Real Estate Legal Hotline: Ghosts, Crimes, and Contracts
It’s October, which means pumpkin spice lattes, front-porch skeletons, and the question that lurks in the back of every agent’s mind at least once a year: What do I have to tell buyers about that murder down the street?
Whether you’re working a listing in Silver Spring or helping a buyer close on a rowhouse in Capitol Hill, the answer depends on which side of the District line you’re standing on, and which side of the transaction you represent. Let’s break it down.
Maryland: No Duty to Disclose — With a Catch
Maryland law is clear on the surface. Section 2-120 of the Real Property Article provides that a homicide, suicide, accidental death, natural death, or felony that occurred on a property is not a material fact or latent defect. The seller and the seller’s agent are immune from civil liability or criminal penalty for failing to disclose these events to a prospective buyer.
Meanwhile, Section 17-322.1 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article reinforces this by providing that the Maryland Real Estate Commission cannot take disciplinary action against any licensee for failing to disclose a death or felony on the property.
Sounds simple enough, right? Here’s the catch that should keep buyer’s agents up at night: Section 2-120’s immunity only extends to the owner or seller’s agent. It does not grant immunity to a buyer’s agent. That means if you’re representing the buyer and you know a homicide or felony occurred on the property, you may still face civil or criminal liability for failing to disclose that information to your client, even though the Commission won’t discipline you for it.
DC: A Similar Spirit
Across the Potomac, DC takes a comparable approach. Under DC Code § 47-2853.198, a homicide, suicide, accidental death, natural death, or felony that occurred on a property is not considered a material fact. Real estate licensees and property owners are not required to disclose these events to prospective purchasers or tenants.
The practical effect is the same: listing agents and sellers in DC can stay silent about a property’s grim history without legal consequence.
The Golden Rule: You Cannot Lie
Here’s where both jurisdictions agree on something agents need to tattoo on their forearms: you are never authorized to lie. If a buyer or buyer’s agent asks, “Is this the house where that crime happened?” you may not say “No” or “I don’t know” if you actually do know. The statutes remove your duty to volunteer. They do not give you permission to deceive.
So what should you say? The Maryland Real Estate Commission has informally suggested a response along these lines: “If you have any questions regarding death or criminal activity occurring on the property, you should contact the local police department regarding such information.”
It’s not the most comfortable sentence to deliver, but it threads the needle between your legal protection and your ethical obligation not to mislead.
The Bottom Line
The laws in both Maryland and DC were designed to prevent properties from becoming permanently unsellable because of tragic events that have no bearing on their physical condition. That’s a reasonable policy. But reasonable policies still have sharp edges, and for buyer’s agents in Maryland especially, the line between “no duty to disclose” and “potential liability” is thinner than a ghost’s shadow. Know where you stand before you answer that next uncomfortable question.
About the author (drafted with the assistance of AI): Erin August is an Attorney in the Real Estate Department at Shulman Rogers, P.A. Barred in Maryland, DC and Virginia. She was born in Washington, DC and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she resides with her husband and son