Bowie, MD Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

City Code § 5-7C(8) and (9), part of the Housing and Property Maintenance Code, set Bowie's baseline for door hardware. Subsection (8) requires every exterior door, door hinge, door latch and closing mechanism used with that door, on any residential or commercial building, to be maintained in good condition. Subsection (9) then adds a rental-specific rule: the entrance door to an individual rental dwelling unit must be provided with locking devices sufficient to provide security against unauthorized entry, a requirement inspected as part of the City's rental licensing process under § 5-9.

Related door standards in the same article reinforce the security requirement: § 5-7C(10) requires every exterior door to fit reasonably well within its frame when closed, § 5-7C(11) requires the window, door and frame to be built and maintained to exclude rain and wind, and § 5-7C(13) requires every exit door to be clear of obstruction and capable of being opened from the inside easily and without a key, so a unit cannot be secured in a way that traps occupants. Because rental units are inspected before a rental license or temporary certificate issues under § 5-9C, and periodically afterward under § 5-9D, a missing or nonfunctional entrance lock is something a City housing inspector checks directly rather than something that surfaces only after a tenant complaint.