Maryland caps late-rent penalties at 5% of the delinquent rent. Under Real Property § 8-208, a lease may not impose a late fee greater than 5% of the overdue rent for the rental period. For weekly rent, the cap is $3 per week and no more than $12 per month. Overreaching late-fee clauses are unenforceable.
Md. Code, Real Property § 8-208(d)(3) prohibits a residential lease from providing "a penalty for the late payment of rent in excess of 5% of the amount of unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent." For leases under which rent is paid in weekly installments, the lease may not provide "a late penalty of more than $3 per week or a total of no more than $12 per month." Section 8-208 lists this among prohibited lease provisions, so a clause exceeding these limits is void and unenforceable against the tenant. The statute does not require any grace period before a permitted late fee may be charged, and the cap is measured against the delinquent rent, not the full monthly rent.
A late-fee clause exceeding 5% of the delinquent rent (or the weekly $3/$12 limits) is an unenforceable prohibited provision; the tenant is not obligated to pay the excess (Real Property § 8-208).
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Takoma Park, MD
Takoma Park sets residential decibel limits at 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime under Ordinance 2002-35. If ambient noise already exceeds these thresholds...
Takoma Park, MD
Takoma Park adopts Montgomery County construction noise standards (MoCo Code 31B-6) by reference. Weekday construction is allowed 7 AM to 5 PM at up to 75 dB...
Takoma Park, MD
Outdoor music in Takoma Park must comply with 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime limits. Events with amplified outdoor music require a temporary waiver requ...
Takoma Park, MD
Under Chapter 14.12 Section 9, no person may allow a dog or other animal to persistently, habitually, or continuously bark, howl, or yelp causing a noise dis...
Takoma Park, MD
Industrial and commercial noise in Takoma Park must meet the same residential decibel limits as all other sources: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime at the...
Takoma Park, MD
Takoma Park has among the strictest leaf blower rules in the DC metro. The city noise ordinance (Ch. 14.12, Sec. 8) caps all leaf blowers at 70 dBA at 50 fee...
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