# Sec. 4-118. Administration; Section 111, Certificate of Use and Occupancy

Codified through Bill No. CB-018-2026, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 24, 2026. Source: Municode, Supplement 2026 Update 2. Editorial notes and legislative history omitted.

## Sec. 4-118. Administration; Section 111, Certificate of Use and Occupancy

Prince George's County, Md., Code § 4-118 (2026)

(a) Section 111.1.1, One-Family Dwelling Units. Prior to the consummation of the sale (settlement) of any new, one-family dwelling, including the sale of a new condominium unit which is offered for sale for the first time, there shall be an inspection of the unit and premises by the Director or the Director's designee and a Certificate of Occupancy issued or a list of the violations or deficiencies requiring correction prior to issuance of such certificate. At the time of consummation of such sale, the Certificate of Occupancy, or a list of the deficiencies or violations which remain to be corrected prior to issuance of such Certificate, shall be presented to the builder. Unless contractually relieved of such responsibility, the seller shall be responsible for correction of any violations or deficiencies necessary for the Certificate to be issued. When a Certificate of Occupancy has not been issued prior to consummation of the sale, there shall be required a separate, written contractual agreement indicating responsibility for correction of all deficiencies or violations cited by the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement by a date certain. The provisions of this Section are not applicable when a new dwelling unit is purchased for resale as a new dwelling unit.

  (1) Nothing herein shall be construed to relieve a builder or seller of a dwelling unit from any responsibility for correction of building code violations which were caused, created, or constructed by the builder or seller, and the transfer of title to the property to a subsequent owner shall not relieve the builder or seller of the responsibility for making such corrections.

(b) Section 113.9, Transfer of Ownership. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any building or other structure upon whom a notice of violation or order has been served to see, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of such building or other structure to another person or entity until the provisions of the notice or order have been complied with, or until such owner shall first furnish the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee a true copy of any notice or order issued by the Code Official and shall furnish to the Code Official a signed and notarized statement from the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee, acknowledging the receipt of such notice or order and fully accepting responsibility without condition for making the corrections or repairs required by such notice or order.

(c) Section 111.1.2, Issuance of Certificates of Occupancy. No Certificate of Occupancy for any building or structure, erected, altered, repaired, changed to a different use group, or transferred to a new owner or occupant shall be issued unless such building or structure was erected, altered, or repaired and is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this Division and other provisions of State or local laws, ordinances, and regulations.

  (1) A Use and Occupancy Verification Letter shall be issued in compliance with the provisions of this Division and other provisions of State or local laws, ordinances, and regulations. Such Verification Letter shall certify to the owner of any building or structure that the current use of building is compliant with applicable parts of this Subtitle, and other applicable State or local laws, ordinances, and regulations.

  (2) Exceptions: All buildings which undergo a change of owner or tenant only, with no construction and with no change of intended occupancy classification and use per IBC/IRC, are not required to meet the fire safety requirements for a new building in order to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Such buildings are required to comply with the provisions of state and local laws, ordinances, and regulations with respect to fire safety for existing buildings.

(d) Section 111.2.1, Change of Use Group, Owner or Tenant. No change in use group, owner, or tenant of a building, structure, or land shall be permitted, wholly or in part, until a new Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the Building Official certifying compliance with applicable parts of this Subtitle and other applicable State or local laws, ordinances, and regulations. This provision shall not apply to a change of tenant for R-2, change of owner or tenant for R-3, or change of tenant for R-4 structures.

(e) Section 111.5, Uninhabitable Dwellings. When the Director or the Director's designee has determined that a dwelling is unfit for human habitation pursuant to Subtitle 13 of the County Code and the dwelling has remained unoccupied for a subsequent period of one hundred eighty (180) days, the Director or the Director's designee shall revoke the Certificate of Occupancy, or if no Certificate of Occupancy has been issued, the Director or the Director's designee shall revoke authorization for the dwelling to be occupied and require that a Certificate of Occupancy be obtained prior to any occupancy of the dwelling. The notice of revocation shall specify the violations of Subtitle 13 and the corrective action required for each violation. Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy, the owner of the dwelling shall apply for a building permit to correct the violations. The application for a building permit shall include a rehabilitation plan which identifies all of the work required to be performed and a schedule for performing the work. The permit shall be issued for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days and may be renewed once for another one hundred eighty (180) day period if, in the opinion of the Director or the Director's designee, the applicant has demonstrated substantial progress in accordance with the rehabilitation plan and has demonstrated substantial justification for failure to complete the work in accordance with the rehabilitation plan. If the owner of the dwelling does not submit a rehabilitation plan within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date that the Certificate of Occupancy was revoked, or if the owner of the dwelling fails to complete the work required to be performed by the rehabilitation plan prior to the expiration of the building permit, including any renewal period, the dwelling shall be considered abandoned and the Director or the Director's designee shall cause the dwelling to be demolished in accordance with the provisions of Subtitle 13.