1. EVERY rental property in the City of Baltimore must be registered. Visit http://www.baltimorehousing.org/property_registration for more information. There is a fine for failing to register that ranges from $100 to $500 depending upon the type of property.
2. Rental properties are not eligible for the Homestead Tax Credit. The Homestead Tax Credit is reserved exclusively for owner-occupied properties that serve as a principal residence. With extremely rare exception, a married couple may not claim a credit on two separate properties in the State of Maryland: “… the dwelling must be the owner’s principal residence and the owner must have lived in it for at least six months of the year, including July 1 of the year for which the credit is applicable, unless the owner was temporarily unable to do so by reason of illness or need of special care. An owner can receive a credit only on one property—the principal residence.” – http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/homestead.html

If the city does find an unregistered rental property that is receiving the Homestead Tax Credit, it may seek to collect back taxes. If you are receiving the Homestead Tax Credit on a property that is not your principal residence, it is your responsibility to notify the City and State of the error.

While the Homestead Tax Credit is a state program managed by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Mayor Rawlings-Blake has initiated a new Billing Integrity Program to crack down on abuses of the Homestead Tax Credit program. The results so far: the City is requesting that the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation remove 2,157 property owners from Homestead Tax Credit eligibility. This action could represent an additional $1,278,972 in taxes recovered for the City for fiscal year 2012.