Baltimore City and the Department of Housing and Community Development have switched platforms for rental registration and licensing. The new owners’ portals are open and ready for 2022 licensing fees. Normally paid in December of the previous year but you do have to take the time to register and set up a new profile and new registration for each property. The deadline to do this is August 31st, 2022. It is important to note that your current existing license remains valid until the expiration date on the license. Even though you have a license that is current and valid you are still required to register your property in the new online portal. You do not have to resubmit inspection reports or verify the lead certificate information. Today, we will walk you through with a video tutorial to help you navigate this process.
The first step is going to be to create a new account on the new registration portal. Once you create a new account you will click on the property registration and rental licensing tab on the left-hand side of the home page. Then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and hit the blue select button. Then hit the blue apply online button. Once you enter the application there are seven to ten steps depending on whether you are registering your property for the first time or registering a property with an existing license. Start by entering your contact information. Then type in the address you are trying to register into the search bar. Once you do, some of the property owner information should automatically populate. Make sure to enter the correct owner information.
Step three will ask you some specifics about the property. If you are registering your property for the first time and you do not have an existing rental license, please make sure to hit yes to question two under step three which asks “As a part of this application, do you wish to renew a rental license or obtain a new rental license”. If you are renewing an existing license and you have a valid license, please hit no to step three question two, “ As a part of this application do you wish to renew a rental license OR obtain a new rental license”. Step four is the information for the responsible person or officer. This is if you have a property manager or someone who may be handling your property other than yourself. Step five is some more property information. This is where you will enter the dwelling count for your property. Step six is the inspection information. Please enter the information off of your rental license inspection report.
Step seven is Lead Certification info. You will need your MDE tracking number for this step. You can find your MDE tracking number on your Lead Certificate. If you cannot find your MDE tracking number, please go to mde.maryland.gov and type in your property address and your MDE tracking number will be provided to you. On step 9 you will be prompted to enter your signature. Please enter your full legal name. After you submit your signature, you will be prompted to upload your inspection report. Again, you only need to do this if you are registering your property for the first time and you answered “Yes” to question two in step three of this guide. If your property owner information was not correct in step two, you will need to upload a HUD with the correct ownership information. If your ownership information was correct on step two, please disregard the HUD section and just upload your passing inspection report.
Once you have uploaded all the necessary information including your license, and HUD (if need be) then you will review all the information, confirm, and submit your registration. Once you submit everything, almost immediately a registration payment amount will populate and you will be prompted to pay with either a credit card, bank account or you can drop off a check. If you choose to do either bank or credit card, the rental license will be available to print immediately after the payment is processed. If city records and what you submit don’t align, the review process may take a day or two longer.
Next is an example of an owner who clicked “No” to step three, question two “As a part of this application do you wish to renew a rental license or obtain a new rental license”. In this scenario, no was selected in question two, step three because this property was licensed with Baltimore City in the previous system and has a valid rental license. Remember, if you have a valid license you do not need to upload the third-party rental inspection forms or input the lead information. Instead of uploading these documents, you review and submit your application in step six. Once you complete step six, you will be prompted to sign in step seven and then make a payment for your 2022 rental registration fee. Your receipt will be available once you complete the payment. When your current license comes up for renewal you will be prompted to update lead information when you upload the third-party inspection form. We suggest having your third-party rental inspection complete a month before your rental license actually expires to allow you time to make any corrections in and around your property.
Be sure to stay tuned for more updates from Ben Frederick Realty. Call or contact our office today with any questions you might have or to speak with a representative to find out more about how Ben Frederick Realty can serve you and your properties!