Worcester County, MD Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

The Worcester County Rental Housing Code, Subtitle I of Title 3 (Property Maintenance Standards) in the Building Regulations Article, sets minimum housing and maintenance standards for residential rental properties in the unincorporated areas of Worcester County, Maryland. Section BR 3-103 is its inspection procedure.

Under subsection (a)(1), the code official or a duly authorized representative can enter any building, structure, dwelling, apartment, apartment house or premises in the county to perform any duty imposed by the code, but only after written notice of the day of inspection is mailed to the owner, operator or occupant in sufficient time to be received one day in advance. Under (a)(2), if the owner, operator or occupant refuses entry, the code official must obtain a warrant before any forcible entry. The warrant comes on a sworn written application stating the purpose and the address, and a Judge of the Circuit Court of Worcester County or a Commissioner of the District Court issues it on probable cause. The inspection must happen within thirty days of issuance, after which the warrant is void. Occupants must give the owner or agent access at all reasonable times for repairs needed to comply.

Subsection (c)(1) says the code official acts of his own volition or on receipt of complaints and makes the inspections necessary to determine the fitness of a dwelling unit for human occupancy, keeping a record of every inspection and of all violations. The code describes no fixed cycle of routine inspections.

Licensed rentals have a second inspection hook. Section TR 2-106(g)(1) lets Department staff or any public safety or law enforcement agency enter a licensed property to inspect the license and the parts covered by it, but not premises under a tenant's control without that tenant's permission or a valid search warrant, unless the premises are usually and customarily open to the public.

When a violation is found, written notice goes by registered or certified mail or personal service through the Sheriff, giving the owner sixty days to repair or demolish, or not less than twenty days for rubbish or garbage. Unsafe buildings are posted. Appeals go to the seven-member Housing Review Board, filed within twenty days of the code official's decision.