Rental Property Rules in Maryland (2026)

Prince George's County limits how much a landlord can raise rent on a regulated unit at lease renewal to the lesser of…

Montgomery County caps annual rent increases on regulated units at CPI-U plus 3 percent or 6 percent, whichever is…

Annapolis has no year-round rent control; increases are capped only during a declared local state of emergency, plus 30…

Frederick has no general rent control: market-rate apartments are unregulated. The only local rent cap sits in City…

Howard County has no permanent rent-control ordinance. Its only attempt, the 2020 Rental Protection and Stability Act…

Rockville has no mandatory rent control: landlords are only 'encouraged' to keep rent increases at or below a…

Maryland's Real Property Article sets statewide minimum notice periods, court procedures, and tenant protections that…

Howard County limits mobile home park owners to three grounds for evicting a resident: nonpayment of rent, a law…

Rockville sets no local just-cause eviction rule, evictions run on Maryland's Real Property Article, but landlords may…

Anne Arundel County has no just-cause eviction ordinance. Tenancies follow Maryland Real Property Code §8-401 et seq…

Baltimore does not have a standalone just-cause eviction ordinance, but Maryland law provides specific grounds for…

Baltimore County Code § 35-4-201 protects a tenant who has filed a dangerous-conditions escrow case: for six months…

Rental properties in Gaithersburg are subject to Maryland state eviction laws and Montgomery County tenant protections…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, tenants renting a lot in a licensed trailer camp (mobile home park) can be evicted…

Carroll County has no general just-cause eviction law: landlords may end most tenancies without stating a reason. The…

Annapolis requires a rental operator's license from the Department before any dwelling, dwelling unit, bed and…

Anne Arundel County requires anyone renting out a dwelling unit for a short-term stay to first register with the…

Every rental housing unit in the City of Frederick must hold a valid license from the Department of Public Works before…

Every rental facility in Rockville, Maryland, from single-unit rentals to apartment buildings, must hold a City-issued…

A property owner in Baltimore County can't rent out a dwelling unit, boarding house room, or apartment without a rental…

Every occupied rental housing unit in Gaithersburg must carry a valid, unrevoked license from the city manager. Owners…

Howard County landlords must hold a rental housing license from the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits…

Montgomery County requires every landlord to obtain a rental housing license from the Department of Housing and…

Every single-family and multifamily rental in Prince George's County needs a license from the Department of Permitting…

Maryland caps most security deposits at one month's rent for leases entered on or after October 1, 2024, down from the…

Baltimore's Pay-4-Stay rule, codified in Maryland Real Property Article §8-401, lets a tenant cure a…

Baltimore County requires landlords of three or more rental units to give 60 days' written notice before any rent…

Gaithersburg landlords may raise the rent only once every twelve months and must give tenants 90 days' written notice…

Landlords must give tenants 90 days' written notice before any rent increase and cannot raise rent more than once in a…

Rockville landlords must give tenants, and the City's Housing Director for larger properties, 90 days' written notice…

Each year, Prince George's County's DPIE must publish the countywide annual rent increase allowance by May 1st, ahead…

Maryland adopted a statewide landlord-entry statute effective October 1, 2025. Under Real Property § 8-221, landlords…

Maryland's rent escrow statute lets tenants withhold rent into court when serious defects threaten life, health, or…

Annapolis landlords must supply working heat to every habitable room and hot water at a minimum 120°F, with central…

Landlords may not occupy or lease a dwelling unless it is clean, sanitary, and fit for human occupancy under the…

Baltimore County's Livability Code sets the minimum habitability floor for every leased residential structure…

Carroll County's Livability Code (Chapter 171) makes minimum housing standards a condition of renting: § 171.020(B)…

Cecil County's Minimum Livability Code (Ch. 240) sets the baseline habitability standard for rental housing in the…

Charles County enforces rental-unit habitability through its Minimum Livability Code, adopted under § 81-1 of the…

Frederick sets minimum habitability standards for every licensed rental unit by adopting dozens of International…

Gaithersburg landlords must keep rental units clean, sanitary, and in good repair, maintain electrical and plumbing…

Under the Minimum Livability Code, Harford County Code § 162-13B requires landlords to heat every habitable room to at…

Every Howard County residential lease must promise a clean, sanitary, rodent-free unit under County Code § 17.1009(c)…

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

Prince George's County enforces the International Property Maintenance Code with local amendments under Code Sec…

Rockville landlords must keep rental units, common areas and utilities clean, safe and in working order, with a duty to…

Washington County's Livability Code makes it unlawful for a property owner to rent or lease a housing unit unless the…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, Chapter 160's Housing Standards set minimum livability rules that apply to every…

Maryland caps late-rent penalties at 5% of the delinquent rent. Under Real Property § 8-208, a lease may not impose a…

To end a month-to-month tenancy in Maryland, either party must give 60 days' written notice before the period expires…

For failure to pay rent, Maryland now requires a 10-day written cure notice before filing summary ejectment (Real…

Maryland requires 20 years of adverse possession before a squatter can claim land. Under Courts and Judicial…