What changes when the building is inside Baltimore City?
The state rules still run the case, but three city rules shape it. You need a current Baltimore City rental license to win possession, your tenant may have a lawyer paid for by the city, and the notice you send before the sheriff arrives is longer than the state minimum. Each one can push your eviction date back if you miss it.
The statewide steps, from the 10-day notice on the Judiciary form to the 7-day wait for the warrant and the tenant’s right to redeem, are covered in our Maryland eviction process guide. Here is the short version: 10-day notice, file, trial set for the fifth day after filing, a 7-day wait, then the warrant. Everything below is what Baltimore adds.
Where is Baltimore Rent Court now?
Baltimore City rent cases are heard by the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. For years Rent Court sat at 501 East Fayette Street. That courthouse closed on October 10, 2025, and the Judiciary moved all of its services to a new building at 500 North Calvert Street, which opened on October 14, 2025.
Old notices, websites and tip sheets still point to East Fayette Street, so check the address on your summons before trial day. The District Court hears landlord-tenant cases at its South Baltimore courthouse too, the John R. Hargrove Sr. building at 700 East Patapsco Avenue.
You file a failure to pay rent complaint on form DC-CV-082 once the 10-day notice on form DC-CV-115 has run. The court sets the trial date, and the Judiciary’s Rent Court tip sheets walk landlords through the same forms used statewide.
The Baltimore rental license you have to plead
Every residential rental unit in Baltimore City needs a license from the Department of Housing and Community Development. Multifamily buildings were licensed first, and one- and two-family rentals were added by Council Bill 18-0185, with licenses due by January 1, 2019. Non-owner-occupied properties that sit empty still need annual registration.
Getting the license takes online registration with DHCD plus an inspection by a state-licensed home inspector who is registered with the city. Multifamily buildings also file an addendum that covers common areas. Initial licenses run two years, and renewals can be granted for one, two or three years depending on the property’s violation history.
Maryland law ties the license to the eviction. In a jurisdiction that licenses rentals, the complaint must state that the unit is licensed or exempt, and you must prove it at trial (RP § 8-406). The Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office tells landlords to bring the property registration number, the lead certification number, tenant names and a military status certification to the hearing. Missing paperwork can mean a postponement or a dismissal.
- Rental license number from DHCD, current on the trial date
- Lead risk reduction certificate number for pre-1978 units
- Property registration number
- Ledger showing each month’s rent, due date and late fees
- Copy of the 10-day notice and proof of how you sent it
- SCRA military status declaration for each tenant
Baltimore’s right to counsel in eviction cases
Baltimore was one of the first cities in the country to give tenants a right to a lawyer in eviction cases. Ordinance 20-465, enacted December 2, 2020 and effective April 1, 2021, added Subtitle 6A to Article 13 of the City Code. It covers anyone who occupies a dwelling in the city under a claim of legal right other than the owner, including Housing Authority tenants.
The ordinance has no income cutoff in its definition. Instead, it tells the Housing Commissioner to prioritize the lowest-income tenants and to offer representation as soon as practicable after a case starts, ideally by the first court date, subject to funding. It covers eviction cases, the first appeal and certain rent escrow and retaliation claims. Maryland’s statewide Access to Counsel in Evictions Program also applies.
For a landlord, this mostly changes what trial day looks like. A represented tenant is more likely to raise a defective notice, a licensing gap, rent escrow or retaliation. Clean paperwork matters more in Baltimore than in counties where most tenants appear alone.
Scheduling the Baltimore City Sheriff
After judgment and the 7-day wait, you request the warrant of restitution. The Sheriff’s Office says the signed order usually reaches it 5 to 10 days after it is signed, and then you call the eviction line at 410-396-7412 with the case number and address. The date you pick has to leave enough room for the city’s notice.
On eviction day, you or your agent must be present to change the locks and take possession. Nothing can start before the deputies arrive. The Sheriff’s Office has dropped its old minimum crew rule for landlords, but the work of clearing the unit is still yours.
The 14-day notice of the eviction date
This is where Baltimore is longer than the rest of Maryland. State law sets a 6-day minimum notice before the eviction date and lets local law set anywhere from 4 to 14 days (RP § 8-407). Baltimore City Code, Article 13, § 8A-2, uses the full 14 days for failure to pay rent judgments, and adds a posting requirement.
Judgments in holding over and breach of lease cases are exempt from § 8A-2, so the state notice rule governs those. The Sheriff checks your notice on the day, and if a judge finds you didn’t comply, the warrant is vacated and you have to apply for a new one and send new notices.
- Mail it first-class with a certificate of mailing at least 14 days before the eviction date. The mailing day is Day 1, Day 14 must be the day before the eviction, and weekends and holidays count.
- Post it on the premises at least 7 days before the eviction date. The Sheriff suggests the front door.
- Include the District Court case number, the tenant’s name, the address and the scheduled date.
- State that the eviction goes ahead unless the tenant moves out or redeems by paying where that right applies.
- Warn prominently that anything left behind will be treated as abandoned and may be disposed of, and say this is the final notice even if the date is postponed.
- Keep the notice, the original certificate of mailing and a signed affidavit from whoever posted it. You may charge the tenant up to $5 for notice costs.
What happens to belongings after a Baltimore eviction?
Under the city’s eviction chattels law, property left in the unit is treated as abandoned once the eviction starts. You can’t put it on the street, sidewalk or alley. It has to go to a licensed landfill or solid waste facility, to charity or somewhere else lawful, and the Sheriff notes that landlords may get a discount at city-run disposal sites.
Expect this area to change. In 2024 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Todman v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore that the city violated a couple’s due process rights when their belongings were taken under this ordinance. Council Bill 25-0087 would give tenants up to seven business days to reclaim property and let landlords charge a reasonable storage fee. As of late August 2026 it was still waiting on a committee hearing.
Baltimore eviction timeline for a rent case
This table follows a nonpayment case from the state notice to a city eviction, with the Baltimore-specific steps marked by their city rule.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 10-day notice on form DC-CV-115 | 10 days to cure | RP § 8-401(c) |
| File DC-CV-082 with license and lead numbers | After the notice runs | RP §§ 8-401, 8-406 |
| Trial in Baltimore City District Court | Fifth day after filing | RP § 8-401(b) |
| Request warrant of restitution | 7 days after judgment | RP § 8-401(f) |
| Signed order reaches the Sheriff | Usually 5 to 10 days | Sheriff’s Office guidance |
| Mail notice of eviction date | At least 14 days before | City Code Art. 13, § 8A-2 |
| Post notice on the premises | At least 7 days before | City Code Art. 13, § 8A-2 |
| Eviction with landlord present | Date set with the Sheriff | RP § 8-401(f) |
Worked example: a $1,400 unit in a 14-unit Baltimore building
Assume a one-bedroom in a 14-unit building in Baltimore City rents for $1,400 a month, or $46.03 a day. Rent due on the 1st (day 0) isn’t paid, and you mail the 10-day notice with a certificate of mailing on day 1. Assume an attorney charges $600 for an uncontested rent case.
You file on day 11, trial is set for day 16 and the tenant defaults. You request the warrant on day 23. If the signed order reaches the Sheriff at the fast end of the 5-to-10-day range, you call on day 28, get a date and mail the 14-day notice that same day. With the mailing day counted as Day 1, the earliest eviction is day 42.
Those 42 days cost $1,933 in lost rent. With the attorney, the total is $2,533. The same case in a county using the 6-day state notice could finish around day 29, so Baltimore’s rules add about 13 days, or $598, before any docket delay, weather stay or redemption.
| Item | Days or rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rent at $1,400 a month | $46.03 a day | |
| Lost rent, due date to eviction | 42 days | $1,933 |
| Assumed attorney fee | $600 | |
| Total, fastest Baltimore path | $2,533 | |
| Extra time versus the 6-day state notice | 13 days | $598 |
Settling before the Sheriff’s date
Because a Baltimore tenant can redeem by paying the judgment amount right up to the eviction, and the Sheriff must accept that payment on the day, many cases end with money rather than a lockout. A written payment plan signed before you file saves the court costs and the six-week wait.
When the tenant can’t pay, cash for keys usually costs less than the 42-day path above. A signed agreement with a move-out date, a payment released when the keys come back and a clear statement about belongings avoids the abandoned property question entirely.
Selling a Baltimore apartment building with tenants in place
You can sell while a Rent Court case is open. The leases stay with the building, and the buyer steps in as landlord. Hand over the ledger, each notice and certificate of mailing, the case numbers and any warrant dates, since the 60-day warrant deadlines keep running. A buyer will also want the DHCD license, the lead certificates and tenant estoppel certificates confirming what each tenant claims to owe.
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Baltimore and across Maryland with tenants in place, including buildings with nonpaying tenants, licensing gaps or cases pending in District Court. You don’t need to finish an eviction before you call. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977, and we typically respond within 48 hours.
