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.

Sec. 40-13C. Radon test—single-family home.

   (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.

      Single-family home means a single-family detached or attached residential building. Single-family home does not include a residential unit that is part of a condominium regime or a cooperative housing corporation.

      Radon means a radioactive gas found in the air that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water.

      Radon test means measuring the amount of radon in an indoor space:

      (1)   with a device made for this purpose;

      (2)   approved for use by the Director; and

      (3)   performed in accordance with the protocols specified for the device used.

   (b)   Except as provided in subsection (c), a single-family home located in the County must be tested for radon before completing a sale of the home. The radon test must be performed less than one year before the settlement date. The seller must either perform the test or permit the buyer to perform the test. Both the seller and the buyer must receive a copy of the results of the radon test.

   (c)   The settlement of the sale of a single-family home located in the County may be completed without a radon test if the sale is:

      (1)   exempt from the transfer tax under Md. Tax-Property Code, §13-207, as amended;

      (2)   by a lender or an affiliate or subsidiary of a lender that acquired the home by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure;

      (3)   a sheriff’s sale, tax sale, or sale by foreclosure, partition, or by court appointed trustee;

      (4)   a transfer by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust; or

      (5)   a transfer of a home to be converted by the buyer into a use other than residential or to be demolished. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 50, §1.)

Sec. 40-14. Penalty for violation of Article; enforcement.

   Any violation of this Article is a class A violation. The Office of Consumer Protection must enforce this Article. (1974 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 47; 1997 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 2)

Article IV. New Home Sales Contracts.

Sec. 40-15. Definitions; scope.

   (a)   In this article, the following words have the meaning indicated:

      New home means any newly constructed dwelling unit. "New home" includes any single- family home, townhouse, row house, or condominium which has not been previously sold and occupied.

      Buyer means the original buyer of a new home.

      Buyer's agent means any person expressly designated by the buyer to serve as the buyer's representative at a pre-settlement inspection. "Buyer's agent" does not include an employee or agent of the seller.

      Seller means any person or firm engaged in the business of selling new homes, or to whom a new home has been conveyed for resale in the course of business.

      Seller's agent includes an employee of a seller or an independent, licensed real estate agent representing a seller.

   (b)   This article applies to any contract for the sale of a new home entered into on or after March 15, 1989. It applies to all new homes sold in Montgomery County, whether the new home is built before or after the date of the contract.

   (c)   The conveyance of a new home to an intermediate person to evade any liability or obligations to a buyer under this article or any other law does not remove the new home from the requirements of this article. (1989 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1.)