Where Maryland landlord-tenant law comes from
Most of the rules are in Title 8 of the Real Property Article of the Maryland Code, which covers leases, deposits, entry, notices and the three main eviction actions. Counties and Baltimore City add their own layers on licensing, rent increases and notice, and where a local rule gives tenants more protection, it generally applies on top of the state rule.
The Department of Housing and Community Development now runs an Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs, created by the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024. It publishes the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights, which has had to be attached to every residential lease since July 1, 2025 and is reissued each year; the current version took effect October 1, 2026.
Maryland landlord-tenant rules at a glance
The table summarizes the state rules as of October 2026. County and city law can add to them.
| Rule | Maryland requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | 60 days’ written notice from the landlord | RP 8-402(c) |
| Ending a week-to-week tenancy | 7 days with a written lease, 21 days without | RP 8-402(c) |
| Nonpayment of rent | Written notice on the Judiciary form; tenant has 10 days to pay before you file | RP 8-401(c) |
| Security deposit cap | One month’s rent (two months only in limited utility-assistance cases) | RP 8-203(b) |
| Deposit return | Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, with interest and an itemized list | RP 8-203(e), (g) |
| Late fees | No more than 5% of the unpaid rent for that period | RP 8-208(d) |
| Entry notice | 24 hours’ written notice; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday | RP 8-221 |
| Rent increase notice | 90 days for a lease term over one month | RP 8-209 |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Maryland?
Sixty days, in writing, to end a month-to-month tenancy or a lease for a stated term longer than one week, under Real Property section 8-402. A year-to-year tenancy needs 90 days. A week-to-week tenancy needs 7 days if there is a written lease and 21 days if there is not.
Tenants have shorter periods. A tenant may give 30 days’ notice in most tenancies, or 90 days for year-to-year. That state rule on tenant notice does not apply in Baltimore City, which sets its own. A lease can give tenants more notice than the statute but cannot cut the landlord’s notice below it.
Accepting rent after you serve a notice does not cancel it unless you agree otherwise in writing. If the tenant stays past the notice date, the remedy is a tenant holding over case in District Court.
Written lease rules for owners of five or more units
If you offer five or more dwelling units for rent in Maryland, you must use a written lease, under Real Property section 8-208. Without one, the tenancy is presumed to run for one year from move-in. On written request, you must also give a prospective tenant a copy of your lease form, complete except for names, dates, unit and rent.
The lease must state the condition of the unit, who pays heat, gas, electricity and water and who handles repairs, and it must include the deposit receipt and the current Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Some clauses are banned outright, including confessed judgments, waivers of jury trial, notice periods shorter than the statute and penalties for calling police or emergency services. An automatic renewal clause longer than one month only binds the tenant if it is set apart and initialed. A banned clause cannot be enforced, and the tenant can recover damages and attorney’s fees.
Security deposits in Maryland
Since October 1, 2024, a Maryland landlord can collect no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit, and no more than the deposit plus the first month’s rent at move-in. Pet deposits count toward the cap.
The deposit must sit in a separate, interest-bearing account at a federally insured institution with a Maryland branch, deposited within 30 days. Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, you must return it with simple interest, at the greater of the one-year Treasury yield or 1.5% a year for deposits of $50 or more held at least six months, and mail an itemized list of any damages. Miss the deadline or withhold without a reasonable basis and the tenant can recover up to three times the amount plus attorney’s fees.
Late fees and landlord entry
A Maryland lease cannot charge a late fee above 5% of the unpaid rent for the period. For weekly rent, the limit is $3 a week and $12 a month. Eviction filing fees generally cannot be passed to the tenant either.
Entry rules are new. Chapter 564 of 2025 (House Bill 1076), effective October 1, 2025, requires at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering, stating the date, approximate time and purpose. Entry is limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time, and no notice is needed in an emergency. The notice can be mailed, posted on the door or sent electronically if the tenant has chosen that method.
The eviction process in Maryland
Maryland has three main eviction cases, all filed in District Court: failure to pay rent, tenant holding over and breach of lease. Self-help, such as changing locks or shutting off utilities, is not allowed.
A failure to pay rent case starts with a written notice on the Judiciary’s form giving the tenant 10 days to pay. If rent is still unpaid, you file the complaint, and the summons sets trial for the fifth day after filing, though court calendars often run later. If you win, the court orders possession within four days, and you can ask for a warrant of restitution after seven days.
You must order the warrant within 60 days of judgment or the judgment is struck. Under state law you then give the tenant at least six days’ written notice of the eviction date, and local rules can set 4 to 14 days. Sheriffs stay evictions during extreme weather. Until the eviction is carried out, most tenants can stop it by paying all rent, costs and fees, unless they have had three unpaid-rent judgments in the 12 months before the case was filed.
- Day 0: serve the 10-day notice.
- Day 10 or later: file the failure to pay rent complaint.
- About 5 days after filing: trial date on the summons.
- 7 days after judgment: earliest request for a warrant of restitution.
- At least 6 days’ notice before the eviction date.
Does Maryland have rent control?
There is no statewide cap on rent increases in Maryland, but counties can set one, and the two largest suburban counties have. Statewide, Real Property section 8-209 requires written notice at least 90 days before a rent increase for a lease term longer than one month, and 60 days for terms of one week to one month.
Montgomery County limits increases to the lower of CPI-U plus 3% or 6%. The maximum increase is 5.2% from July 1, 2026, down from 5.7% the year before. Prince George’s County’s Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act, in effect since October 17, 2024, uses the same formula for most regulated units and a lower cap for age-restricted senior housing. The county lists 5.7% for non-senior units and 2.7% for senior units for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
Prince George’s exempts units completed on or after January 1, 2000 and units owned by individual landlords with five or fewer county rental units, among others. Check both counties’ exemption rules for your building before you assume a cap applies, and check city rules in places such as Takoma Park.
What happens to leases and deposits when you sell
Leases survive a sale in Maryland. The buyer takes the building subject to every lease in place and steps into your shoes as landlord, including any county rent cap that applies to the units.
Deposits need care. Under Real Property section 8-203, you and your estate stay liable to the tenants for their deposits unless you deliver the deposits, with an accounting, to the buyer. Do that at closing, list each tenant’s deposit and accrued interest in the contract, and get the buyer’s written acknowledgment.
The tenant purchase rights created in 2024, a right of first refusal that gives the tenant 30 days after the landlord’s notice to make an offer, apply only to residential rental properties with one to three units. Buildings with four or more units are exempt, so a sale of a five-unit or larger apartment building does not trigger them under state law.
Maryland landlord-tenant laws that changed in 2024, 2025 and 2026
Here are the changes an apartment owner is most likely to run into.
- Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (HB 693), effective October 1, 2024: one-month deposit cap, eviction filing surcharges that landlords generally cannot pass on, a seven-day wait after judgment before an eviction, weather stays and the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs.
- July 1, 2025: the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights must be attached to every residential lease. A new version takes effect each October 1, most recently October 1, 2026.
- Chapter 564 of 2025 (HB 1076), effective October 1, 2025: 24 hours’ written notice before entry, with set hours.
- Montgomery County’s rent stabilization allowance fell to 5.2% for increases from July 1, 2026.
- October 1, 2025: provisions of the 2024 act took effect requiring DHCD to collect District Court eviction data and publish eviction data it receives from the Judiciary.
Selling a tenant-occupied Maryland building to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Maryland, with tenants in place and leases as they stand, including rent-stabilized units in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We handle the deposit transfer and accounting at closing so your liability ends with the sale.
For the tax on the sale, see Maryland capital gains tax on real estate, and for the carrying cost a buyer will weigh, the property tax rate in Maryland.
