* Legislative History: Ord. No. 1999-41, 1/1/2000.

A. On or before entering into a contract for the sale of a rental facility, the owner or agent of the rental facility shall provide the prospective purchaser with the following:
1. A Notice of City of Takoma Park rental housing laws (“Notice”) in accordance with subsection (H) of this section;
2. Copies of the annual rent reports for the rental facility for the previous 2 years (see Section 6.20.050) unless the rental facility is exempt from rent stabilization and a Certificate of Exemption is attached to the contract of sale in accordance with paragraph F of this section; and
3. Copies of all rental licensing inspection reports of the rental facility (“inspection reports”) for the previous 2 years.
B. At the time the Notice and documents listed in subsection (A) of this section are delivered, each purchaser shall sign and date a written acknowledgment of receipt of the Notice and shall initial each inspection report and annual rent report. The Notice shall be included in or attached to the contract of sale for the rental facility and the reports shall be attached to the contract of sale.
C. A purchaser of a rental facility has the right, upon written Notice to the seller or seller’s agent:
1. To rescind the contract of sale at any time before the receipt of the Notice, rent reports, and inspection reports or within 5 days following receipt of the Notice, rent reports, and inspection reports of the rental facility; and
2. To the immediate return of any deposits made on account of the contract of sale.
D. Unavailability of Rent or Inspection Reports--Failure to Provide Reports.
1. If the owner or agent of the rental facility has not filed all required rent reports with the City, or has filed rent reports with inaccurate or incomplete information, or a rental housing licensing inspection has not been completed, then the owner or agent of the rental facility shall promptly file or correct all required rent reports and/or provide access to the rental facility for purposes of performing a rental licensing inspection or reinspection. In such event, the owner or agent of the rental facility shall notify the purchaser of the nonavailability or inaccuracy of the rent report(s) and/or rental licensing inspection reports for the rental facility and shall provide copies of such reports or corrected reports to the purchaser as soon as the reports are prepared and filed with the City.
2. The purchaser’s right to rescind the contract shall continue until the owner or agent of the rental facility has provided the required Notice and complete and accurate rent reports and rental licensing inspection reports for the rental facility to the purchaser. In the event that settlement on the transfer of title to the rental facility has occurred, then the purchaser may seek an order from a court of competent jurisdiction declaring any transfer in which the owner or agent has not complied with all requirements of this chapter void and the transfer documents set aside.
E. Waiver of Purchaser’s Rights.
1. The rights of a purchaser under this section may not be waived in the contract of sale and any attempted waiver is void.
2. Except as stated in subsection (D) of this section, any rights of a purchaser who has received the Notice and complete and accurate annual rent reports and rental housing licensing inspection reports for the 2 years immediately preceding the sale to terminate the contract of sale for the rental facility are waived conclusively if not exercised before settlement on the transfer of title to the purchaser.
F. If a rental facility is exempt from rent stabilization, then a certification of exemption from the City of Takoma Park shall be attached to the contract of sale. The owner or agent shall not be required to provide copies of the annual rent reports for a rental facility that is not subject to rent stabilization and the purchaser shall not have the right to terminate the contract of sale for failure to receive copies of the annual rent reports for the previous 2 years.
G. The Notice, disclosure, and inspection requirements established by this chapter do not apply to:
1. A sheriff’s sale, tax sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or sale by foreclosure, partition, or by court-appointed trustee;
2. A transfer of the rental facility by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust;
3. A transfer of the rental facility or any interest therein, to a spouse, former spouse, domestic partner, former domestic partner, parent, sibling, child or grandchild; or
4. A transfer of a single-family rental facility to a purchaser who stipulates in the contract of sale that the property will not be used for rental purposes. It will be the responsibility of the purchaser of the single-family rental facility to notify the City, within 15 working days after transfer of title to the property, of the discontinuance of use of the property as a rental facility.
H. Except as provided in subsection (G) of this section, the following Notice shall be included in or attached to all contracts of sale for a rental facility:

CITY OF TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND

NOTICE OF RENTAL HOUSING LAWS

This Notice is attached to and made a part the Contract dated _______________, between the undersigned Seller and Purchaser for the sale and purchase of residential rental property located at ___________, Takoma Park, Maryland.

The City of Takoma Park strongly encourages prospective purchasers to familiarize themselves with the City laws and regulations regarding rental housing before purchasing any property that is used as residential rental housing. These laws include the following:

1. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (Takoma Park Code, Chapter 6.32). Before a Seller may go to settlement on the sale of a rental facility, the Seller must give the tenants an opportunity to purchase the rental facility. All contracts for the sale of the rental facility are subject to the rights of the tenant(s) or tenant association to purchase the rental facility in accordance with Chapter 6.32.

2. Rent Stabilization (Takoma Park Code, Chapter 6.20). The rent stabilization law restricts rent increases for residential rental units. The Seller is required to provide the Purchaser with copies of the two most recent annual Rent Reports for the rental facility, which must be initialed by the Purchaser and attached to the Contract of Sale. City law does not permit a landlord to increase the rents for the rental facility above the annual rent stabilization allowance without an order from the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs. Neither the price paid for the rental facility, nor the financing terms, are considered in a landlord’s petition to increase the rents for the rental facility above the annual rent stabilization allowance.

3. Rental Housing Licenses (Takoma Park Code, Chapter 6.08). All rental facilities must be inspected for compliance with the Property Maintenance Code and licensed. The Seller is required to provide the Purchaser with copies of the two most recent Rental Housing Licensing Inspection Reports for the rental facility, which must be initialed by the Purchaser and attached to the Contract of Sale.

4. Landlord-Tenant Relations (Takoma Park Code, Chapter 6.16). In addition to the applicable state landlord-tenant laws, the City of Takoma Park has supplemental laws regulating the landlord-tenant relation, including minimum lease term and lease renewal requirements, restrictions on allowable pet and other fees that may be charged to a tenant, and a Commission on Landlord-Tenant Relations, which hears complaints of landlord-tenant violations and appeals from rent increase petition decisions.

Additional information is available upon request from the City of Takoma Park Department of Housing and Community Development at (301) 891-7119 or at www.takomaparkmd.gov.

A Purchaser has the unconditional right, upon written notice to the Seller or Seller’s agent, to rescind the contract of sale and to the immediate return of any deposit at any time within five (5) days following receipt of this Notice and receipt of copies of the annual Rent Reports* and Rental Housing Licensing Inspection Reports for the rental facility for the two years immediately preceding the sale. The right of a Purchaser, who has received this Notice and complete and accurate Rent Reports* and Inspection Reports, to rescind the contract of sale terminates if not exercised before settlement on the transfer of title to the rental facility.

* If the rental facility is exempt from rent stabilization, then a Certificate of Exemption from the City of Takoma Park must be attached to the contract of sale and copies of the annual Rent Reports do not need to be provided to the Purchaser.

THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY’S RENTAL HOUSING LAWS AND REQUIREMENTS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC LEGAL OR INVESTMENT ADVICE.

Seller:_________________ Date:_______

Print Name:________________________

Seller:_________________ Date:_______

Print Name:________________________

PURCHASER ACKNOWLEDGES RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE, COPIES OF RENTAL HOUSING LICENSING INSPECTION REPORTS FOR YEARS ____ AND _____, AND COPIES OF THE ANNUAL RENT REPORTS* FOR YEARS _____ AND _____ FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT _______________, TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND.

Purchaser:______________ Date:_______

Print Name:________________________

Purchaser:______________ Date:_______

Print Name:________________________

(Ord. 2007-8, 2007: Ord. 2003-7 § 1 (part), 2003: prior code § 6-700)

A. In the event that settlement on the transfer of the title to the rental facility has not occurred within 6 months after the date of the last City inspection report for rental facilities on the annual inspection program, or within 18 months after the date of the last City inspection report for rental facilities on the biennial inspection program, then the owner or agent shall obtain a point of sale inspection of the rental facility. The point of sale inspection report shall be delivered to the prospective purchaser before title to the rental facility is transferred to the purchaser. Application for a point of sale inspection of the rental facility shall be made by the owner, or an agent for the owner, to the City’s code enforcement office.
B. The fee for a point of sale inspection under this chapter shall be the same as the rental license and inspection fee established by Section 6.08.030. The fee shall be paid at the time the application for a point of sale inspection of the rental facility is filed with the City.
C. The following schedule for issuing a point of sale inspection report shall be followed, except where a longer period is required because of the number of rental units in the rental facility or other causes beyond the reasonable control of the City.
1. Within 15 working days after receipt of the completed application form and required inspection fee, a point of sale inspection of the rental facility and premises and all rental units therein shall be made and an inspection report issued. If entry to the rental facility is denied or access to interior non-public interior areas is restricted so as to limit or impair an inspection, then the time for issuing the point of sale inspection report shall be extended by such reasonable time as is needed in order for permission for entry to be obtained or a warrant authorizing entry to be procured.
2. The point of sale inspection report shall include the name and address of the property owner, the license number for the rental facility, the street address or other description of the rental facility sufficient for identification, and shall list all known violations of the Property Maintenance Code (Chapter 6.12 of this Code, as amended from time-to-time) based on the code enforcement officer’s visual inspection of the rental facility and premises and all rental units in the facility. The point of sale inspection report also shall include a correction order allowing a reasonable time for the performance of repairs and improvements necessary to bring the rental facility into compliance with the provisions of the Property Maintenance Code. The provisions of the City’s Property Maintenance Code, including the violations and penalties provision thereof, as amended from time-to-time, shall apply to point of sale inspections under this chapter.
D. If the property owner does not correct all Property Maintenance Code violations listed on the point of sale inspection report prior to the time title to the rental facility is transferred to the purchaser, then the purchaser of the rental facility shall be required to correct the violations contained in the inspection report within the time given in the correction order on the inspection report given to the prior owner as that time may be extended by the City’s code enforcement office for good cause shown.
E. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as limiting or restricting the City, at any time, from proceeding against the owner of the rental facility to require the correction of Property Maintenance Code and any other violations existing at the rental facility or to issue and enforce citations for violations of City and any other applicable laws and regulations. (Ord. 2003-7 § 1 (part), 2003: prior code § 6-701)

A. At the request of the owner or agent of a rental facility, the City may issue a letter or other written document stating that the violations listed on a specific City or point of sale inspection report have been corrected to the City’s satisfaction, when, in fact, all such violations have been corrected.
B. At the request of the owner or agent of a rental facility, the City may issue a letter or other written document stating that some, but not all, of the violations listed on a specific City or point of sale inspection report have been corrected to the City’s satisfaction. (Ord. 2003-7 § 1 (part), 2003: prior code § 6-702)

A. City and point of sale inspections are visual checks of the rental facility based on the City’s Property Maintenance Code. In issuing a City or point of sale inspection report, the City does not represent, insure, warrant, or guarantee to the owner or agent of the rental facility, or to any purchaser, agent, attorney, lender, title or property insurer of the facility, or to any of the respective heirs, successors or assigns, that such inspection report includes all of the violations of the City’s Property Maintenance Code existing in the rental facility at the time of inspection. The City’s failure to list a violation on an inspection report is not a warranty or guaranty that the violation does not or did not exist at the rental facility.
B. In issuing a compliance letter or document under the provisions of this chapter, the City does not thereby insure, warrant or guarantee the quality of the repair or the standard of the work completed in the correction of any violations listed on a City or point of sale inspection report. Such compliance letter or document should be construed only as a statement by the City that some or all of the violations listed on the City or point of sale inspection report have been corrected to the City’s satisfaction as of the date of the compliance letter or document. (Ord. 2003-7 § 1 (part), 2003: prior code § 6-703)

A purchaser, transferee or owner of a rental facility shall apply to the City for a rental housing license, or for the transfer of the existing rental housing license, for the rental facility within 15 working days after acquiring title to the rental facility. The procedures and requirements for rental licenses are set forth in Chapter 6.08 of this Code, as amended from time-to-time. (Ord. 2003-7 § 1 (part), 2003: prior code § 6-704)