In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
“Booking transaction” means a reservation transaction between a host and a prospective transient guest for a short-term residential rental.
“Dwelling unit” has the meaning stated in § 202.2 of the Baltimore City <cite data-path="|building-codes|II">Building Code</cite>.
“Host” means the owner of a dwelling unit who provides or offers to provide all or part of the dwelling unit for short-term residential rental use in exchange for a fee.
“Hosting platform” means an internet-based entity that, in exchange for a fee:facilitates reservations of short-term residential rentals;
serves as a conduit of communication between hosts and transient guests; or
otherwise facilitates booking transactions for short-term residential rentals.
“Housing Commissioner” or “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development or the Commissioner’s designee.
“Permanent residence” means a dwelling unit:in which the owner resides for an aggregate of at least 180 days annually; and
that is the owner’s usual place of return for housing, as documented by at least one of the following:driver’s license;
voter registration; or
official designation of the dwelling unit as the owner’s principle residence in accordance with the criteria governing the State Homestead Tax Credit.
For purposes of this subtitle, a host may have only 1 “permanent residence”.
“Short-term residential rental” means the use, facilitated in whole or in part by a hosting platform, of all or any part of a dwelling unit to provide accommodations to transient guests for sleeping or lodging purposes in exchange for a fee.
In this subsection, “transient” means any person who occupies, or has been given the right to occupy, sleeping or lodging accommodations for a period of fewer than 90 consecutive days.
“Transient guest” means any transient who uses a hosting platform to facilitate a short-term residential rental.
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For the Code-wide standard uses of mandatory terms (“must” and “shall”), prohibitory terms (“may not”, “must not”, and “no ... may”), and permissive terms (“may”), see <cite data-path="|general">City General Provisions Article</cite>, <cite data-path="|general|1|1|1-104">§ 1-104</cite>.
Subject to Title 4 {“Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations”} of the <cite data-path="|general">City General Provisions Article</cite>, the Housing Commissioner must adopt rules and regulations to carry out this subtitle.
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Text Conformed 03/01/21
By authority of Ordinance 20-431, Section 5, the Director of Legislative Reference, in consultation with the Law Department, has conformed this section to refer expressly to and reflect the requirements of the recently-enacted Administrative Procedure Act that, effective January 15, 2021, governs the proposal, adoption, and publication of administrative rules and regulations.
No person may operate a short-term residential rental without a currently effective license to do so from the Housing Commissioner.
The application for an initial or renewal short-term residential rental license must be made in the form and contain the information and documentation that the Housing Commissioner requires.
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Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person may only be issued a short-term residential rental license for his or her permanent residence.
A host may be issued a short-term residential rental license for 1 additional dwelling unit if:the dwelling unit had a successfully executed booking transaction, as described in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (2), between August 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018;
the host became the owner of the additional dwelling unit on or before December 31, 2018; and
the host applies for a short-term residential rental license for the additional dwelling unit no later than the 90<sup>th</sup> day after the date on which this subtitle takes effect.
For purposes of this paragraph (2), a booking transaction is deemed successfully executed if a fee was exchanged, whether directly or indirectly, between the host applying for the dwelling unit’s short-term residential rental license and a transient guest, for the short-term residential rental of the dwelling unit.
Short-term residential rental licenses are not property rights, and a short-term residential rental license does not transfer on the sale or any other ownership transfer of a dwelling unit.
All applicants for an initial or renewal license must meet the following requirements.
The owner must provide proof that the dwelling unit (or, if 2 dwelling units are applied for, 1 of those units) is the owner’s permanent residence.
For any dwelling unit that is a “non-owner-occupied dwelling unit” (as defined in City Code <cite data-path="|13">Article 13</cite>, Subtitle 4 {“Registration of Non-Owner-Occupied Dwellings ...”}):the dwelling unit must be currently registered, as required by that Subtitle 4;
all registration fees and all related interest required by that Subtitle 4 must have been paid; and
all other requirements of <cite data-path="|13">Article 13</cite> applicable to non-owner-occupied dwelling units must be complied with.
The owner must be registered with the State Comptroller for the collection of the State’s sales and use tax.
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Section 3 of Ordinance 19-217 provides for the following exception to the preceding section
“[N]otwithstanding <cite data-path="|15">Article 15</cite>, § 48-7(a)(1) and (2) and (b)(2), as added by this Ordinance:
(a)
(1)
Any natural person who, as of December 31, 2018, owned and operated 1 or more short-term residential rental dwelling units in the City, none of which dwelling units qualify as his or her “permanent residence” (as defined in § 48-1(g) and otherwise a licensing prerequisite under § 48-7(a)(1) and (b)(2)), is nonetheless entitled to apply for and, if otherwise qualified, be issued a short-term residential rental license for 1, but not more than 1, of these preexisting short-term residential rental dwelling units, if:
(i)
the dwelling unit to be licensed had a successfully executed booking transaction, as described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, between August 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018, inclusive;
(ii)
the host became the owner of that dwelling unit on or before December 31, 2018; and
(iii)
the host applies for the short-term residential rental license for that dwelling unit no later than the 90<sup>th</sup> day after the date on which <cite data-path="|15">Article 15</cite>, Subtitle 48, as added by this Ordinance, takes effect.
(2)
For purposes of paragraph (1)(i) of this subsection, a booking transaction is deemed successfully executed if a fee was exchanged, whether directly or indirectly, between the host applying for the dwelling unit’s short-term residential rental license and a transient guest, for the short-term residential rental of the dwelling unit.
(b)
Unless the dwelling unit licensed under this section subsequently becomes the host’s “permanent residence”, the host is not eligible for any additional license under <cite data-path="|15|§48-7|(a)|(2)">Article 15, § 48-7(a)(2)</cite>.”
Each short-term residential rental license expires biennially on the anniversary of its issuance.
Before a license expires, the host may apply to renew it for an additional 2-year term.
The renewal application must be submitted to the Housing Commissioner, with the applicable annual fee, at least 30 days before the current license expires.
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The biennial license fee for a short-term residential rental license is $200 per dwelling unit, subject to adjustment in accordance with the City Fee Policy.
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All hosts must comply with the following requirements.
The dwelling unit must be maintained in compliance with the <cite data-path="|building-codes">City Building, Fire, and Related Codes Article</cite>, the City Health Article, and the Zoning Code of Baltimore City.
The host must:make a record, in the form and containing the information required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle, of all of the host’s short-term residential rentals;
maintain that record for at least the period of years required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle; and
on request, make that record available for inspection by the Housing Commissioner.
During the term of any rental, the host must prominently display, in an area of the dwelling unit that is readily accessible to the transient guests, emergency contact information for a representative of the host.
This representative must reside within 15 miles of the dwelling unit and be accessible for the entire term of the rental.
At all times during the term of a short-term residential rental, the host must prominently display a sign, in the form and manner required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle, stating that the dwelling unit is licensed for short-term residential rentals.
The host must include his or her license number in any advertisement or listing of the dwelling unit on a hosting platform.
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All hosting platforms must comply with the following requirements.
The Housing Commissioner may issue and serve administrative subpoenas as necessary to ensure compliance by hosting platforms with this subtitle.
No hosting platform may advertise, list, or otherwise facilitate booking transactions for a short-term residential rental in the City without having verified with the Housing Commissioner that the license of the host is valid and that the address of the dwelling unit matches the address listed for the license.
A hosting platform that has verified the validity of a license for a short-term residential rental is not required to re-verify the validity of the license, unless:the Housing Commissioner has notified the hosting platform that the dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental; or
the host has ceased to offer short-term residential rentals through that hosting platform for a period of 12 months or more since the license was last verified.
If the Housing Commissioner notifies a hosting platform that a dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental, the hosting platform may not advertise, list, or otherwise facilitate booking transactions for that dwelling until it receives subsequent confirmation from the Commissioner that the short-term residential rental can lawfully be provided.
If a hosting platform receives written notice from the Housing Commissioner that a dwelling unit advertised or listed for short-term residential rental on the hosting platform cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental, the hosting platform must remove the advertisement or listing within 3 days.
A hosting platform may not collect or receive a fee in exchange for facilitating reservations, advertisements, or listings of short-term residential rentals, for serving as a communication conduit between hosts and transient guests, or for otherwise facilitating booking transactions for short-term residential rentals if the dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental.
A hosting platform must:make a record of all short-term residential rentals in Baltimore City advertised, listed, or otherwise facilitated by that platform;
maintain that record for at least the period of years required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle; and
on request, make that record available for inspection by the Housing Commissioner.
These records must include, for each short-term residential rental:the name and license number of the host who provided the short-term residential rental;
the street address and the Block and Lot Numbers of the short-term residential rental;
the date of the booking transaction;
the start and end dates of the short-term residential rental;
the rent and other fees charged by the host and by the hosting platform for providing or facilitating the short-term residential rental and related services;
and
any other information required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle.
In any advertisement or listing of a dwelling unit available for short-term residential rentals in Baltimore City, hosting platforms must include the license numbers of the hosts offering those rentals.
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Subject to the hearing provisions of <cite data-path="|15|§48-22">§ 48-22 of this subtitle</cite>, the Housing Commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke a short-term residential rental license or renewal license for any of the following causes:
making any material false statement in an application for an initial or renewal license;
fraudulently or deceptively obtaining the license for oneself or for another;
fraudulently or deceptively using the license;
failing to abate within 120 days of issuance any violation notice, order, or citation for violating any provision of the <cite data-path="|building-codes">City Building, Fire, and Related Codes Article</cite>, the City Health Article, or the Zoning Code of Baltimore City; or
failing to comply with any provision of this subtitle or of any rule or regulation adopted under this subtitle.
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No license may be denied, suspended, or revoked under this subtitle unless the Housing Commissioner first gives the licensee:not less than 10 days notice in writing of the Commissioner’s intent to deny, suspend, or revoke the license; and
an opportunity to be heard as to why the license should not be denied, suspended, or revoked.
The Housing Commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke a license without prior notice and opportunity to be heard if, in the opinion of the Housing Commissioner or of the Fire Chief, Health Commissioner, or Police Commissioner, the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants or of the general public are in imminent danger.
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A person aggrieved by a decision of the Housing Commissioner under this subtitle may seek judicial review of that decision by petition to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in accordance with the Maryland Rules of Procedure.
The filing of a petition for judicial review does not stay the decision of the Commissioner.
However, on motion and after hearing, the Court may grant a stay as provided in the Maryland Rules of Procedure.
A party to the judicial review may appeal the court’s final judgment to the Court of Special Appeals in accordance with the Maryland Rules of Procedure.
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In addition to any other civil or criminal remedy or enforcement procedure, this subtitle may be enforced by issuance of an environmental citation under City Code <cite data-path="|1">Article 1</cite>, Subtitle 40 {“Environmental Control Board”}.
The issuance of a citation to enforce this subtitle does not preclude pursuing any other civil or criminal remedy or enforcement action authorized by law.
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Any person who violates any provision of this subtitle (including any offense listed in <cite data-path="|15|§48-21">§ 48-21 of this subtitle</cite> as potential cause for a denial, suspension, or revocation of a license) or any provision of a rule or regulation adopted under this subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is subject to a fine of not more than $500 for each offense.
Each day that a violation continues is a separate offense.
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