Subtitle 9 – Rental Units in Floodplain District

If any part of a rental unit, including the parking area or separate storage area for that unit, is within the Floodplain District, and the City has notified the landlord of that fact by first class mail, bulk mail, or otherwise, or the landlord has received notice of that fact from some other governmental agency, the landlord shall provide any prospective tenant with the following notice and acknowledgment:

Notice to Prospective Tenant

The rental unit you are to occupy or the motor vehicle parking area or separate storage facility you are to use (as the case may be) is situated in an area prone to flooding during unusually heavy or prolonged steady periods of rain. Such flooding may damage personal belongings and motor vehicles. Because of this possible loss, you may be eligible for U. S. Government subsidized flood insurance on the personal belongings in your unit. In any event, because of this danger of loss of your personal belongings due to flooding, you may wish to consider acquiring flood insurance which may be purchased from some insurance agents.

Damage to motor vehicles may not be covered by such insurance; therefore you may also wish to determine whether or not you have sufficient motor vehicle insurance to cover loss due to damage of your motor vehicle resulting from flooding in this area.

The Baltimore City Department of Planning can provide information pertaining to the susceptibility of this area to flooding. You may wish to contact that Department, at (telephone number), before signing either this acknowledgment or the lease agreement for this rental unit.

Acknowledgment by Prospective Tenant

I acknowledge reading and understanding the foregoing warning concerning flooding. I have been provided time, prior to signing either this acknowledgment or a lease, to contact the Baltimore City Department of Planning concerning the susceptibility of the area around my rental unit to flooding.

Tenant’s Signature

The notice and acknowledgment required by <cite data-path="|13|§9-2">§ 9-2 of this subtitle</cite> shall be in printed form, utilizing bold face type, and set apart from the body of the lease. The acknowledgment shall provide space for a written acknowledgment that the tenant is cognizant of the flood risk.

Any landlord who has received notice from the City or any other governmental agency that the tenant’s unit is within the Floodplain District and who has failed to give the notice and acknowledgment referred to in <cite data-path="|13|§9-2">§ 9-2 of this subtitle</cite> shall be liable for actual damages proximately caused by natural flooding.

Prior to the transfer of title from owner to purchaser of rental units situated in an area prone to flooding during unusually heavy or prolonged steady periods of rain, it shall be a precondition to the payment of the transfer tax imposed by <cite data-path="|28">Article 28</cite>, Subtitle 17 of the Baltimore City Code that the owner file an averment under penalty of perjury stating that he has notified the purchaser in writing of the possibility of such flooding. Such averment shall be filed with the Director of Finance of Baltimore City.