Baltimore County distinguishes hosted units, where the host resides on the property during the rental, from un-hosted units, where they do not. Un-hosted rentals are allowed, but for every rental the host or a representative must be reachable by emergency services and able to be onsite within 60 minutes.
Under Baltimore County Code 35-6-201, a hosted unit is a short-term rental where the host resides on the property during the time of the rental, and an un-hosted unit is one where the host does not reside there during the rental period. The application must designate the unit as one or the other (35-6-204(A)(4)). The county permits both, but 35-6-209(B) imposes a de-facto local-availability rule for every rental: the host or a representative must be available to respond to calls from emergency services and government agencies and to be onsite within 60 minutes. This 60-minute response requirement is the county's substitute for a strict on-site-host mandate, ensuring someone can address emergencies at un-hosted rentals.
Failing to maintain a reachable representative who can be onsite within 60 minutes violates the subtitle and is grounds for suspension or revocation of the license, with cumulative civil penalties available.
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See how Baltimore County's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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