Baltimore County, MD Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Baltimore County runs its code enforcement timeline on fixed clocks rather than open-ended discretion. Under the Livability Code, § 35-5-103(d)(4), once the Code Official determines a violation and classifies it, the property owner must make the alteration or repair within 48 hours if the Code Official has determined the violation is an emergency, or within 30 days if it is not. The Code Official can extend an emergency repair deadline only if the owner shows repairs have already begun and commits to finishing them at the earliest possible time.

If the owner instead contests a citation, Article 3, Title 6 sets the hearing clock: under § 3-6-205(c)(1)(iii), the owner has 15 days after receiving the citation to file a written request for a code enforcement hearing, and under § 3-6-206(a), the Code Official or Director must schedule that hearing within 30 days of the request. Failing to request a hearing in time turns the citation into a final, non-appealable order.

An owner or the county that loses at that hearing has a further clock under § 3-6-301: a party has 15 days after the final order to appeal to the Board of Appeals, the Board must hold the hearing within 60 days after the appeal is filed, any continuation must conclude within 30 days of the first hearing date, and the Board must issue its order within 15 days after the hearing concludes.