South Kensington, MD

Montgomery County bans burning refuse or plant life outdoors without a Director-issued permit, with tight limits on smoke, distance, and duration.

Montgomery County Code Chapter 22 requires owners of every dwelling unit to install a smoke detector in each sleeping area and near every stairway, hard-wired in new construction…

Montgomery County caps indoor LP-gas storage in residential buildings at two small ICC-DOT cylinders (2.5 lb water capacity each) for torch-type appliances: full-size tanks must stay…

Recreational and cooking fires must stay 30 feet from any building, with a 10-foot clear space kept around the fire and someone attending it at all times.

Montgomery County bans manufacturing, selling, possessing, or using fireworks countywide, with narrow exceptions only under a state fire marshal display permit.

Montgomery County caps how many light commercial vehicles and recreational vehicles can park on a residential lot, with limits set by zone size: from one vehicle on a half-acre AR, R…

Any Montgomery County parking facility built after May 12, 2014 with 100 or more spaces, including new apartment and condo complexes, must provide one EV-charging-ready space for every…

Montgomery County sets its own maximum trespass towing rates by executive regulation, so a car towed from private property here without the driver's consent costs $170.00 for the tow…

Montgomery County prohibits parking any motor vehicle or trailer on a public highway, road, or street for more than 24 hours, except immediately adjacent to the owner's own residence…

In R-200, R-90, R-60, and R-40 zones, front and side-yard parking must sit on a surfaced pad, and that pad is capped at 30-35% of the yard area.

Montgomery County bars heavy commercial vehicles and buses from residential streets under County Code Section 31-14 unless loading, servicing an abutting property, or parked where both…

Montgomery County runs a Residential Permit Parking (RPP) program under COMCOR 31.48.01, restricting on-street parking to permit holders on qualifying blocks near commercial districts…

Montgomery County bars storing an inoperable or unregistered vehicle on residential property past 30 days and bans parking any vehicle on a county street for more than 24 hours.

County law bars parking within 5 feet of a driveway opening and sets specific street-parking prohibitions, including parking against the flow of traffic.

Zoning caps how many recreational vehicles or trailers a household can keep on a residential lot, with the count set by zone and lot size.

Montgomery County bans parking on designated snow emergency routes during declared snow emergencies, requires snow tires or chains on two power wheels, and impounds unattended vehicles…

Montgomery County requires a separate license before renting out an accessory dwelling unit, and caps occupancy at two adult residents unless the owner or the ADU serves as the…

An accessory dwelling unit rental license requires the owner to live in either the main house or the ADU as their primary residence, proven with tax or license records.

In Montgomery County's Residential Detached zones, all your sheds and accessory buildings combined cannot exceed 50% of your house's footprint or 600 square feet, whichever is larger.

Montgomery County requires DHCA to license any accessory dwelling unit before it is occupied or rented, unless it was approved as a special exception before May 20, 2013 and still…

The County requires cat licenses on the same terms as dogs, but exempts altered (spayed/neutered) cats from the general at-large ban that covers every other animal in the county.

Montgomery County permits beekeeping on residential lots under Maryland Agriculture Article Sec 5-501 et seq. State registration with the Maryland Department of Agriculture Apiary…

Montgomery County's animal control law requires livestock stay on the owner's property and bars keeping any animal, including horses, goats, sheep, or poultry, in a way that creates an…

Anyone charging a fee to groom pets in Montgomery County needs an annual Animal Services license, and groomers must show proof of certified grooming-school training.

Montgomery County requires microchips only for dangerous or potentially dangerous animals, impounded strays, and Division-adopted pets, not for pets generally.

Montgomery County's Zoning Ordinance treats a Veterinary Office/Hospital as its own land-use category, separate from Animal Boarding and Care, with fenced-yard setbacks, a 9 p.m.-7…

Montgomery County bans importing, selling, breeding, or keeping any wild animal as a pet, with narrow exceptions for kangaroos, wallabies, and sugar gliders under County Code Section…

County law bans letting a dog run at large, meaning off the owner's property and off-leash, except in designated exercise areas or organized activities.

Montgomery County has no breed-specific ban. County Code § 5-202 declares an animal "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous" based on its conduct, not its breed, then imposes confinement…

Retail pet stores in Montgomery County cannot sell dogs or cats at all unless the animal came from a shelter or nonprofit rescue: an adoption-only rule aimed at puppy and kitten mills.

Montgomery County caps weeds and grass at 12 inches within 15 feet of any property line in subdivisions and the 100 feet around them; the Department of Housing and Community Affairs…

Montgomery County's weed law caps "generalized plant growth" at 12 inches near property lines, but Code § 58-3 exempts trees, ornamental shrubs, flowers, and garden vegetables…

On lots under 15,000 square feet, Montgomery County lets builders satisfy the required runoff-control plan for a building permit with a rain barrel or cistern instead of conventional…

Montgomery County requires backyard compost piles used to dispose of garbage to be rodentproofed; piles made entirely of leaves and dirt are exempt from that requirement under County…

Montgomery County has three tree protection laws: Forest Conservation Law (Chapter 22A), Roadside Tree Law (Chapter 49), and Tree Canopy Law (Chapter 55). Roadside/street tree removal…

Construction noise in Montgomery County is capped at 75 dBA (85 dBA with an approved noise-suppression plan) between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays; outside those hours the county's much…

Montgomery County caps residential noise at 55 dBA at night (9 p.m.-7 a.m. weekdays, 9 p.m.-9 a.m. weekends) versus 65 dBA by day, and separately bans any noise that creates a…

Montgomery County bans the sale and use of combustion engine-powered handheld, backpack, and walk-behind leaf blowers and vacuums, following a phased 2023 law that took full effect in…

Montgomery County caps industrial and commercial noise at 67 dBA daytime and 62 dBA nighttime in non-residential noise areas under County Code Chapter 31B, enforced by the Department…

Amplified outdoor sound, including live music, must stay within Montgomery County's noise-level caps: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential receiving areas, enforced by…

Montgomery County Code Chapter 5 (Animal Control) prohibits owners from allowing animals to cause noise loud enough and persistent enough to disturb another person's quiet enjoyment…

Montgomery County treats vehicle horns and motor-vehicle-mounted power equipment as noise disturbance examples under Chapter 31B, enforceable by the Department of Environmental…

Montgomery County requires every private outdoor pool over 18 inches deep to be fully enclosed by a 5-foot fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate.

Montgomery County requires a building permit before constructing or substantially altering a private swimming pool, and won't issue it until the owner also applies for the required…

A short-term rental license can be suspended or revoked if the property repeatedly causes a noise nuisance, under the county's Transient Lodging Facilities chapter.

Montgomery County zoning limits short-term rentals to dwellings that are the owner's or an authorized resident's primary residence, capping absentee rentals at 120 days a year unless…

Montgomery County requires short-term rental hosts to make the unit their primary residence and, when away, keep a designated representative within 15 miles reachable for the length of…

Montgomery County caps unhosted short-term rentals at 120 days a year, but hosted rentals where the owner is present have no day limit.

A prior violation within 36 months disqualifies a short-term rental license applicant, and a revoked license locks out the same operator and unit for three years.

Montgomery County zoning requires one off-street parking space for every short-term rental contract, unless the online listing itself states that vehicle parking is not provided.

Short-term rental license applicants in Montgomery County, Maryland must certify occupancy caps: no more than 6 overnight guests age 18 or older, and no more than 2 adult guests per…

Montgomery County collects a 7% room rental and transient tax on short-term rental stays, including Airbnb and other dwelling-unit lodging under 30 days.

Short-term residential rentals in unincorporated Montgomery County require a license from DHCA under County Code Chapter 54, Article III. Annual license fee is $500. Owner must occupy…

Montgomery County exempts residential retaining walls under 36 inches from permits, but any wall over 48 inches, or over 36 inches holding back a surcharge, needs an engineer-designed…

Montgomery County's Zoning Ordinance limits fences, walls, and hedges on residential corner lots to 3 feet within 15 feet of the street intersection, and lets fences up to 6.5 feet (8…

Montgomery County requires a building permit before installing or replacing a fence, issued by the Department of Permitting Services under Chapter 8 for a $72 fee, unless the work…

Montgomery County zoning caps home occupations at 33% of dwelling floor area or 1,500 sq ft, whichever is less, and requires DPS registration for any Low or Major Impact tier that…

A registered Home Occupation (Low Impact) in Montgomery County may host at most 20 client visits a week and 5 a day, with only 2 visitor vehicles allowed on-site at once in R-90 and…

Montgomery County zoning caps in-home family day care at 12 people and requires the provider to live on-site (or that most children cared for are residents); a non-resident provider…

Anyone selling or soliciting orders door-to-door in Montgomery County must get a vendor license from the Director of Permitting Services before knocking on doors.

Montgomery County allows drinking alcohol on public roads only when the Department of Transportation has approved a neighborhood block-party road closure. COMCOR 49.00.01 grants that…

Montgomery County bans aggressive panhandling, soliciting money or sales in an intimidating manner, in any place open to the public, including buses and transit vehicles.

Montgomery County Code bars skateboards and roller skates on WMATA buses, Metrorail cars, and in rail transit stations unless a transit operator gives permission, under Section…

Blocking a sidewalk, street or public entrance in Montgomery County is disorderly conduct under County Code § 32-14, punishable as a Class B violation after a police warning.

Montgomery County makes it a Class A violation to urinate or defecate in any public place, place open to the public, or anywhere visible from one.

Montgomery County bans smoking and vaping in outdoor restaurant and bar serving areas, plus County-owned outdoor property like bus stops, under Code § 24-9.

Montgomery County bars manufacturers from distributing flavored electronic cigarettes to any retail store within a half-mile of schools, libraries, or recreation facilities, targeting…

Montgomery County's zoning ordinance requires every new or replaced outdoor lighting fixture to be a full or partial cutoff type that directs light downward, capping on-site…

Montgomery County caps on-site outdoor lighting at 0.5 footcandles measured at the property line under the Zoning Ordinance, with a stricter 0.1 footcandle cap next to detached houses…

Owners of pre-2008 single-unit, two-unit, and townhouse dwellings with a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage must install carbon monoxide alarms near bedrooms and on every…

Montgomery County requires a fire sprinkler system in every dwelling unit and attached accessory structure before the County will issue a building permit for new or reconstructed…

Montgomery County requires a permit from the Department of Permitting Services before any covered electrical equipment is installed, repaired, or maintained, under a code built on the…

Montgomery County requires new construction and major renovations to meet the 2021 International Green Construction Code, adopted alongside the IBC and IECC by executive regulation and…

Montgomery County's Fire Safety Code exempts a day care center from automatic sprinklers only if it serves 30 or fewer clients, uses only ground-floor rooms, and every one of those…

Montgomery County requires a Department of Permitting Services permit before you enlarge, alter, remove, or demolish a building under Code § 8-24(a): cosmetic ordinary repairs are…

Montgomery County requires 24 hours' notice before starting permitted work and before covering up footings, reinforcement, or fire stopping.

Montgomery County bars anyone from installing, repairing, or maintaining plumbing or gas fitting equipment without a Department of Permitting Services master or journeyman license, and…

Montgomery County's building code requires elevators and other service equipment in every building to be kept in good working order at all times, and makes it unlawful for an owner to…

Every entrance and exit door on a rental dwelling unit or personal living quarters building in Montgomery County must have a working deadbolt with at least a one-inch throw.

Montgomery County bans placing objects, fences, or structures in the public right-of-way without a permit; the Director of Permitting Services can authorize temporary sidewalk, curb…

Any private work in a Montgomery County road right-of-way -- sidewalks, driveways, retaining walls, utility cuts -- requires a permit from the Director of Permitting Services under…

Montgomery County bans stopping, standing, or parking any vehicle on a bikeway, a term covering on-street bike lanes and sidepaths, under County Code § 31-20(a)(11), backed by a $60…

Companies operating two or more rental e-scooters in Montgomery County must register the fleet with the Department of Transportation, pay a registration fee, and display ID on every…

Montgomery County requires curbside and drop-off recycling under Chapter 48; residents cannot dispose of recyclable materials as trash, and only county-licensed haulers can collect…

Montgomery County requires grass, leaves and brush to go out as "yard trim" in paper bags or labeled containers under strict size limits: never in plastic bags, under COMCOR…

Montgomery County requires every dumpster used in the county to be registered annually with the Department of Environmental Protection, kept watertight, and marked with the owner's…

Montgomery County requires brush set out for collection to be under 4 inches thick and 6 feet long, bundled or bagged separately from bulky scrap metal items like appliances, which go…

Dumping garbage or solid waste anywhere but an approved site is a misdemeanor in Montgomery County, with fines up to $30,000 and five years for large or for-profit dumping.

Montgomery County requires commercial, industrial, and multifamily properties to screen trash containers and storage areas from street-level view under County Code Section 48-24, while…

Montgomery County requires households and businesses to separate recyclables like metal, glass, paper and certain plastics for curbside pickup, drop-off, or licensed hauler collection…

County-provided curbside collection runs on your assigned weekday; enter your address in the DEP Collection Day Lookup to find your trash and recycling days. If a County holiday falls…

Federal holidays and Sundays push licensed collectors' start time from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. countywide, per Montgomery County Code Chapter 48's collector-licensing rules.

A bar or nightclub emitting noise above 65 dBA daytime / 55 dBA nighttime into a residential area, or 67/62 dBA into a non-residential area, violates Montgomery County's noise…

Delivery-truck loading and unloading counts as noise under County law: it can't push sound past 55 dBA at night or 65 dBA by day on residential property, and it's a listed example of a…

Sounding a car alarm, horn, or other vehicle signaling device on private property is banned except for emergencies or daytime warning signals within noise limits.

Outdoor heat pumps and A/C units on small residential lots in Montgomery County must meet a strict 60 dBA property-line limit, enforced under a dedicated executive regulation, not the…

Montgomery County sets a stricter decibel threshold for prominent discrete tones below 125 Hz, bass hums and whines, than for higher-frequency tones, and bars any such tone that…

Generators and motor-vehicle-powered devices must stay under the county's dBA noise limits or avoid creating a noise disturbance, county-wide.

Montgomery County requires an Historic Area Work Permit before altering, demolishing, or erecting signs on any designated historic site, resource, or district, enforced by the county's…

Restaurants and bars in Montgomery County need Board of License Commissioners approval before adding outdoor cafe seating, and any tables placed on a public sidewalk need separate…

Every Montgomery County food service facility must have a certified food service manager on staff, and the manager must be on-site controlling operations after July 15, 1989.

Chain restaurants with 20+ U.S. locations must post calorie counts on every menu and menu board under County Code § 15-15A, with full nutrition data available in writing on request.

County Code § 26-9 makes single-unit occupants exterminate their own vermin, but shifts the duty to owners once an infestation spreads or stems from a rat-proofing failure.

Montgomery County's housing code splits bed bug and other insect extermination duty by scope: tenants handle infestations confined to their own unit, but landlords must exterminate…

Montgomery County caps annual rent increases on regulated units at CPI-U plus 3 percent or 6 percent, whichever is lower, set each July 1 by the Department of Housing and Community…

County Code § 29-30 requires every landlord to keep rental housing safe, sanitary, and in good repair, with working utilities and heat.

Montgomery County requires every landlord to obtain a rental housing license from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs before renting out any dwelling unit, with three…

Landlords must give tenants 90 days' written notice before any rent increase and cannot raise rent more than once in a 12-month period.

Montgomery County treats a food truck as a licensed vendor under Chapter 47 on top of the Chapter 15 health license every food service facility needs before selling to the public.

Montgomery County requires anyone selling goods or services on public streets, sidewalks, or door-to-door to hold a Director-issued vendor license under County Code Chapter 47.

Montgomery County bans sidewalk and street vending countywide by default, allowing only a capped number of licensed pushcarts in designated Central Business District zones assigned by…

HOAs in Montgomery County are governed by the Maryland Homeowners Association Act (Real Property Article 11B) which requires open board meetings, annual meetings with quorum, advance…

Maryland law provides multiple paths for resolving HOA disputes, including internal hearings, the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection, MHIC mediation, and court action. The…

Montgomery County lets HOA owners dispute a fine before the Commission on Common Ownership Communities, and once a dispute is filed the association cannot enforce that fine until the…

Most Montgomery County HOAs require homeowners to submit exterior modification requests to an architectural review committee (ARC) before making changes. This applies to paint colors…

Montgomery County regulates HOA board elections under Chapter 10B: associations must give 10-90 days' notice, ban cumulative voting, and elect governing bodies to staggered three-year…

Maryland HOA Act (Real Property 11B) governs assessment collection in Montgomery County HOAs. Regular assessments must be established by the budget adopted by the board. Special…

Montgomery County HOAs enforce covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) through violation notices, fines, and lien authority under the Maryland HOA Act. The enforcement process…

Montgomery County bans generalized weed growth and any plant growth over 12 inches tall within 15 feet of a property line on land in, or within 100 feet of, a recorded subdivision.

Montgomery County property owners, tenants, and managers must clear sidewalk snow and ice within 24 hours after precipitation ends, or face a civil citation.

Montgomery County code makes it illegal to store trash, unused vehicles, scrap building material, or abandoned equipment where it's visible from the street or a neighbor's yard, and…

Montgomery County bars land-disturbing activity, including grading, without a permit from the Department of Permitting Services, exempting only minor work under 100 cubic yards or…

New and substantially improved structures in Montgomery County's Floodplain District must set the lowest floor at least one foot above the 100-year flood elevation, and basements are…

Projects disturbing 5,000+ sq ft require a stormwater plan from MoCo DEP under Code Chapter 19. ESD techniques mandatory. Chesapeake Bay TMDL compliance required.

Montgomery County requires a floodplain district permit for any land-disturbing activity within the mapped floodplain or its 25-foot buffer, and generally bars building permits for new…

Montgomery County limits how often an electronic or manually changeable sign display can update: no more than once every 30 seconds, with a full-frame change and no fade or pixelation…

No permit needed for a garage sale sign, but the county's temporary right-of-way sign rules cap size, placement, and how long it can stay up.

In Commercial/Residential, Employment, and Industrial zones, temporary signs placed in a window can cover no more than 20% of the window glass area per side of the building, minus any…

County Code § 2-160 bars County agents and departments from asking about immigration status, honoring ICE detainer requests once someone is eligible for release, or letting immigration…

A county pesticide regulation names Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) as an invasive species that can be treated with registered pesticide within 25 feet of a waterbody on Parks…

Montgomery County's zoning code (Ch. 59, § 59.6.4.3.A.6) bars any species on the Maryland Invasive Species Council's invasive list from required landscaping plans, enforced by…

Montgomery County has no separate heritage-tree ordinance, but its Forest Conservation Law protects officially designated champion trees and unusual specimen trees: any development or…

Montgomery County flags champion, specimen, and state/federally listed rare trees as priority-retention resources under Chapter 22A: removing one without an approved tree save plan or…

Street trees on Montgomery County road rights-of-way must follow Department of Transportation design standards; private-road plantings follow the Planning Board's Chapter 22A technical…

In the R-200 residential zone, Montgomery County requires a 40-foot front setback, 12-foot side setbacks (25 feet combined), and a 30-foot rear setback for the principal building.

The R-200 single-family zone limits total lot coverage to 25% of the lot under Montgomery County's Zoning Ordinance, covering principal buildings, garages, sheds, pools, and other…

Adult entertainment businesses in Montgomery County must sit 750 feet from homes, schools, and parks, and can only operate 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Montgomery County requires a Director-issued license to own or operate a massage establishment, plus separate manager and worker licenses, under County Code Chapter 24.

Montgomery County requires a dealer's license from the Office of Consumer Protection before buying, selling, or brokering secondhand personal property, including online and pawn-type…

Vape shops in Montgomery County must close overnight under Code § 32-19D, which caps operating hours to curb late-night crime near shops like hookah lounges and tobacco shops.

Montgomery County requires every towing company to register with the county before operating: unlicensed towing is a Class A violation punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

Montgomery County requires DPS to run a fast-track review for rooftop solar permits on single-family homes that meet standardized requirements.

Montgomery County requires a fast-track review process for rooftop solar photovoltaic permits on single-family detached homes that meet Department of Permitting Services standardized…

Maryland Real Property Article 2-119 prohibits HOAs from banning solar panels. HOAs may set aesthetic rules but cannot increase installation cost by more than $1,000.

Montgomery County taxes hotel and motel room rentals at 7 percent of the total room charge, collected by the hotelkeeper and remitted monthly to the Director of Finance.

Development in downtown Bethesda falls under a special zoning overlay that caps building height at the underlying zone limit and lets height and density rise only through Planning…

In the county's Planned Development (PD) zone, Chapter 59 lets projects exceed the maximum base density to build Moderately Priced Dwelling Units, with the required MPDU share set by…

Montgomery County requires sellers near agricultural zones to disclose that Maryland law shields farms operating over a year from nuisance lawsuits, under County Code § 40-12B.

The AR zone makes farming the preferred use on roughly a third of the county, protecting farm operations and machinery from being restricted by neighboring uses.

Montgomery County exempts garage and yard sales from the Chapter 8 temporary use permit that other temporary uses require, as long as selling previously-owned household goods stays…

In licensed Montgomery County rental housing, pervasive water leaks causing chronic dampness, mold, or property damage force annual inspections and a mandatory corrective action plan…

The Director of Housing and Community Affairs must inspect every licensed apartment complex and personal living quarters building at least once every three years, more often if…

Tenants with an unresolved defective-tenancy complaint file in writing with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs Director after giving landlords one week's notice to fix the…

Properties in the Silver Spring, Bethesda, Wheaton, and Montgomery Hills Parking Lot Districts pay a special ad valorem tax up to $1.00 per $100 of assessed value to fund off-street…

Montgomery County bans charcoal, other fuel-burning, or electric cooking equipment within 20 feet of any multi-family building, though attached townhouses and rowhouses with no stacked…