Prince George's County, MD Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger
- rentals with 10+ units, over 20 years old
- Inspection cycle
- every 3 years
- PILOT-agreement buildings
- also inspected every 3 years
- Enforcing official
- DPIE Code Official
- Municipal opt-out
- if city inspects within 3-year window
- No warrant needed
- for licensing/permit inspections, § 104.4
Summary
Landlords of Prince George's County rental buildings with ten or more units face a mandatory county inspection at least once every three years once the property turns twenty years old, under Section 104.3.1 of the amended Property Maintenance Code, enforced by the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement's Code Official.
104.3.1 Inspections - Rental Housing - Ten or More Units. Notwithstanding Section 104.3, it shall be the duty of the Code Official to make, or cause to be made, inspections of rental housing dwellings, with ten or more units, for all rental housing properties over twenty-years old every three-years. All rental housing properties, with ten or more units, receiving a payment in lieu of taxes agreement pursuant to Md. Ann. Code Art. Local Government, Section 1-1308 shall be inspected every three-years.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2026 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
3 lets the Code Official inspect dwellings 'as often as necessary,' respond to complaints, and run systematic house-by-house or block-by-block sweeps of neighborhoods when needed. Sec. 1 requires inspecting rental housing with ten or more units every three years once the building is over twenty years old, and the same three-year cycle applies, regardless of age, to any ten-plus-unit rental with a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement under Maryland's Local Government Article § 1-1308. A municipality inside the county that already runs its own inspection program for such buildings can make the county's cycle optional, as long as its inspection falls within the three-year window and it reports any resulting violations to the Code Official within 30 days; the three-year clock then restarts from the date of the last inspection on file.
4 lets the Code Official carry out licensing and permit inspections without needing permission or a judicial warrant, and it makes refusing entry, by itself, sufficient grounds to deny or revoke the license. 8 requires multiple Code Officials to coordinate their inspections so owners aren't hit with duplicate or conflicting visits.
Violations & Fines
Refusing to allow a licensing or permit inspection is, on its own, 'sufficient reason for the denial or revocation of the subject license or permit' under the amended Section 104.4, with no warrant required first. Conditions found during an inspection that aren't corrected follow the same suspension and revocation path as any other Housing Code violation under Sec. 13-187, including immediate suspension for conditions threatening health or safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Prince George's County inspect large rental buildings?
Does a city's own inspection replace the county's three-year inspection?
Can a landlord refuse to let the inspector in?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Prince George's County
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