§ 53A-1. Legislative findings.
§ 53A-2. Definitions.
§ 53A-3. Notice of sale.
§ 53A-4. Right of first refusal to buy rental housing.
§ 53A-5. Sales not requiring right of first refusal.
§ 53A-6. Conversion of rental housing.
§ 53A-7. Certificate of compliance.
§ 53A-8. Complaints.
§ 53A-9. Enforcement.
§ 53A-10. Penalties.
§ 53A-11. Annual reports to the Council.
Notes
| [Note] | *Editor's note-Section 1 of 1990 L.M.C., ch. 34, amended ch. 53A to read as set out in §§ 53A-1--53A- 10. The chapter formerly consisted of §§ 53A-1--53A-13 and was derived from 1981 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 2, §§ 2, 3; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 55, § 3; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 52; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 35; 1985 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 2; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 86, § 20, §§ 1, 2; 1987 L.M.C., ch. 41, § 1; and 1989 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1. Cross references-Condominiums, ch. 11A; cooperative housing, ch. 11C; group residential care facilities, ch. 23A; moderately priced housing, ch. 25A; landlord-tenant relations, ch. 29; rental assistance, ch. 41A; transient lodging facilities, ch. 54. |
The County Council finds that:
(a) there is a continuing severe shortage of low and moderate-income rental housing in the County;
(b) tenants often experience significant hardship when they are displaced by conversion of rental housing; and
(c) it is in the best interests of public health, safety, and welfare to regulate the conversion of rental housing in the County. (1990 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)
(a) Convert and conversion mean:
(1) (A) changing the use of rental housing to nonresidential use;
(B) demolishing at least one-third of the units in rental housing in a 12- month period;
(C) displacing tenants from at least one-third of the occupied units in rental housing in a 12-month period by:
(i) raising rents; or
(ii) preparing to rehabilitate the rental housing; or
(D) any other act that ends the use of the property as rental housing.
(2) Conversion does not include establishing a condominium or cooperative.
(aa) County assignee means a qualified entity that has accepted in writing an assignment of a right of first refusal by the County Executive or the designee of the County Executive.
(b) Department means the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
(c) HOC means the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission.
(d) Owner means a person holding title to rental housing.
(e) Qualified entity means a legal entity that:
(1) is designated under 53A-4(g) as eligible to accept an assignment of a right of first refusal by the County Executive.
(2) The following are designated qualified entities: Rockville Department of Housing and Community Development and Rockville Housing Enterprises of the City of Rockville; the Division of Housing and Community Development of the City of Gaithersburg; and the Department of Housing and Community Development of the City of Takoma Park.
(f) Rental housing means a multiple-family dwelling, or a group of multiple-family dwellings operated as one entity, with a total of at least 4 rental units.
(g) (1) Sale, sell, or selling mean:
(A) transfer of title to rental housing;
(B) transfer in a 12-month period of a majority interest in owner; or
(C) lease of rental housing for more than 7 years.
(2) These terms do not include entering into a contract for the sale of rental housing that gives the County, HOC, a tenant organization, or a County assignee a right of first refusal under this Chapter.
(h) Tenant means an individual who lives in a rental housing unit with the owner’s consent and is responsible for paying rent to the owner.
(i) Tenant organization means an association of tenants of rental housing that:
(1) represents tenants of at least 30 percent of the occupied units in the rental housing; and
(2) is certified by the Department according to Executive regulations.
(j) Title means:
(1) a legal or equitable ownership interest in rental housing; or
(2) a legal, equitable, or beneficial interest in a partnership, limited partnership, corporation, trust or other person who is not an individual, that has a legal or equitable ownership interest in rental housing. (1990) L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2024 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1.)
(a) Notice required.
(1) Within 5 days after an owner enters into a bona fide contract of sale to sell rental housing, the owner must provide written notice of the sale:
(A) to each tenant in the rental housing by first class mail;
(B) posted in the public areas of the rental housing; and
(C) to the Department with a list identifying each tenant and the tenant’s address.
(2) The notice of sale must offer to sell the rental housing to any tenant organization under Section 53A-4, and include any other information required by Executive regulations.
(b) Tenant organization. If there is no certified tenant organization for the rental housing when the notice of sale is due under subsection (a), then a tenant organization may be formed to exercise the right of first refusal if the Department certifies the organization within 45 days after the owner provides notice to the tenants under subsection (a).
(2001 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)
Editor’s note—Former § 53A-3, was amended and divided into two new sections, numbered §§ 53A-4 and 53A-5, pursuant to 2001 L.M.C., ch. 32, §1.
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