For Immediate Release
Land Title Associations, AARP Applaud Maryland for Passage of NTRAPS Bill
Washington, DC, April 13, 2023 — The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, the Maryland Land Title Association (MLTA), AARP and AARP Maryland, applauded the Maryland legislature for passing Senate Bill 0579, which will protect homeowners from the predatory practice of filing of unfair real estate fee agreements in property records, known as Non-Title Record Agreements for Personal Service (NTRAPS). The new law, which goes into effect June 1, 2023, will make NTRAPS unenforceable by law.
“Passage of this legislation is a win for consumer protection and property rights,” said Elizabeth Blosser, ALTA’s Vice President of Government Affairs “A home often is a consumer’s largest investment, and the best way to support the certainty of landownership is through public policy. We have to ensure that there are no unreasonable restraints on a homebuyer’s future ability to sell or refinance their property due to unwarranted transactional costs.”
“This follows our advocacy efforts we have undertaken in collaboration with ALTA in other states and we hope to work on similar legislative solutions in other states in helping homeowners against such predatory housing practices,” said Samar Jha, Government Affairs Director for AARP.
NTRAPS have been recorded in property records since 2018. The practice preys upon homeowners, offering small cash gifts in exchange for decades-long contracts for the exclusive rights to sell the property.
Submitting NTRAPS for inclusion in property records characterized as liens, covenants, encumbrances, or security interests in exchange for money creates impediments and increases the cost and complexity of transferring or financing real estate in the future.
“This is a bipartisan consumer protection issue,” said Jennifer Greenberg CLTP, President of the MLTA. “We applaud the lawmakers who have made clear these unfair agreements have no place in our state.”
“For most Marylanders, their home is their biggest and most valuable investment,” said Tammy Bresnahan, Senior Associate State Director of Advocacy for AARP Maryland. “We thank the Maryland General Assembly for its bipartisan support to help Marylanders protect their investment. It is difficult to think of a worse nightmare than to learn that a lien was placed on your home years ago due to a previous homeowner’s receipt of relatively minor compensation from a predatory fee-agreement. This new law protects homeowners against these unscrupulous practices.”
The law will:
- Make NTRAPS unenforceable by law.
- Restrict and prohibit the recording of NTRAPS in property records.
- Create penalties if NTRAPS are recorded in property records.
- Provide for the removal of NTRAPS from property records and recovery of damages.
Maryland became the seventh state to pass legislation addressing this issue. Other states include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, North Dakota and Tennessee.
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About ALTA
The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is a national trade association representing more than 6,500 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers and real estate attorneys. ALTA members conduct title searches, examinations, closings and issue title insurance that protects real property owners and mortgage lenders against losses from defects in titles.
Contact: Megan Hernandez
Office: 202-261-0315
Email: mhernandez@alta.org