and as a permitted use in other agricultural zones, as defined in Section 59-C-9.1 of the County Code. The property subject to this contract is located in, adjoins, or confronts an area zoned agricultural. Residents and other occupants of property near land in agricultural zones should be prepared to accept effects of usual and customary agricultural operations, facilities, and practices, including noise, odors, dust, smoke, insects, operation of machinery, storage and disposal of manure, unusual hours of operation, and other agricultural activities.

   Under Maryland law, an agricultural operation is not a nuisance, and a lawsuit may not be successful alleging that an agricultural operation interferes with the use or enjoyment of other property, if the agricultural operation:

         (1)   has continued for at least 1 year;

         (2)   complies with applicable health, environmental, zoning, and permit requirements; and

         (3)   is not conducted negligently.

   County law may provide additional protections for agricultural uses on agricultural-zoned land. For further information, contact the Montgomery County Office of Agriculture.

   (b)   A prospective buyer must indicate, by signing an addendum to the contract or a separate section of the contract printed in boldface type in a clearly demarcated box, that:

      (1)   the seller has provided the information required by subsection (a); and

      (2)   the buyer understands that:

         (A)   adjacent property may be the source of agricultural-related nuisances; and

         (B)   the buyer may obtain more information about these nuisances from the Montgomery County Office of Agriculture. (2007, L.M.C., ch. 13; § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1.)

Sec. 40-12C. Disclosure of actual property tax amount.

   (a)   Any written or electronically transmitted material that a seller produces or distributes in connection with the advertisement for sale of a specific residential real property located in the County must disclose the estimated full-year property tax that a buyer would be obligated to pay in the next full tax year after the property is transferred, based on all applicable rates in force when the material is produced. As used in this Section, the full-year property tax that must be estimated includes:

      (1)   all State and County property taxes (including any applicable special service area tax), and any applicable municipal property taxes; and

      (2)   any other non-tax fee or charge included on the consolidated tax bill.

   (b)   If any material subject to subsection (a) mentions both the annual property tax that the current owner is obligated to pay and the annual property tax that a buyer would be obligated to pay after the property is transferred, the material must:

      (1)   feature both tax amounts equally prominently; and

      (2)   present the property tax that the buyer would be obligated to pay either immediately before or immediately after the property tax that the current owner is obligated to pay.

   (c)   The estimate required by subsection (a) must be updated:

      (1)   each July 1, to reflect changes in tax, fee, and charge rates; and

      (2)   by January 31 if the current fiscal year is the third year of the property’s 3-year assessment cycle, to reflect the revised assessed value of the property issued by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation.

   (d)   The Office of Consumer Protection must assist a seller in estimating the information required under subsection (a).

   (e)   A seller or the seller’s agent is not liable for any incorrect information disclosed under this Section if the seller relied in good faith on a method approved or recommended by the County to estimate the information. (2007 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1.)

Sec. 40-12D. Disclosure of availability of property tax credits for accessibility improvements.

   (a)   Before the buyer signs a contract for the purchase of a new single-family residential real property in the County, the seller must disclose to each prospective buyer that a real property tax credit may be available to the buyer for the cost of installing accessibility features or the cost of Level I or Level II accessibility standards to the property as defined in Section 52-18U(a).

   (b)   The disclosure must include general information about the types of improvements for which the credits are available and an estimate of the general cost to make the improvements.

   (c)   A seller or the seller’s agent is not liable for any incorrect information disclosed under this Section if the seller or the seller’s agent relied in good faith on information provided by the County to describe the credit or to estimate the amount of the credit. (2013 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)

Sec. 40-13. Other disclosure requirements not affected.

   This Article does not supersede or otherwise affect any duty of a property seller, real estate agent, or broker to fully disclose all specific facts relevant to or affecting any property, imposed by any other law or regulation or any common law principle. (1974 L.M.C., ch. 43, §1; 1997 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 28, § 1.)

   Editor's note—Former Sec. 40-13, relating to the applicability of this article within incorporated municipalities, derived from 1974 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1, was repealed by § 25 of 1985 L.M.C., ch. 31. See § 2-96.

Sec. 40-13B. Energy performance audits—single family homes.

   (a)   Definitions. In this Section, the following words have the meanings indicated:

      Department means the Department of Environmental Protection.

      Director means the Director of the Department or the Director’s designee.

      Home energy audit means an evaluation of the energy efficiency of a home which includes any test or diagnostic measurement which the Department finds necessary to:

      (1)   ensure that a home’s energy efficiency is accurately measured; or

      (2)   identify steps that can be taken to improve a home’s energy efficiency.

      Office of Sustainability or Office means the Office of Sustainability in the Department of Environmental Protection created in Section 18A-13.

      Single-family home means a single-family detached or attached residential building.

   (b)   Before signing a contract for the sale of a single-family home, the seller must provide the buyer with:

      (1)    material approved by the Department that gives information about home energy efficiency improvements, including the benefit of conducting a home energy audit; and

      (2)   copies of the electric, gas, and home heating oil bills or cost and usage history for the single-family home for the immediate prior 12 months, unless the single-family home was unoccupied for the entire prior 12 months. If the seller did not occupy the single-family home for the entire prior 12 months, the seller must provide the buyer with the required information for that part of the prior 12 months, if any, that the seller occupied the single-family home.

   (c)   The Office of Sustainability must evaluate options to encourage homeowners to conduct a home energy audit, including whether the County should require a home energy audit to be conducted before the sale of a single-family home. (2008 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2014 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1.)

   Editor’s note—2008 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 2, states: Applicability. Section 40-13B, as added by Section 1 of this Act, applies to any sales contract signed on or after January 1, 2009.