Extinguishment

 In October 2011, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the extinguishment of ground rents for failure to register them with the State is unconstitutional. All ground rents that would have been extinguished for failure to register them are as valid as they were before the registration deadline. Any Certificate of Extinguishment issued by this Department is void and has no effect. See the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling, http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2011/140a10.pdf  

 

If a ground lease extinguishment certificate issued under § 8–708 of the Real Property Article, as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, was filed in the land records, on request of the ground lease holder or the leasehold tenant, the State Department of Assessments and Taxation shall cause to be filed in the land records of the appropriate county a notice that states that the The Certificate of Ground Lease Extinguishment has been invalidated by the Maryland Court of Appeals pursuant to its holding in Muskin v. State Department of Assessments and Taxation, 422 Md. 544 (2011) and the underlying leasehold interest remains in full force and effect unless otherwise redeemed under applicable Maryland law.

 

 

Request a Certificate of Invalidation

The Certificate of Invalidation must be requested by the ground lease holder or the leasehold tenant of the property subject to the ground lease. The written request must be sent to State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) and shall include:

1. Name of requestor (state whether this is the ground lease holder or ground lease tenant)
   
2. Mailing address of requestor.
   
3. Ground lease property address.
   
4. Property tax identification number of the property subject to ground rent.
   
5. Date certificate of extinguishment was filed in the land records.
   

Upon request, SDAT will file in the land records of the appropriate county a notice which states that the certificate of extinguishment has been invalidated by the Maryland Court of Appeals. Processing time may be up to eight weeks depending upon the workload of the Department and the county’s land records division. There are no fees associated with this filing.

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Mail completed request to:

State Department of Assessments and Taxation

Ground Rent Division

301 W. Preston Street; 8th FL

Baltimore, MD 21201-2395.

 

If you have questions or comments contact the Ground Rent Division at 410-767-1151 or email the unit at sdat.groundrent@maryland.gov​

 

View the Ground Rent Information Page​