By: Richard Solomon and Christianna Kersey

On December 17, 2020, the Governor of Maryland issued an Executive Order amending and restating his previous Orders concerning the registration of new Notices of Intent to Foreclose. This Amended Order extends the existing moratorium on the initiation of new foreclosures by suspending the Notice of Intent to Foreclose registry until January 31, 2021. The Order further grants the Commissioner of Financial Regulation the authority to extend the Moratorium, with the caveat that the extension can not last for more than thirty days after the state of emergency ends. At this time, the Commissioner of Financial Regulation has indicated that it will resume accepting Notices of Intent to Foreclose on February 1, 2021, however the Commissioner may extend the suspension of the operations of the Notice of Intent to Foreclose Electronic System beyond that date in accordance with the Order.

This new Order also modifies the requirements of the previous Order relating to Non-Federal mortgage loans. Specifically, it now explicitly requires an offer of forbearance to be sent to the borrower at least 30 days before a Notice of Intent to Foreclose is sent (consistent with the federal requirement, and consistent with prior guidance issued in this regard), and now limits the time within which the borrower may request a forbearance, to 90 days from the date of the notice of such right to request forbearance. Additionally, regardless of whether the loan is federally-backed or not federally-backed, the Servicer or Secured Party must certify through an electronic certification that the Servicer has complied with the forbearance offer requirements outlined in the Order.

Please take note, while the Amended Order is worded in a way that suggests that the moratorium is on new foreclosures, the actual moratorium is only as to new Notices of Intent to Foreclose and accordingly, to the extent that a loan has a valid Notice of Intent to Foreclose sent prior to the Governor’s April 3, 2020 order, such foreclosure may still be filed (assuming otherwise permissible under any federal moratorium).