Click here to look up Maryland Ground Rent
This link from the State of Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT), will give you property information. You can search by property address, or property tax ID number. Once you pull up the property information, click on the link “View GroundRent Registration” in the top right corner of the screen. The link shows 1) IF there is a ground lease, and if so, 2) the amount of the ground rent, when it is due, the ground lease owner and payment address.
Please Call If You Have Questions About Your Ground Rent
If you have a question about Maryland ground rents we would be happy to help. Please call us anytime at 410-544-6424.
You can also contact SDAT’s ground rent “office”. You can E-mail them at SDAT.GroundRent@Maryland.Gov, or call 410-767-1151, though be prepared to wait. Below is the form letter response we received from our last E-mail. The SDAT office asks you to wait 10 days for an answer.
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Redeeming (Paying Off) Your Ground Rent
Most every homeowner with ground rent, is able to eliminate their ground rent by redeeming their ground lease. The cost to redeem the ground lease is set by law and is as follows:
So the cost to redeem a ground lease created in 1956, with a ground rent of $120 per year, would be calculated as $120 divided by 0.06 which equals $2,000. The total redemption cost would be $2,000 plus any ground rent currently due, plus the cost of recording the deed ($500-$750).
To help with redemption, the State of Maryland offers a loan program, and will lend you the money to redeem the ground rent if your annual income doesn’t exceed 80% of the statewide median income, or about $76,000.
Whether you write a check, or get help from the state, once the owner of the ground lease is paid (step 1), and the deed prepared (step 2) and recorded in the land records (step 3), you then have to register the redemption (click here for the form) with the State Department of Assessment and Taxation (step 4, final step).