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

The code official is the official or department the County Commissioners charge with administering the Rental Housing Code (§ BR 3-102). Under § BR 3-103(d)(1), whenever a violation occurs or is alleged to have occurred, any person, tenant or not, can report it either verbally or in writing. The code official files every complaint immediately in a permanent file, then immediately investigates and takes action. Under § BR 3-103(c)(1), the code official inspects on his own volition or upon receipt of complaints to determine a dwelling unit's fitness for human occupancy, and records every inspection and every violation.

Entry has set steps. The code official must give written notice to the owner, operator or occupant of the day of inspection, mailed so it is received one day in advance (§ BR 3-103(a)(1)). If the owner, operator or occupant refuses entry, the code official must obtain a warrant by written application, signed and sworn, stating the purpose and the address. A Circuit Court judge for Worcester County or a District Court Commissioner can issue it on probable cause, and it is void if not used within thirty days. Occupants must give the owner or agent access at reasonable times to make required repairs.

When the code official finds a building unsafe, unsanitary or unfit, written notice goes by registered or certified mail or personal service through the Sheriff, requiring the owner to complete repairs or demolish within sixty days. Notices about rubbish or garbage can set a shorter period of not less than twenty days. The owner or agent, not the tenant, can appeal to the seven-member Housing Review Board by filing written notice within twenty days after the decision, and the Board meets within ten days after receiving the notice. A timely appeal stays proceedings unless the code official finds an emergency threat to health and safety.