NEW RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DISCLSOURE REQUIREMENT:



 SHORELAND ZONING VIOLATIONS

(September 25, 2024)

Background:

Upon final review of the laws recently enacted by the 131^st Legislature, we discovered that LD 2101 An Act to Strengthen Shoreland Zoning Enforcement was amended and passed with a requirement that sellers of residential property must disclose any actual or alleged violations of shoreland zoning ordinances including those are that imposed by the state or the municipality. The law became effective as of August 9, 2024. Last week, the MAR Board of Directors voted to add this new language to the Property Disclosure form and to create a new Property Disclosure 2024 Addendum (Shoreland Zoning Violation). No other disclosure forms are affected by this new law since it is specific to residential property.

Q. When will the new Property Disclosure forms be available?

A. The updated Property Disclosure and the Property Disclosure 2024 Addendum (Shoreland Zoning Violation) will be available in zipForm on Thursday, September 26. To view the changes, marked up versions of the forms are filed in the REALTOR® Access Only section of the MAR website

(password: codeofethics): 

Q. What has changed on the Property Disclosure form?

A. The new language can be found in Section VII – General Information:

“Are there any actual or alleged violations of a shoreland zoning ordinance including those that are imposed by the state or municipality?                      Yes/No/Unknown

If Yes, explain:____________________________________________"

Q. When should the new Property Disclosure forms be used?

A. For any current residential property listings located in the shoreland zone, including those that are pending and under contract, the Property Disclosure 2024 Addendum (Shoreland Zoning Violations) should be completed as soon as possible, and a copy should be provided to the buyer side. For any new residential listings, the updated Property Disclosure should be used moving forward.

Q. How to answer the new disclosure question?

A. If the property is not located in the shoreland zone or there are no actual or alleged violations, please check “No” on the disclosure. If the property is located in the shoreland zone and there are actual or alleged violations, please check “Yes” and provide a detailed explanation of those violations in the space provided or attach supplemental documentation if needed (additional space is available in Section VIII as well).

Q. Where can agents find out information about shoreland zoning violations?

A. If you or your clients have questions about a property’s shoreland zoning status and whether there are any actual or alleged violations, please check with the local Code Enforcement Officer where the subject property is located. In addition, a list of state-imposed shoreland zoning ordinances can be found on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s website: Shoreland Zoning, Bur. of Land & Water Quality, Maine Department of Environmental Protection. If you have any questions about the information on MDEP’s website or about property specific violations for those towns with state-imposed ordinances, please contact the MDEP Shoreland Zoning Unit also listed on the MDEP website. 

Thank you for your continued support during these changing times. Please share your thoughts/ideas anytime: Suzanne or info@mainerealtors.com.