On December 17, 2020, the Governor of Maryland issued Executive Order No. 20-12-17-02 which amends and restates a previous order (No. 20-10-16-01; itself and amendment to the initial order N0. 20-04-03-01) relating to foreclosures and mortgages. The primary impact of the initial order was to suspend operations of the Notice of Intent to Foreclose registry system, effectively stopping the initiation of new foreclosures in Maryland regardless of loan status. Previously, this order provided the moratorium on the NOI registry would end on January 4, 2021.
The amended order provides an end-date of February 1, 2021; at which time new Notices of Intent to Foreclose can be registered and foreclosure cases may proceed. However, these orders also introduces a new caveat to the registration of Notices of Intent to Foreclose.
When the Notice of Intent to Foreclose registration system opens up; in order to complete a registration it must be certified that the lender/secured party has participated in all loss mitigation requirements of the CARES Act (if it is a federally-insured loan) or that the lender/secured party has offered a forbearance option regardless of delinquency status. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation does not, at this time, have a proscribed form for this confirmation; they have confirmed that they will be including the certification directly into the registration system and that nothing is required to be executed by the lender/secured party if they are represented by an attorney.
Evictions in Maryland can proceed at this time (per Maryland laws); however they are still to be halted if the tenant can show they suffered a ‘substantial loss of income’ due to the COVID-19 situation.
Please reach out to Greenspoon Marder with any additional questions.