Yes, a lease can be renewed automatically in Maryland. The lease must contain an automatic renewal clause separate from the other clauses of the lease. This clause must be signed or initialled separately from the rest of the lease (MD Real Prop Code § 8-208(e)). Penalties for violating state auto-renewal laws can be severe and include refunding all consumer subscription payments as damages. Some states allow for even greater potential relief for consumers. For example, California`s auto-renewal law allows liability under other laws, such as California`s Unfair Competition Act, and also provides that any goods offered to a customer pursuant to a non-compliant auto-renewal policy “will be considered an unconditional gift to the consumer for all purposes.” This provision may subject the infringing business to a claim that it must refund the consumer 100% of the gross revenue generated by the automatic renewal, even if the consumer actually wanted or expected the renewal. The bill passed easily despite some opposition from companies using auto-renewal, Kipp said, largely because nearly every lawmaker she spoke to had similar experiences. She recalls a staff member who arrested her on her way to the House of Representatives with a story about her attempt to get out of a wine subscription club. Kipp said everyone she met had a similar story. Another customer at her hair salon, for example, said she was angry with her local newspaper for automatically renewing her subscription. In October, the FTC announced it would crack down on what it called “dark” and “deceptive or trapped” systems used to trick people into signing up for goods or services and then automatically renew or cancel them severely. One of the allegations was that Noom required customers to leave through their Noom personal trainers, who proved difficult to reach and often did not respond until the trial period ended and the contract automatically renewed. The lawsuit quoted an anonymous software engineer from Noom as saying that the termination process was complicated “by design.” To date, at least sixteen states have passed laws regulating automatic renewals to varying degrees: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah.

These laws differ in the severity with which they are applied and whether they apply to consumer goods and/or services in general or whether they target abuses related to certain goods or services. Typically, every business requires them to clearly disclose auto-renewal policies, and some regulations even require businesses to get customers` permission before charging a credit card and disclose how the subscription can be canceled to avoid future recurring payments. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed his bill in July, and the bill went into effect Jan. 1. It requires businesses to provide detailed information about how automatic renewal works, cancel at least 25 days before renewal begins, and offer a “simple, cost-effective, fast and user-friendly” way to cancel. A typical auto-renewal clause might look like this: According to this clause, customers should inform the supplier in writing at least thirty days before the end of the current contract period that they do not wish to renew the contract. If the customer does not terminate the contract in writing in good time, the contract is automatically extended. This type of clause can be included in various contracts, but it is particularly common in service, distribution and supply contracts. Some leases also include a provision that the lease is automatically renewed for another year if the tenant does not indicate that they do not wish to renew by a certain date. In addition to state laws, auto-renewal plans have led to class-action lawsuits, and the Federal Trade Commission is also investigating the matter. All businesses are subject not only to state auto-renewal laws, but also to the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC”), which requires businesses to honestly and clearly disclose their auto-renewal policies.

In addition, Congress signed into law the Restore Online Shoppers` Confidence Act (ROSCA), which provides the FTC and attorneys general with an additional basis for corporate renewal policies. ROSCA generally prohibits charging consumers for goods or services online via a “negative option”, which means that a company cannot treat the customer`s silence or non-termination of the contract as an acceptance of the offer. In other words, ROSCA requires companies to obtain customer consent before signing up for a free trial, which automatically converts to a paid subscription. However, consumers should be aware that a business can circumvent this requirement, but to do so, the business must clearly disclose the essential terms of the agreement before receiving the customer`s billing information, obtain the customer`s express consent before charging the fee, and provide an easy way to stop recurring charges. The problem is widespread. Overall, the Better Business Bureau reported more than 58,400 complaints about “free trials” and automatic renewals in 2020 over the past three years, with customers losing an average of $140. Under the new law, businesses that sell plans with an initial term of one year or more must notify that the plan must be renewed within 15 to 45 days of the renewal date. These communications inform consumers that contracts will be automatically renewed unless they are terminated. If companies offer a “free trial” or an initial discount that lasts longer than a month, they must provide similar notices to subscribers three to 21 days before the trial period ends. Check the insurance information to make sure it is complete and accurate. If none is printed on your renewal notice, you must complete it.

Please check the information on each registration renewal notice. Enter the corrections or changes in the gray box, then sign each notice (only one owner must sign the renewal notice). She stopped taking the program after about six months. But like millions of others, she forgot to resign after the original contract ended, and Noom automatically renewed it for another eight months, at a total cost of $179. The California law, signed into law last year, will go into effect on July 1. It adds new recall and termination requirements to existing legislation. Many other states — including California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia — have passed similar laws to curb auto-renewal, and about 10 other states are considering similar laws this year.