Wicomico County, MD Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Section 160-8, Right of entry, is the provision that turns a tenant complaint about substandard rental conditions into an actual inspection. It authorizes the Housing Official to enter a building or premises whenever an inspection is necessary to enforce the Housing Standards code, or whenever the Official has reasonable cause to believe a condition or code violation exists that makes the building unsafe, dangerous or hazardous. If the premises are occupied, the Official must first present proper credentials and get the occupant's consent; if entry is refused, the Official can seek a court order permitting entry and inspection.

B carves out a warrantless-entry path for emergencies: if the Official determines in good faith that an actual emergency exists posing an imminent menace to public health, safety or welfare, or a fire or accident has occurred requiring immediate inspection, entry can proceed without a warrant or prior notice. Beyond individual complaints, § 160-9 lets the County Executive designate specific areas for periodic inspection sweeps, independent of any single tenant's report. Once an inspection confirms a violation, § 160-13 requires the Housing Official to give notice to the owner or other responsible person, and a copy of that violation notice must also go to the Department of Planning, Zoning and Community Development to be filed in their records.

Section 160-15 spells out what that notice must contain: a property description, the reasons for the notice, a citation to the specific Code section violated, a reasonable compliance deadline (not exceeding 30 days to start required work), and notice of the right to appeal to the Board of Appeals within 10 days.