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Property Maintenance in Maryland (2026)

33 rules on the books across Maryland, 15 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.

Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions

Property Blight

Standards for property appearance including peeling paint, broken windows, junk accumulation, and other conditions the city considers blight.

Baltimore County

Heavy Restrictions

In Baltimore County, an owner may not create or allow a nuisance on their property that is detrimental to public…

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Prince Georges County

Heavy Restrictions

Prince George's County enforces exterior property-maintenance standards countywide under County Code Subtitle 13…

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Washington County

Heavy Restrictions

Washington County's Code Official may condemn, placard, or order the vacating of any structure found unsafe or unfit…

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Annapolis

Significant Restrictions

Annapolis condemns dwellings as unfit for human habitation when they're hazardously damaged, unsanitary, or lack…

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Anne Arundel County

Significant Restrictions

The Health Officer can declare a vacant, deteriorating property a nuisance property and force the owner to board it up…

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Carroll County

Significant Restrictions

Under the Livability Code, Carroll County can condemn and placard any premises or building its officials find unsafe or…

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Cecil County

Significant Restrictions

Cecil County Code § 157-8 lets the Code Official condemn any structure found unsafe or unfit for human occupancy, order…

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Charles County

Significant Restrictions

Charles County treats a rundown building exterior as a public nuisance under Code § 85-2: broken windows, flaking…

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Frederick

Significant Restrictions

Frederick's code official can condemn any structure found unsafe, unlawful, or unfit for human occupancy, posting a…

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Gaithersburg

Significant Restrictions

Gaithersburg's local amendment to the state-adopted International Residential Code, City Code § 5-5(23), lets the…

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Harford County

Significant Restrictions

Under Harford County Code § 162-6, the Livability Code Official can recommend that a dangerous, decayed or structurally…

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Howard County

Significant Restrictions

Howard County's Health Officer can declare a property a public-health nuisance under County Code Section 12.110 for…

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Montgomery County

Significant Restrictions

Montgomery County code makes it illegal to store trash, unused vehicles, scrap building material, or abandoned…

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Rockville

Significant Restrictions

Rockville declares any building meeting its dangerous-building criteria, structural failure, fire damage, unsafe…

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Wicomico County

Significant Restrictions

In unincorporated Wicomico County, any building the Housing Official finds dangerous or a threat to public health or…

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Vacant Lot Maintenance

Requirements for maintaining vacant or undeveloped land, including mowing, fencing, and preventing dumping and trespassing.

Baltimore County

Heavy Restrictions

In Baltimore County, vacant lots must be kept free of overgrown weeds and dumped material. The 8-inch weed limit and…

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Prince Georges County

Heavy Restrictions

Prince George's County requires vacant and unimproved lots to be kept free of litter, debris, and overgrown weeds…

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Anne Arundel County

Some Restrictions

Anne Arundel County bans rank vegetation and noxious weeds over 12 inches tall on most vacant and improved property…

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Cecil County

Some Restrictions

Cecil County can order a property owner, including the owner of a vacant lot, to clear trees, bushes, vines, weeds…

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Charles County

Some Restrictions

Charles County's adopted Building Code sets a 12-inch cap on weeds and plant growth under § 224-1.8, amending…

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Harford County

Some Restrictions

Harford County Code § 161-8 bars anyone from throwing, placing or depositing litter on any public or private lot…

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Howard County

Some Restrictions

Howard County regulates vacant lots through its Health Code nuisance rule. A vacant parcel that harbors vermin…

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Montgomery County

Some Restrictions

Montgomery County bans generalized weed growth and any plant growth over 12 inches tall within 15 feet of a property…

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Rockville

Some Restrictions

Rockville's solid waste code doesn't stop at occupied buildings. Chapter 20 makes the owner of any vacant lot…

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Wicomico County

Some Restrictions

In unincorporated Wicomico County, leaving unscreened appliances or construction debris out in the open on a vacant or…

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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing

Your responsibility to clear snow and ice from sidewalks next to your property, including deadlines after a snowfall and penalties for not clearing.