Ellicott City, MD

Howard County has no 'primary residence only' STR rule, because it authorizes no STR use to condition on residency. The Zoning Regulations define a 'Dwelling' as living facilities for…

Howard County has no dedicated short-term-rental permit. Under the Zoning Regulations, renting sleeping accommodations to transient guests on a daily or weekly basis is a Hotel or…

Howard County sets no short-term-rental-specific overnight-guest cap, because it has no STR program. The one residential transient-lodging use it defines, a Bed and Breakfast Inn, is…

Howard County levies a 7% room rental tax on charges to visitors who stay 30 or fewer consecutive days. The Rental Housing License fee is $93.50 per dwelling unit, biennial. Note the…

A Howard County property with an accessory dwelling unit can have only one of its two dwellings under a rental license at a time. The owner has to live in the other one, since a…

Howard County property owners who add an accessory dwelling unit must swear, on the initial rental license application and every renewal, that one of the two dwellings has been and…

A carport in Howard County is an accessory structure subject to Section 128.0 zoning rules. Detached accessory garages and sheds have zero-foot side and rear setbacks on single-family…

In Howard County a detached garage is an accessory structure that cannot contain a full bathroom, full kitchen, or living quarters. Converting a garage into a dwelling requires meeting…

Howard County has no standalone tiny-home zoning category. A permanent tiny dwelling is regulated as an accessory apartment under Section 128.0.13, which requires an owner-occupied…

Howard County permits an accessory dwelling unit inside an owner-occupied single-family home. The owner must live in the principal dwelling or the ADU, and a permit from the Department…

Howard County has no stand-alone barking-dog law. Instead, County Code § 17.302 lists a domesticated animal that 'disturbs the public peace' as a nuisance, enforced by the Animal…

Howard County adopts COMAR 26.02.03 for industrial and commercial noise. Noise received on industrial property may not exceed 75 dBA at any hour, and on commercial property 67 dBA…

Howard County has no separate amplified-sound permit, so loud music is judged against Section 8.900 and the COMAR 26.02.03 table. Amplified music received on residential property may…

Because Howard County has essentially no incorporated towns, the County Code governs all residents including Columbia and Ellicott City. Section 8.900 defines nighttime hours as 10:00…

Howard County has no dedicated leaf-blower ordinance. Section 8.900 expressly exempts lawn-care and snow-removal equipment used during daytime hours (7 a.m.–10 p.m.) when maintained to…

Construction and demolition noise in Howard County is governed by the state standard the County Code adopts. COMAR 26.02.03.02 lets construction sites reach 90 dBA during daytime hours…

Howard County's noise ordinance does not regulate aircraft. Section 8.900(d)(7) exempts aircraft and related airport operations at any airport licensed by the State Aviation…

Howard County's Building Code requires new houses, townhouses, condos and rental buildings to be built EV-ready. Section 3.105 makes single-family homes and townhouses with a garage…

Howard County Code § 21.232 bans parking a commercial motor vehicle for more than six continuous hours on any highway in a residential area. The definition sweeps in trucks, tractors…

When Howard County's Director of Public Works declares a snow emergency, parking is banned outright on every highway posted as a snow emergency route. Vehicles caught on those routes…

Howard County's curb loading zones, created and signed by the Department of Public Works, cap standing time at 30 minutes for both passenger pickup and freight delivery. A vehicle may…

Howard County Code § 21.221 bans stopping, standing, or parking in 20 specific places, from blocking a driveway to sitting on a sidewalk, in an intersection, or in a bike lane…

Maryland law, enforced countywide by Howard County, prohibits parking in front of a private driveway without the owner's consent and in front of any public driveway. Zoning also bars…

Howard County's Fire Prevention Code lets the Authority Having Jurisdiction, the Department of Fire and Rescue Services, designate any curb, roadway or driveway as a fire lane and…

A vehicle is abandoned once it sits inoperable or unattended on public property, or on private property without the owner's consent, for more than 48 hours. Howard County Police handle…

Howard County adopted the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as part of its Building Code, requiring a protective barrier around every pool, and Code Section 3.101(b)(26)…

Howard County adopts the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as its own Swimming Pool and Spa Code, and it treats a fence built to enclose a pool differently from every other…

Howard County treats consumer fireworks, explosives, and model rocketry as fire-code violations unless a Maryland State Fire Marshal permit covers them. Ground-based sparkling devices…

Howard County has no mapped wildfire-hazard or wildland-urban-interface zones. Humid central Maryland is not a wildfire-risk region. The practical fire rule is a temporary open-fire…

Recreational, heating and cooking fires are allowed. Fires over 3 to 5 feet must sit at least 50 feet from any structure, cannot exceed 5 by 5 feet, keep a 10-foot safe area, be…

Maryland law, not county ordinance, sets Howard County's smoke alarm rules. Public Safety Article Section 9-104 requires at least one alarm in every sleeping area, AC-wired units in…

Howard County bans open fires outright unless they fall into a narrow list of no-permit uses, like noncommercial cooking or recreational campfires, or the Health Officer issues written…

Howard County's Fire Prevention Code lets the Fire Official declare dry brush, noxious weeds, or grass over 12 inches tall a public fire nuisance on any lot, with an exception for land…

Residential propane storage follows the International Fire Code, adopted by Howard County through Fire Prevention Code Title 17, Section 104. The county's published rule keeps…

Howard County governs every resident, including unincorporated Columbia and Ellicott City. A domesticated animal must be on a leash and under the control of a responsible person…

Wild or exotic animals may not be kept as pets in Howard County, and Maryland law separately bans possessing dangerous exotic species such as bears, big cats, alligators, foxes and…

Howard County requires cats, like dogs, to be licensed annually and kept currently vaccinated against rabies from four months of age. Cats must not run at large onto neighbors'…

Howard County does not ban any dog breed. Maryland repealed its pit-bull-specific liability rule in 2014, and dog liability is now applied "without regard to the breed or heritage of…

Howard County sets no flat cap on how many pets a household can own, but keeping more than four dogs or cats over four months old, or more than 15 younger ones, in one location…

Howard County still requires every licensed dog and cat to wear its license tag, but Section 17.301 exempts an animal with a microchip implanted under the skin from that tag-wearing…

Howard County has no numeric permit for backyard chickens in its general code; instead, unclean facilities for domestic animals and poultry are treated as a public-health nuisance the…

A retaining wall in Howard County needs no building permit if it is 3 feet or less, measured from the lowest adjacent grade to the top of the wall; anything taller requires a permit…

Howard County defines a closed fence as board-on-board, privacy or stockade, or any fence 50% or less visibly open, including masonry walls. The open-vs-closed distinction, not the…

On a corner lot, no fence over 3 feet may sit inside the sight triangle formed by lines 25 feet back from where the roads meet. Fences must also respect front setbacks from any public…

A closed fence up to 6 feet along a shared side or rear lot line is exempt from setbacks, so it can sit on the property line. Maryland has no statute forcing neighbors to split fence…

Fences that stay within the exempt heights need no zoning setback approval, but Howard County's building code requires a permit for fences over 6 feet tall. Taller or closer fences…

In Howard County you may prune trees inside your yard freely, but a tree growing wholly or partly in the public road right-of-way is a 'roadside tree.' Under Maryland law you must get…

Howard County has no year-round odd/even watering ban. Water use is limited only when the state declares a drought. Under Maryland's Level One Mandatory Restrictions, watering grass is…

Howard County does not require a permit to remove a single tree from an owner-occupied lot. Larger clearing is governed by the county's Forest Conservation program under the Maryland…

Howard County has no fixed lawn-height number for owner-occupied homes. Its Property Maintenance Code (adopting the International Property Maintenance Code) governs overgrown grass and…

Maryland lets Howard County residents sell certain non-hazardous homemade foods, such as baked goods, jams, jellies, hard candy, and honey, from a home kitchen without a food license…

Howard County's Zoning Regulations let residents run small home-based businesses as accessory uses. Home-based contractors are allowed in the RR and RC rural districts and on…

Howard County lets a single-family home run up to two home occupation signs, but each one is capped at two square feet, has to sit back at least six feet from the property line, and…

Howard County allows political campaign signs up to nine square feet total per premises in residential districts and 32 square feet in commercial or industrial districts. Signs must be…

Howard County lets a business post unlimited interior window signs, but their combined area cannot exceed 20 percent of the window glass on that side of the building. An extra 20…

Howard County keeps freeway-facing billboards out of most of the county: they are permitted only as temporary, special-permit uses on unimproved industrial land, and must sit at least…

Howard County's sign code has no special garage-sale sign category. Signs placed in County rights-of-way or attached to utility poles or trees are prohibited and may be removed. A…

Digital displays are allowed only in Downtown Columbia under Howard County Code § 3.502A, capped at 150 square feet, changing images no more than once every two minutes between 7 a.m…

Howard County does not supply trash containers. Reusable cans must be metal or tough plastic with handles and watertight, well-fitting lids; each item must weigh under 40 pounds…

Howard County Code § 18.611 requires owners and managers of apartment buildings and condominiums with ten or more units to collect, remove, and recycle materials under the County's…

Every residential property that gets County trash pickup pays an annual refuse collection charge set by County Council resolution and billed on the property tax bill. Ellicott City's…

Howard County collects trash once a week, between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., for households that pay the yearly Trash and Recycling Service fee. Up to four cans, bags, or bundles are collected…

Howard County has no separate illegal dumping law. County Code Section 12.110 makes improper refuse disposal a public health nuisance, and the Health Officer investigates complaints…

Howard County's Department of Public Works collects broken bulk items on your regular trash day, but caps every pickup at four items and requires curb placement within 5 feet of the…

Howard County Code Section 12.1601 bans emptying a commercial garbage dumpster between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. if it sits within 500 feet of a residential property line. Anyone using such a…

Once you set recyclables out for County pickup, they belong to the collection program, not to whoever gets there first. Howard County Code Sec. 18.610 makes it a civil offense to…

Howard County Code § 18.400 empowers the County Council to adopt rules preventing "encroachment" and "obstruction" of sidewalks, and § 18.401 makes violating those rules a misdemeanor…

Howard County Code § 18.402 puts the duty to maintain sidewalks, driveway aprons, and abutting sod on the property owner, not the County, except where tree roots from the County…

Before Howard County issues or renews a rental housing license, the Director of Inspections, Licenses and Permits must inspect the dwelling unit for compliance with the county's…

Howard County tenants file rental-housing complaints with the Office of Consumer Protection, not a separate inspections hotline. County Code § 17.1004 gives the Office jurisdiction to…

Any sign placed in Downtown Columbia must comply with the applicable Downtown Neighborhood Design Guidelines under Code § 3.516. Properties inside an approved development plan follow…

Secondhand dealers in Howard County, businesses that take in used goods and resell them to the public, need the same two-year establishment and employee licenses as pawnbrokers from…

Howard County caps what a trespass towing service can charge to tow a vehicle from private property without the owner's consent: separate maximum rates for attaching, towing by…

Anyone operating a pawnshop in Howard County needs a two-year establishment license from the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits, plus a separate license for every employee…

Howard County does not issue its own massage-establishment license. County Code § 17.800 lets police enter and inspect massage businesses to confirm each practitioner holds the State…

Howard County bans drinking or carrying an open container of alcohol on posted commercial shopping-center property and posted public parking lots. The rule only applies once a sign at…

Howard County bans smoking in public places, public meetings, government vehicles with more than one occupant, and workplaces, and extends that ban 15 feet beyond doorways under Code…

Howard County Code Sec. 19.208(f) bars urinating or defecating on park property except in a designated facility, grouping it with nudity and public sexual activity under the County's…

Howard County Code § 21.403 lets bicycles, skateboards, and unicycles use sidewalks and pathways countywide, mirroring state law, but the permission doesn't extend to 13 named streets…

Howard County makes it unlawful to loiter on commercial premises during business hours after the owner, operator, or an authorized agent has told you to leave. It is also unlawful for…

Howard County outlaws promoting, organizing, or hosting a for-profit party at a residential property rented or used for 30 days or less when the general public is admitted. Police…

Under Howard County Code § 18.106, the Director of Public Works may deny water service to any user who refuses to repair an outside water leak or refuses to let the Department fix or…

Howard County operates a separate reclaimed water system alongside its drinking water and sewer utilities, billing users a metered reclaimed water service charge under County Code §…

Howard County Code § 18.502 makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant into a storm drain or waterway, or to build or keep an illicit connection into the storm drainage system. The…

Howard County requires a grading permit from the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits before anyone clears or grades land, and the county won't issue that permit until an…

Howard County bans new residential and commercial construction inside a designated floodplain, but carves out a specific exception for piers, open pier structures, and open decks…

No one may fill, grade, build, or place a manufactured home within, partially within, or touching a special flood hazard area in Howard County without a permit. County Code Section…

Substantially improved homes and buildings in a Howard County floodplain must raise their lowest floor, including any basement, at least 2 feet above the 100-year flood elevation…

A street festival counts as a 'public assembly' special event under County Code § 17.900(l), and organizers must get a Department of Police permit under § 17.901(a) whenever the fair…

Reserving a pavilion, athletic field, or camp site in a Howard County park, or holding any activity listed in Sec. 19.205, means getting a Director-issued permit first. Unpermitted…

Howard County requires a special event permit before any parade, defined as a march or procession on a public street under County Code § 17.900(h) and § 17.901. The rule replaced a…

Howard County requires a special event permit for any block party, defined in County Code § 17.900(b) as an outdoor party for people who live in a neighborhood, only when it closes or…

Every Howard County residential lease must promise a clean, sanitary, rodent-free unit under County Code § 17.1009(c), which also folds the Building Code, Fire Prevention Code…

Howard County has no permanent rent-control ordinance. Its only attempt, the 2020 Rental Protection and Stability Act at County Code § 17.1200, froze rent increases only during the…

Howard County limits mobile home park owners to three grounds for evicting a resident: nonpayment of rent, a law violation that endangers other residents, or repeated rule violations…

Howard County landlords must hold a rental housing license from the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits before renting out any dwelling unit covered by the county's…

Howard County's Right-To-Farm Act, Section 12.111, blocks nuisance lawsuits against established agricultural operations in the Rural Conservation and Rural Residential zoning…

Howard County doesn't require restaurants to post calorie counts. Instead, Code Section 12.1801 caps calories in food and drinks sold from vending machines on County property…

Voters approved Howard County's Subtitle 21, Rights of Non-U.S. Citizens, in a November 2022 referendum. County employees cannot enforce federal immigration law, ask about immigration…

Howard County runs no intersection red-light camera program under its County Code. Instead, Title 21 authorizes the Department of Police to use speed monitoring cameras only inside…

Howard County limits publicly accessible electric scooter sharing to a permitted pilot confined to the Columbia Planning Area, capping the County at two operator permits per year under…

Howard County defines a bike lane as any roadway or shoulder marked by a traffic control device for exclusive or preferential bicycle use, and Code § 21.221(a)(20) bans stopping…

Howard County Code Sec. 19.208(l) tells anyone flying a drone on park property to follow Federal Aviation Administration regulations, folding federal airspace rules directly into…

Howard County enforces the 2024 International Residential Code's automatic fire sprinkler mandate for new one- and two-family dwellings, adopted under Building Code Section 3.102. The…

Howard County requires a permit for plumbing, gasfitting, or on-site utility work under Section 3.305 of the County Code, and only a licensed master plumber, gasfitter, or on-site…

Howard County's Building Code carves elevators out of its own inspection scheme: County Code Section 3.101(b)(74) replaces the International Building Code's referenced elevator…

Howard County's Green Buildings Law, Code §§ 3.1000-3.1004, requires LEED certification for large new construction: silver-level or better for publicly funded buildings 10,000+ sq ft…

Howard County requires a permit under its adopted 2024 International Building Code before starting most construction, from new buildings to additions and site work. The Department of…

Under Howard County Code § 3.700(b)(43), owners of rental dwelling units must meet Maryland Department of the Environment lead-based paint requirements, provide state-mandated…

Howard County requires a permit for virtually all electrical work under Section 3.217 of the County Code. The only carve-out is for homeowners making minor repairs, like swapping a…

After issuing a building permit, Howard County's Building Official inspects work under Code Section 3.101(b)(35), which locally amends IBC Section 110.3. Businesses doing repeat work…

Howard County requires street trees at least two and one-half inches in caliper on every new internal road and any existing road undergoing improvements, under County Code Section…

Howard County's forest conservation law bars disturbing trees listed as rare, threatened, or endangered by state or federal wildlife agencies, trees tied to a historic site, and any…

Every mobile food vending platform in Howard County, from pushcarts to enclosed trucks using propane or another heat source, needs an annual inspection sticker from the Department of…

Howard County Code § 18.207 bans "nontransit activity," including selling from a stationary spot, on County roads unless a vendor meets the "site-specific vending/operating" exception…

Illuminated signs and billboards in Howard County must be shaded or shielded so the light does not shine into residential structures or blind drivers, per Code § 3.508. Blinking…

Howard County's Zoning Regulations Section 134.0 requires most outdoor light fixtures to be fully or partially shielded to reduce glare and skyglow. The rules apply mainly to…

Howard County limits light trespass onto neighboring residential property. Measured three feet above ground at the property line, spillover is capped at 0.1 foot-candles onto…

Grills, gas-fired grills and hibachis may not be used on a balcony, under an overhang, or within 15 feet of any building or structure. Only electric grills that use no alternative fuel…

Smokers are treated as cooking devices under Howard County fire code. Kept at 3 feet or under, a smoker must stay 15 feet from any building and off balconies. A larger cooker over 3…

In the R-20 residential district, a principal structure (house) may be up to 34 feet tall and an accessory structure up to 15 feet. Each Howard County zoning district sets its own…

Howard County's single-family zoning districts do not set a flat maximum lot-coverage percentage. Buildable area is controlled instead through minimum lot size, required setbacks, and…

In Howard County's common R-20 residential district, principal structures must sit at least 20 feet from the front lot line, 10 feet from side lines, and 30 feet from the rear. Larger…

When Howard County's Historic Preservation Commission finds a building of unusual importance to the county, state, or nation, County Code Section 16.608 requires the Commission to…

Howard County regulates vacant lots through its Health Code nuisance rule. A vacant parcel that harbors vermin, accumulated refuse, or other health hazards is an abatable nuisance the…

Howard County's Health Officer can declare a property a public-health nuisance under County Code Section 12.110 for conditions like overflowing sewage, vermin infestation, lead-paint…

Howard County caps residential air-conditioning noise at 70 dBA and heat-pump noise at 75 dBA as measured at a neighbor's residential property. The limit sits inside the county's…

Howard County park property is open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset. Being in a park between sunset and sunrise is prohibited under Howard County Code Section 19.204…

Anyone going door-to-door in Howard County to sell goods, take orders, or collect charitable donations must first get an identification card from the Office of Consumer Protection. The…

Howard County requires condominium regimes and cooperative housing corporations, not ordinary single-family HOAs, to register annually with the Department of Inspections, Licenses and…