AP P LICATION FOR THE REGISTRATION OF A P UBLIC OFFERING STATEMENT FOR A RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIU M Office of the Secretary of State State House Annapolis, MD 21401 Revised 7/2017 APPLICATION FOR THE REGISTRATION OF A PUBLIC OFFERING STATEMENT FOR A RESIDENTIAL CONDIMINIUM The Maryland Condominium Act1 requires a Public Offering Statement for all residential condominiums being offered for sale in Maryland to be registered with the Office of the Secretary of State regardless of the location of the condominium. A contract for the initial sale of a condominium unit may not be entered into until the Public Offering Statement for the proposed condominium regime has been registered with the Secretary of State and until ten days after all amendments to the Public Offering Statement have been filed with the Secretary of State. An application for the registration of a condominium located in Maryland consists of a Public Offering Statement as described herein and in §11-126 of the Maryland Condominium Act, completed in accordance with the application form attached hereto, and a registration fee of $5.00 per unit, but not less than $100.00. In the case of a condominium located wholly outside of Maryland, an application that has been approved by an agency in the State where the condominium is located and that substantially complies with the Maryland Condominium Act may be submitted to the Secretary of State for registration. If the application has been approved by that out-of- state agency, please use the Maryland application to cross-reference to the approved documents. Certification of approval from the state agency which approved the documents must also be included. If there is no out-of-state agency which has approved the application for registration or if there is no registration requirement, the application should be submitted in the same form as if the condominium were located in Maryland. In either case, the $5.00 per unit or $100.00 minimum fee is required with check payable to Secretary of State. If the Developer has no physical presence in Maryland, either directly or through an agent, registration is not required. The Office of the Secretary of State has a 45-day period in which to review and either register or reject applications. The review period will not commence until all required parts of the application have been received by this Office, including the appropriate fee. This Office will acknowledge receipt of the completed application in writing and advise of the review period deadline. Applications will be reviewed as quickly as possible in order of receipt. Applicants will be called with comments to confirm registration or to discuss how the application must be revised to secure registration. If changes are required, they will be reviewed promptly. An extension of the review period deadline, for up to 30 days, may be granted upon written request of the applicant if necessary. Written acknowledgment will be mailed to confirm registration or rejection. 1 Title 11, Real Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland 1 INSTRUCTIONS The following instructions should be followed carefully in preparing the applications. 1. For condominiums located in Maryland and for those condominiums located outside Maryland where there is no state registration requirement, each application shall consist of: a. A completed application form with the appropriate documents attached in the order prescribed by the application, or a completed application cross- referencing to those pages of the POS1 which contain the information; and b. A registration fee of $5.00 per unit, but not less than $100.00. Note: If the POS which is to be given to consumers will not include the application forms filed with the Secretary of State, please complete the application by reference to the actual POS which consumers will receive. 2. For condominiums located outside Maryland where there is a similar registration requirement, each application shall consist of: a. A completed application form (including the cover sheet and consent form that cross-references to the approved documents); b. The documents which were approved by the state agency where the condominium is located; c. Certification of approval from the state where the condominium is located; and d. A registration fee of $5.00 per unit, but not less than $100.00. 3. Number all pages, either consecutively from the beginning or starting with each part of the POS. 4. Applications should be mailed to Office of the Secretary of State, Condominium Office, State House, Annapolis MD 21401. 5. Please Read the attached material regarding registration requirements and the instructions provided in the application. These materials are intended to give applicants guidance in complying with the Maryland Condominium Act and the policies of this Office. Following these notes will help to expedite the review process. 6. If you have any questions, you may call us at (410) 974-5521 ext. 3879 7. Any changes in the documents or information contained in the POS which are necessary to make the POS current must be filed promptly with the Secretary of State. 1 POS is an abbreviation for Public Offering Statement. 2 NOTE: THE PUBLIC OFFERING STATEMENTS WHICH ARE DISTRIBUTED TO PURCHASERS MUST BE IN THE SAME FORM AS APPROVED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 8. Developers are reminded that they are required to file with the Council of Unit Owners a written statement describing the progress of construction, repairs, and all other work on the condominium which the developer has completed or intends to complete in accordance with the POS for the condominium. This written statement must be filed with the Council of Unit Owners within 30 days after the anniversary date for registration of the POS for the condominium, and annually thereafter until registration of the condominium is terminated.1 9. A developer shall notify the Secretary of State in writing when all of the units in the condominium have been conveyed to unit owners other than the developer, and the developer either cannot add additional units will be added to the condominium.2 1 Section 11-127(d) 2 Ibid. 3 REQUIREMENTS This is a description of the statutory requirements applicable to Public Offering Statements for condominiums being offered for sale in Maryland. Applications which contain this information satisfy the requirements of Maryland law. Part 1 - Sales Contract A. §11-126(a)1 provides that a contract for the initial sale of a unit to a member of the public is not enforceable by the vendor unless: 1. The purchaser is given, on or before the time a contract is entered into, a POS, as registered with the Secretary of State, as amended, containing the information set forth in Section §11-126(b); and 2. The contract of sale contains, in conspicuous type, notice of: a. The buyer’s right to receive a public offering statement, b. The buyer’s right to rescind the contract as described in §11- 126(e); and 3. The contract of sale also contains, in conspicuous type, a notice of the warranties provided by §11-131. B. The position of the Office of the Secretary of State is that “conspicuous type” means type in all capitals, italics, bold, underlined or some form of type which is different from and not smaller than, the body of the contract. C. The notice of the buyer’s right to receive a POS need not list the actual items required to be included in the POS. If the items are listed, however, they should be an exact recital of the items listed in §11-126(b). D. The notice of the buyer’s rescission rights should include all the information contained in §11-126(e), including the contract purchaser’s right to return of deposits upon rescission. E. The notice and rescission rights may not be waived and any attempted waiver is void. F. The notice and rescission rights are required to be in the contract itself. Therefore, if that language is contained in an addendum to the contract, express language incorporating the addendum by reference will be required. G. If more than one contract is to be used (i.e., realtors are to be involved in the marketing), a copy of each contract must be included. H. All contracts are subject to other requirements of the Real Property Article. 1 Section numbers refer to Title 11 of the Real Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland (The Maryland Condominium Act) 4 Part 2 - Declaration, Bylaws and Rules and Regulations A. §11-126(b)(2) requires the POS to contain a copy of the proposed declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations. B. §11-103(a) provides that the declaration shall express at least the following: 1. The name by which the condominium is to be identified, the name shall include the word “condominium” or be followed by the phrase “a condominium”; 2. A description of the condominium sufficient to identify it with reasonable certainty together with a statement of the owner’s intent to subject the property to the condominium regime established under Title 11; 3. A general description of each unit, including its perimeters, location, and any other data sufficient to identify it with reasonable certainty; 4. A general description of the common elements together with a designation of those portions of the common elements that are limited common elements and the unit to which the use of each is restricted initially; 5. The percentage interests appurtenant to each unit as provided in §11- 107; and 6. The number of votes at meetings of the Council of Unit Owners (hereinafter referred to as “the Council”) appurtenant to each unit. C. If the developer intends to expand the condominium, the declaration must include the information required by §11-120.