Baltimore County, MD Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Self-certify threshold
- 7+ units, under 3 violations in 3 years
- Inspection sample (large buildings)
- 10% of units plus all premises
- Inspector credential
- Licensed under MD Bus. Occ. Title 16-3A
- Certificate validity
- Dated within 90 days of application
- Enforcing department
- Permits, Approvals, and Inspections
Summary
Before renting out a dwelling unit in Baltimore County, an owner must either self-certify (7+ unit buildings with a clean violation history) or hire a licensed home inspector to check the unit and premises against Director-set health and safety standards.
Dwellings with 7 or more dwelling units and apartment complexes are eligible to self-certify and apply for a license with no inspection if, as determined by the Director of Permits, Approvals, and Inspections, they have had less than 3 health and safety violations in the past 3 years that have been fully adjudicated by the Administrative Law Judge and are not under appeal...For dwellings with 6 or less dwelling units, dwellings with 7 or more dwelling units that cannot self-certify, and apartment complexes that cannot self-certify, dwelling units must be inspected as follows: Before applying for a license for a dwelling unit, the applicant shall, at the applicant's expense, contract with a home inspector to perform a home inspection of the dwelling unit and premises to determine if the dwelling unit and the premises meet health and safety requirements established by the Director by regulation...The home inspector must be a licensed home inspector under Title 16, Subtitle 3A of the Business Occupations and Professions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 29 | Zoning Regulations: Supplement 10).
Full Breakdown
Baltimore County Code § 35-6-107 sets the inspection track for every rental housing license issued under Article 35, Title 6. Buildings with 7 or more dwelling units and apartment complexes can self-certify with no inspection only if the property has had fewer than 3 fully adjudicated health and safety violations (fire safety, pests, rats, mold, or unpermitted work) in the past 3 years and none is on appeal. Self-certification requires signed statements confirming compliance with the county's rental license inspection sheet, life and safety codes, tenant notification rules, and working hardwired/battery-backed interconnected smoke detectors, wood balcony railings, and carbon monoxide detectors.
Every other rental (buildings of 6 units or fewer, larger buildings that cannot self-certify, and apartment complexes that cannot self-certify) must be inspected before licensing: the owner pays a licensed home inspector, credentialed under Title 16, Subtitle 3A of the Business Occupations and Professions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, to inspect the dwelling unit and premises. For buildings of 7+ units or apartment complexes that can't self-certify, the inspector must check at least 10 percent of units, representative and evenly distributed by building, plus all common premises; a repeated defect across a majority of inspected units can trigger additional inspections, and repair records go to the Department of Permits, Approvals, and Inspections (PAI).
Under § 35-6-106(c)(2), the resulting home inspector certificate must be dated within 90 days of the license application. The Department may adopt further regulations under § 35-6-104 (via Article 3, Title 7) to carry out these inspection standards.
Violations & Fines
Renting a dwelling unit without the license this inspection supports violates § 35-6-105(a), and a property owner who knowingly falsifies a self-certification statement, application, or inspection record is subject to the county's general false-statement penalty: a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine or 30 days imprisonment, or both. Unlicensed rentals and licensing violations otherwise default to the county's general penalty of a $1,000 fine or 90 days imprisonment under the Code's misdemeanor provision, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Baltimore County rental need a home inspection?
Who pays for the required home inspection?
How much of a large apartment building gets inspected?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Baltimore County
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