Baltimore's Pay-4-Stay rule, codified in Maryland Real Property Article §8-401, lets a tenant cure a failure-to-pay-rent eviction at any point before the warrant of restitution by paying owed rent and court costs.
Under MD §8-401 and Baltimore enforcement practice, tenants in Baltimore District Court rent-court may invoke the right of redemption (Pay-4-Stay) to halt eviction by tendering all owed rent, late fees permitted by lease, and accumulated court costs at any time before the sheriff executes the warrant of restitution. The right resets each tenancy unless the landlord obtains a Foreman judgment showing three failure-to-pay judgments within twelve months, in which case the redemption right is extinguished. Baltimore landlords must accept timely tendered cure amounts and dismiss the case; refusal can be raised as a defense by Right-to-Counsel attorneys.
Refusing a timely Pay-4-Stay tender exposes the landlord to dismissal, sanctions, and a habitability counterclaim by appointed counsel under Ord. 21-0124's right-to-counsel framework.
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Ord. 21-0124, the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance enacted in 2021, guarantees free legal representation in eviction proceedings to income-eligibl...
Baltimore, MD
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See how Baltimore's no-fault evictions rules stack up against other locations.
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