6.1 The Right to Cancel

Maryland's Door-to-Door Sales Act

The Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act (Maryland Code, Commercial Law Article, Title 14, Subtitle 3, §§ 14-301 through 14-305) gives consumers a "cooling-off" right to cancel certain sales made away from the seller's place of business. Because home improvement work is usually sold at the homeowner's kitchen table rather than at the contractor's office, this Act overlaps heavily with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) law — and the MHIC exam expects you to know where the two meet. Violations of the Act are unfair or deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (Commercial Law Title 13), enforced by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

What Counts as a Door-to-Door Sale

Under § 14-301(d), a door-to-door sale is a sale, lease, or rental of consumer goods or consumer services — goods or services bought primarily for personal, family, or household purposes — with a purchase price of $25 or more, in which:

1. the seller or the seller's representative personally solicits the sale, and
2. the buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is made at a place other than the seller's place of business (defined as the seller's main or permanent branch office or local address).

Two points trip up exam candidates:

• Invitations do not defeat coverage. The statute expressly includes a solicitation made "in response to or following an invitation by the buyer." A homeowner who calls for an estimate and then signs the contract in her own kitchen is still protected.
• The dollar trigger is only $25. Essentially every home improvement contract signed at the residence after a personal solicitation qualifies.

A home improvement contract here has the meaning stated in § 8-101 of the Business Regulation Article — the same definition used everywhere else in MHIC law.

The Cancellation Windows

For a general door-to-door sale, the baseline notice in § 14-302 gives the buyer until midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction to cancel. But § 14-302.1 creates longer windows specifically for home improvement contracts:

Cancellation is without any penalty or obligation. The buyer owes no cancellation fee, no restocking charge, and no forfeited deposit for canceling inside the window.

What the Seller Must Hand the Buyer

Section 14-302, as modified for home improvement contracts by § 14-302.1, makes each of the following an unfair or deceptive trade practice if the seller fails to comply:

1. A fully completed copy of the contract or receipt at the time of signing, written in the same language principally used in the oral sales presentation, showing the date of the transaction and the seller's name and address. If the sales pitch was delivered in Spanish, the written contract must be in Spanish.
2. A boldface cancellation statement in at least 10-point boldface type, placed in immediate proximity to the space reserved for the buyer's signature. For a home improvement contract, the statement must reflect the five-business-day (or seven-business-day for buyers 65+) deadline and refer the buyer to the attached Notice of Cancellation.
3. A completed "Notice of Cancellation" form in duplicate, attached to the contract and easily detachable. For home improvement contracts, § 14-302.1 requires this to be a separate form that is not part of the contract. Before handing it over, the seller must fill in the seller's name, the address of the seller's place of business, the date of the transaction, and the cancellation deadline — which may not be set earlier than the fifth business day (or the seventh, if the buyer is at least 65).
4. A signed written acknowledgment of the right to cancel for home improvement contracts. The statute prescribes the form: the buyer signs a statement that he or she "has been provided oral notice" of the right to cancel without penalty within 5 business days — or 7 business days if at least 65 years old — with a checkbox to mark whether the buyer is at least 65. The seller must give the buyer a copy of this signed acknowledgment along with the contract.
5. Oral notice at the time of signing. The seller must actually tell the buyer, out loud, about the right to cancel, and may not misrepresent that right in any manner.

Why This Matters on the Exam

The MHIC exam treats these as contract-content requirements: know the numbers (5 and 7 business days, 10-point boldface, $25 threshold), know that the Notice of Cancellation for a home improvement contract is a separate form, and know that an invited salesperson is still a door-to-door solicitor. A contractor who skips the Notice of Cancellation or the signed acknowledgment commits an unfair or deceptive trade practice — exposure that sits on top of any MHIC discipline for contract violations.