Wicomico County, MD Rental Property Rules: Just Cause Eviction (2026)
Just cause eviction rules in Wicomico County, MD, sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances, list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Ch. 211, Trailer Camps
- Allowed eviction grounds
- Nonpayment, law violation, rule violation
- Added
- 10-15-1974 by Ord. No. 20A
- Enforcement
- Sheriff / County License Inspector
- Scope
- Licensed trailer camps only
- License fee
- $25, Director of Administration
Summary
In unincorporated Wicomico County, tenants renting a lot in a licensed trailer camp (mobile home park) can be evicted only for one of three reasons under Code § 211-9: nonpayment of rent, violation of any law, or violation of a filed and posted park rule. This just-cause limit applies solely to licensed trailer camps, not to apartments or houses generally.
Eviction of a tenant from the premises by the applicant or his agent shall only be permitted under the following conditions: A. Nonpayment of rent. B. Violation of any city, county, state or federal law, rule or regulation. C. Violation of any filed and posted rule or regulation of the park.
Full Breakdown
Wicomico County Code Chapter 211 regulates automobile trailer camps, defined as any park, court, camp, site, lot, parcel or tract where automobile trailers are parked for a fee (§ 211-3). No one may establish, maintain or operate such a camp without an annual trailer camp license issued by the Director of Administration (§ 211-2, § 211-5 A), and every applicant must attach a copy of the camp's rules and regulations to the license application; those rules must also be permanently and prominently posted on the premises, and a rule that is never promulgated, posted or filed with the county voids the license (§ 211-4 C(3)).
Against that backdrop, § 211-9, added October 15, 1974 by Ordinance No. 20A, limits when a camp operator or the operator's agent may evict a tenant from a rented lot to three grounds: nonpayment of rent, violation of any city, county, state or federal law, rule or regulation, or violation of one of the camp's own filed and posted rules. The Sheriff of Wicomico County and the County License Inspector enforce the chapter and may enter licensed premises to inspect the license and the grounds (§ 211-7).
This just-cause limit is scoped to Chapter 211's licensed trailer camps and mobile home lots; it does not extend to apartments, single-family rentals or other housing outside a licensed trailer camp, which the county code leaves outside Chapter 211 entirely.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 211 does not attach a separate criminal penalty to an eviction carried out outside the three grounds in § 211-9. Instead, the chapter's violations clause, § 211-8, punishes running a trailer camp without the required county license, or willfully failing to pay camp taxes or file required reports, as a misdemeanor carrying a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, at the court's discretion. Every rule an eviction relies on must be one the operator has kept on file with the county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wicomico County require just cause to evict any tenant?
What park rules can justify an eviction?
Who enforces the trailer camp chapter in Wicomico County?
What is the penalty for running a trailer camp without a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wicomico County
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