Baltimore County, MD Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Baltimore County does not run its own lead paint licensing scheme; it enforces the state's lead risk reduction law and layers a livability-code maintenance duty on top of it. Under § 35-4-301, if a landlord fails to comply with the lead risk reduction standard set out in § 6-815 or § 6-819 of the Environment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the tenant can deposit rent into an escrow account, and the disposition of that escrow is resolved under § 8-211.1 of the Real Property Article. That gives a Baltimore County tenant the same rent-withholding leverage available for a dangerous-conditions complaint, specifically pegged to a landlord's lead-paint noncompliance.

Separately, the county's own Livability Code addresses lead paint as a maintenance defect. Under § 35-5-209(h), any interior surface, including walls, ceilings, doors, trim molding, window frames, radiators, and stair banisters, that presents a potential health hazard due to lead paint must be abated using procedures the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability establishes. An intact surface in good condition does not need abatement unless it is a potential biting surface for children, in which case abatement is required regardless of its condition. The Code Official enforces this maintenance duty the same way as other Livability Code violations, through a correction notice and, if uncorrected, a citation under Article 3, Title 6.