By Carlton Huntley, JD, LLM, Checkpoint News
Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed legislation that enacts several changes to the tax sale provisions regarding designation of a representative for delinquent tax assistance, tax sale withholding, and eligibility for the Homeowner Protection Program. (L. 2026, H753 (c. 777), effective 10/01/2026.)
Delinquent tax assistance
The State Tax Sale Ombudsman in the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) is required to develop a process to allow a homeowner to designate a family member or another representative of the homeowner to communicate and work with the ombudsman on the homeowner’s behalf regarding delinquent taxes.
Tax sale withholding for terminal illness or medical hardship
The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the governing body of a county is required to withhold from sale the dwelling of a homeowner who has a terminal illness or medical hardship as documented by a licensed health care provider who has treated or examined the homeowner. For purposes of this withholding, the SDAT and the State Tax Sale Ombudsman, in consultation with the Maryland Department of Health, must define “terminal illness” and “medical hardship.” The collector for each county is required to establish a process for a homeowner, a family member of a homeowner, or another representative of a homeowner to apply for the homeowner’s dwelling to be withheld from sale. Also, for a homeowner’s dwelling to continue to be withheld from sale, the homeowner, a family member of the homeowner, or another representative of the homeowner must reapply to the collector in the second year after the homeowner’s dwelling was first withheld from sale and every second year thereafter.
Homeowner protection program eligibility
The eligibility for the Homeowners Protection Program has been amended. To be eligible for the program, a homeowner must reside in a dwelling that has an assessed value of $450,000 or less (previously, $300,000 or less). In addition to existing priorities, the SDAT must establish, by regulation, a process to give enrollment priority to homeowners who are experiencing a documented terminal illness or medical hardship.
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