Rockville, MD Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Rockville, MD, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Rent cap
- None: guidelines are voluntary
- Set by
- Mayor and Council resolution, annually
- Enforceable?
- No penalty for exceeding guideline
- Separate duty
- Monthly reporting, 8+ unit complexes
Summary
Rockville has no mandatory rent control: landlords are only 'encouraged' to keep rent increases at or below a percentage the Mayor and Council set annually by resolution.
(a) Landlords are encouraged to hold rent increases at the lowest level possible and not more than the percentage established annually by resolution of the Mayor and Council.
(b) Ninety (90) days prior to the effective date of any rent increase, the landlord must provide to the tenant and the Director of Housing and Community Development the information set forth below, except that landlords of single dwelling units need not provide this information to the Director of Housing and Community Development:
(1) Old rent;
(2) New rent;
(3) The effective date of the increase;
(4) The percentage of the increase;
(5) The recommended guidelines;
(6) Information prepared by the City and furnished to the landlord with respect to rent subsidy programs which might be available to the tenants; and
(7) Such other information as the landlord deems useful in explaining the rent increase.
(Laws of Rockville, Ch. 26A, § 1-102; Ord. No. 4-87, § 1, 4-27-87; Ord. No. 8-09,
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 17 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Rockville's rent provisions, codified under an article titled 'Rental Housing Data Collection and Voluntary Rent Stabilization Guidelines,' do not cap what a landlord may charge. The Code only encourages landlords to hold increases at the lowest level possible and not exceed a percentage the Mayor and Council set by resolution each year: there is no penalty for exceeding it. Separately, landlords of apartment complexes with eight or more units must report rent and vacancy data monthly to the Director of Housing and Community Development, but that reporting duty is a data-collection requirement, not an enforceable price ceiling.
Violations & Fines
There is no rent-control violation for exceeding the annual guideline percentage: it is unenforceable by design; only failing the separate monthly rent/vacancy reporting duty for 8-or-more-unit complexes is an actual violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rockville have rent control?
Who sets the voluntary rent guideline percentage?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rockville
Compare Rockville to another location·View the Maryland rental property rules overview
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