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 RestrictionsIn Baltimore County, an owner may not create or allow a nuisance on their property that is detrimental to public…
Read full rule →Prince Georges County
Heavy RestrictionsPrince George's County enforces exterior property-maintenance standards countywide under County Code Subtitle 13…
Read full rule →Washington County
Heavy RestrictionsWashington County's Code Official may condemn, placard, or order the vacating of any structure found unsafe or unfit…
Read full rule →Annapolis
Significant RestrictionsAnnapolis condemns dwellings as unfit for human habitation when they're hazardously damaged, unsanitary, or lack…
Read full rule →Anne Arundel County
Significant RestrictionsThe Health Officer can declare a vacant, deteriorating property a nuisance property and force the owner to board it up…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Significant RestrictionsUnder the Livability Code, Carroll County can condemn and placard any premises or building its officials find unsafe or…
Read full rule →Cecil County
Significant RestrictionsCecil County Code § 157-8 lets the Code Official condemn any structure found unsafe or unfit for human occupancy, order…
Read full rule →Charles County
Significant RestrictionsCharles County treats a rundown building exterior as a public nuisance under Code § 85-2: broken windows, flaking…
Read full rule →Frederick
Significant RestrictionsFrederick's code official can condemn any structure found unsafe, unlawful, or unfit for human occupancy, posting a…
Read full rule →Gaithersburg
Significant RestrictionsGaithersburg's local amendment to the state-adopted International Residential Code, City Code § 5-5(23), lets the…
Read full rule →Harford County
Significant RestrictionsUnder Harford County Code § 162-6, the Livability Code Official can recommend that a dangerous, decayed or structurally…
Read full rule →Howard County
Significant RestrictionsHoward County's Health Officer can declare a property a public-health nuisance under County Code Section 12.110 for…
Read full rule →Montgomery County
Significant RestrictionsMontgomery County code makes it illegal to store trash, unused vehicles, scrap building material, or abandoned…
Read full rule →Rockville
Significant RestrictionsRockville declares any building meeting its dangerous-building criteria, structural failure, fire damage, unsafe…
Read full rule →Wicomico County
Significant RestrictionsIn unincorporated Wicomico County, any building the Housing Official finds dangerous or a threat to public health or…
Read full rule →Vacant Lot Maintenance
Requirements for maintaining vacant or undeveloped land, including mowing, fencing, and preventing dumping and trespassing.
Baltimore County
Heavy RestrictionsIn Baltimore County, vacant lots must be kept free of overgrown weeds and dumped material. The 8-inch weed limit and…
Read full rule →Prince Georges County
Heavy RestrictionsPrince George's County requires vacant and unimproved lots to be kept free of litter, debris, and overgrown weeds…
Read full rule →Anne Arundel County
Some RestrictionsAnne Arundel County bans rank vegetation and noxious weeds over 12 inches tall on most vacant and improved property…
Read full rule →Cecil County
Some RestrictionsCecil County can order a property owner, including the owner of a vacant lot, to clear trees, bushes, vines, weeds…
Read full rule →Charles County
Some RestrictionsCharles County's adopted Building Code sets a 12-inch cap on weeds and plant growth under § 224-1.8, amending…
Read full rule →Harford County
Some RestrictionsHarford County Code § 161-8 bars anyone from throwing, placing or depositing litter on any public or private lot…
Read full rule →Howard County
Some RestrictionsHoward County regulates vacant lots through its Health Code nuisance rule. A vacant parcel that harbors vermin…
Read full rule →Montgomery County
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County bans generalized weed growth and any plant growth over 12 inches tall within 15 feet of a property…
Read full rule →Rockville
Some RestrictionsRockville's solid waste code doesn't stop at occupied buildings. Chapter 20 makes the owner of any vacant lot…
Read full rule →Wicomico County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Wicomico County, leaving unscreened appliances or construction debris out in the open on a vacant or…
Read full rule →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.
Annapolis
Some RestrictionsAnnapolis property owners must clear sidewalk snow, sleet, or ice within three hours of it stopping, or by 11 a.m. the…
Read full rule →Anne Arundel County
Some RestrictionsAnne Arundel County gives property owners 24 hours to clear sidewalk snow or ice under three inches, and 48 hours for…
Read full rule →Carroll County
Some RestrictionsCarroll County gives the owner, tenant, or occupant of a property 12 hours to clear ice or an accumulation of snow off…
Read full rule →Frederick
Some RestrictionsFrederick declares snow-covered sidewalks a public nuisance and gives property owners just 12 hours after snow stops…
Read full rule →Gaithersburg
Some RestrictionsGaithersburg bans leaving snow or ice on a sidewalk abutting your property. If it's reported, the city manager gives…
Read full rule →Montgomery County
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County property owners, tenants, and managers must clear sidewalk snow and ice within 24 hours after…
Read full rule →Prince Georges County
Some RestrictionsPrince George's County property owners and lessors must clear snow and ice from sidewalks abutting their land within 48…
Read full rule →Rockville
Some RestrictionsRockville property owners must clear sidewalk snow and ice within 24, 48 or 72 hours depending on how much fell, or the…
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