The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues disrupting daily life across the State of Maryland and changes are happening at an unprecedented rate. These changes include adjustments, delays and rescheduling of the courts, cases, and legal aid programs throughout Maryland. One thing is holding constant – Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service’s (MVLS) commitment to helping you navigate the “new” civil legal landscape. Back in March, we published an article on consumer and housing legal updates. Much has changed in the past four months, so we now have new information to share with you.

If you have questions about your specific case, it’s always best to check with the court. However, as of right now, here is some general information that applies to all Marylanders.

Foreclosures

Foreclosures of all kinds are on hold until at least Friday, July 24 at 5pm. After this time, foreclosures will resume for homes with privately-backed mortgages. Foreclosures for homes with federally-backed mortgages are on hold until August 31. Most people likely won’t know if their mortgage is privately or federally backed. Often, your loan may be transferred between lenders and servicers, so it can be especially confusing. Your loan provider may not even be aware themselves, so it’s not always the most efficient to call and them to ask.

Some people may know for sure that their loan came from seller financing or a hard money lender. This means your loan is private. Other people may know for sure that their loan is backed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Veteran’s Administration (VA), or Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This means your loan is federal. If none of these apply to your loan, then you want to see if your loan is backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. To check, look up your address on both of these websites: http://www.freddiemac.com/ and https://www.fanniemae.com/portal/index.html.

If you find your address on either of those two websites, then you have a federal loan and foreclosures are on hold for you until August 31. If you do not have a loan from the USDA, VA, or FHA and your address is not on Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, then your loan is almost certainly private, and foreclosures are only on hold for you until July 25. Most owner-occupied homes are backed by federal loans.

If you are behind on your mortgage or concerned you may fall behind on your mortgage, call a housing counselor through the HOPE Hotline at 1-877-462-7555. 

Tax Sale

Tax sale, a multi-step process for homeowners owing property taxes and/or property charges, was postponed but is now in full swing. Homeowners who found themselves on the tax sale list had until June 30 in Baltimore City to pay down their bills to below $750 in order to avoid having their properties go to auction. This auction will now take place on July 20. However, if anyone would still like to make a payment to avoid losing their property, they should contact Mike O’Leary, Tax Sale Services Coordinator for Baltimore City Department of Housing, at 410-396-3483.

Any home that goes to tax sale on July 20 is auctioned off to investors who have the opportunity to purchase a lien on your property for the unpaid property taxes and/or property charges. A month or two after this takes place, the City will send you a letter, detailing if your property lien sold or not.

If the lien did not sell, you will likely want to contact an attorney to discuss what this means for your ownership of your property. However, know that most properties will likely sell at auction.

If your lien did sell, which is the more likely outcome, contact the lien purchaser. You have now entered the period of property redemption. The first step is to pay interest to the lien purchaser. Contact the purchaser to make arrangements for that payment. Once you’ve paid the interest, they will provide you with a Certificate of Redemption.

After you have the Certificate of Redemption, you can then go to the City to pay off the original property taxes and/or property charges and redeem your property.

You have nine months to do this from the date that your lien is sold. Otherwise, the lien purchaser has the legal right to foreclose on your property and evict you.

This information applies specifically to tax sale cases in Baltimore City. The timelines will look different depending on your county, although the practice is the same. Look up your county-specific dates.  

Eviction Cases

Eviction cases are on hold, but this doesn’t mean that rent isn’t owed to landlords. It does mean that if you owe money to your landlord or your landlord doesn’t want you living in your home anymore, the landlord cannot have you removed from the property until after the hold is lifted.

The hold on evictions ends on July 24 at 5pm. The exception is for tenants living in properties with federally-backed loans. The hold on evictions for those tenants extends until August 31. However, this only applies to approximately 34% of all tenants, so most evictions will resume later this month.

Unless otherwise stated or agreed upon with your landlord, rent is owed for the entire time that you have been living in the property, even with the hold on evictions. However, there are some programs designed to assist with rent payments:

• Baltimore City: Applications are open from July 1-10 for the Baltimore City COVID-19 Temporary Rent Support program. This program can help City residents pay part of their rent for April-June, but there are many steps that you must take and requirements to meet. Additionally, your landlord must agree to participate. Be sure to read all instructions clearly.
• Baltimore County: Unfortunately, all funds from this program have been used at this time, but they have committed to making more available.
• Howard County: Beginning July 6, residents can apply for up to three months of rental assistance through one of the participating providers.
• Other counties: Call 211 to connect to your local rental/eviction assistance program.

Utilities

Utility shut-offs and late fees are on hold until August 1.

Utilities cannot be shut off right now and most are not charging late fees. If you owe money for water, gas, or electric, your services cannot be shut off right now. If you are experiencing an issue with your utility provider, contact your city or county council person.

Scammers are trying to take advantage of the number of people at home right now. If someone comes to your home claiming they are from your utility provider and needs to see your bill, do not give it to them. 

If you are worried about falling behind on your bills, talk to your creditors. A number of them are being flexible right now – providing forbearance or delayed payment options. But you have to ask to get these options.

Other Legal Issues

Courts have started processing lawsuits again. If you were sued before or during the pandemic, cases can potentially move forward. If you have been sued for a consumer debt, MVLS has a special phone number for you to call: 443-451-4083.

We provided a lot of information above and realize it can be overwhelming. If you’re not sure if any of these situations apply to you, start by calling the Maryland Courts Self-Help Center at 410-260-1392.