§ 14-886

(a) A homeowner shall submit an application to the Department to be enrolled in the Program.

(b) A homeowner may submit an application for the Program online or by mail.

(c) The Ombudsman shall prioritize maximizing enrollment in the Program by:

(1) prominently advertising the Program and making applications available on the Ombudsman’s website;

(2) collaborating with local governments, community organizations, and public and private providers of social services and benefits to raise awareness of the Program and disseminate applications;

(3) strongly encouraging all homeowners who meet the eligibility requirements to enroll in the Program; and

(4) screening each homeowner who contacts the Ombudsman for eligibility for the Program and, if the homeowner appears to be eligible, strongly encouraging the homeowner to complete an application for the Program.

(d) (1) It is the intent of the General Assembly that:

(i) at least 2% of the balance in the Homeowner Protection Fund established under § 14–891 of this subtitle be spent each year to conduct outreach to homeowners in tax sale to encourage the homeowners to enroll in the Program;

(ii) the outreach consist of:

1. live telephone calls to homeowners whenever practicable; or

2. if live telephone calls are not practicable, methods of contacting homeowners other than sending information by mail; and

(iii) priority be given to contacting homeowners as soon as possible after their dwellings are sold at tax sale.

(2) The Ombudsman may:

(i) conduct outreach to homeowners using State employees and resources; or

(ii) contract with a private vendor to conduct outreach to homeowners.

(3) At the request of the Ombudsman:

(i) promptly after each county tax sale, the collector shall provide the Ombudsman with the list of homeowners whose dwellings were sold at the tax sale;

(ii) notwithstanding § 13–202 of the Tax – General Article, the Comptroller shall provide the telephone number of a homeowner if the homeowner included the homeowner’s telephone number on a tax return filed with the Comptroller; and

(iii) any other State or local government agency shall promptly provide any information required to conduct outreach under this subsection.

(4) The Ombudsman may obtain information from any reliable private source to conduct outreach under this subsection.

(e) The Ombudsman shall cancel the enrollment of a homeowner in the Program if:

(1) the homeowner submits a request to the Ombudsman to withdraw from the Program;

(2) the homeowner submitted false information in the homeowner’s application for enrollment in the Program; or

(3) the Ombudsman determines that the homeowner is not acting in good faith to pay the taxes due.

(f) If the Ombudsman cancels the enrollment of a homeowner in the Program, the Ombudsman shall send a notice of the cancellation to the homeowner that includes the reasons for cancellation.

(g) A homeowner’s enrollment in the Program ends on the earliest of:

(1) the date the homeowner pays the full amount of the taxes owed to the Department;

(2) the date that is 3 years after the date the homeowner first enrolled in the Program; or

(3) the date the homeowner’s enrollment in the Program is canceled under subsection (e) of this section.