Cecil County, MD Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Adopted by the County Commissioners in 2010 as Ordinance No. 2010-08, the Minimum Livability Code applies to residential structures used for human habitation in unincorporated Cecil County except owner-occupied single-family units and municipalities that have adopted their own housing or building code (§ 240-3A). Section 240-4 sets minimum maintenance standards: exteriors and foundations must be structurally sound and pest-excluding, roofs and windows weathertight, insect screens required on doors and windows from April 1 to December 1, and interiors kept clean, safe and sanitary. Section 240-11D makes the core habitability duty explicit: at the start of tenancy an owner may not let a dwelling unless it and the premises are clean, sanitary, fit for human occupancy and comply with applicable state and county law.

The Department of Permits and Inspections enforces the code (§ 240-11A) and its Code Official may enter a structure at any reasonable time with notice to inspect (§ 240-12D). Where a structure is found unsafe or unfit, the Code Official may condemn it and order it placarded and vacated (§ 240-13), though a person may not be displaced unless comparable affordable alternate housing is available nearby (§ 240-11C), except where displacement follows a natural disaster or the tenant's own misconduct. A property owner served with a compliance order may not sell or lease the property until the violation is corrected or the new owner assumes responsibility in writing (§ 240-14F).