Washington County, MD Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Section 2-208(p) of the Livability Code for Washington County, Maryland sets the hardware standard for every exterior door on a rental structure. Each exterior door and its hardware must be maintained in good condition (§ 2-208(p)(1)), and door locks on exterior doors entering individual housing units must be in good repair and capable of tightly securing the door (§ 2-208(p)(2)). Exterior doors specifically require a single-cylinder deadbolt lock for keyed access from the outside paired with a thumb latch on the inside (§ 2-208(p)(3)), so an occupant can lock the deadbolt from inside without a key while a key is still needed to enter from outside.

This hardware rule sits within the broader exterior structure standard requiring the property owner to keep the exterior of a structure in good repair so it does not threaten occupant health, safety, or welfare (§ 2-208(a)), and each door and its frame must exclude rain and rodents and fit weathertight in the frame (§ 2-208(l)-(m)). The single-cylinder design also has to work with the Code's life-safety rule that every door available as an exit be capable of being opened easily from the inside (§ 2-209(f)), so the thumb latch cannot be swapped for a double-cylinder lock that would trap occupants needing a key to exit.