Baltimore County, MD Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

Baltimore County's unruly-social-gathering law, Article 13, Title 7, Part IV, builds a graduated strike system rather than a flat fine. Under § 13-7-134(a), penalties for violating § 13-7-132(a)'s ban on unruly gatherings escalate for violations occurring within 24 months of the first: the first violation draws a $500 civil penalty and 20 hours of community service for the responsible persons, plus only a warning notice to the property owner. A second violation within that window raises the responsible persons' penalty to $1,000 and 32 hours of community service, and adds a $500 civil penalty against the property owner directly.

" Community service must be performed within two miles of the gathering under § 13-7-134(b). This strike system reaches short-term rentals directly: § 35-6-209(b)(2) requires every STR host to ensure "the use of the short-term rental abides by Article 13 of the Code," and § 35-6-213(a)(5) separately makes violating "Title 4 or Title 7 of Article 13 of the Code" independent grounds for the Director to deny, suspend, or revoke a short-term rental license. A citation is issued under § 13-7-133 by a responding police officer, with a warning for the first offense and a citation for the second and later.

Enforcement runs through the chief of police under § 13-7-135(a), and a property owner has a defense if they neither authorized nor knew of the gathering and can show they took action to regain possession of the unit.