How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in Maryland?

No dollar ceiling on the amount charged, but a $25 threshold makes the money refundable. A landlord who requires from a prospective tenant any fee other than a security deposit, and takes more than $25, must return the money and may keep only the part actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. A fee of $25 or less carries no return duty.

Does an application fee have to be refunded in Maryland?

Yes — in Maryland at least one circumstance requires application-stage money to be returned. Fees above $25 must be returned less only the portion actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. The deadline is no later than 15 days after the date of occupancy, or 15 days after either party gives the other written word that no tenancy will occur.

Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in Maryland?

No statutory receipt duty for application money.

Does Maryland have a reusable tenant screening report law?

A landlord does not have to accept a reusable tenant screening report, but every landlord must say whether it does. A qualifying report is one prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the applicant's request and expense and made available to the landlord at no charge, containing a credit report; for each jurisdiction shown as a prior residence, a criminal history records check and an eviction history each covering the previous 7 years; verification of employment and income; and current address and rental history. A landlord that accepts one may charge neither a fee to access it nor an application fee, may require the applicant to certify that name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history, and eviction history have not materially changed, and may reject the application before the lease is signed if the applicant made a material change to the report.

Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in Maryland?

No statute on holding deposits.

What can a landlord charge for a rental application in Maryland?

Verified August 25, 2026 Updated October 1, 2026 All Maryland topics →

Check your municipality. Maryland does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice periods, and fee limits that are stricter than the state law on this page. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Takoma Park.

What the state record says

Maryland does not preempt local rent control, and three sizable programs are active: Takoma Park (rent stabilization since 1981, CPI-based annual allowance), Montgomery County (cap of CPI+3% up to a 6% maximum), and Prince George's County (cap of the lower of 6% or CPI-U+3%). There is no statewide rent control. Montgomery County's program is Bill 15-23, effective 2024-07-23, and exempts buildings under 23 years old; Prince George's County's is the Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024, effective 2024-10-17. RP § 8-209.1 acknowledges local rent-limit laws and imposes state reporting duties on jurisdictions that adopt them, while its subsection (e) says the section itself may not be construed to AUTHORIZE local rent caps — a no-new-authorization clause, not a preemption. Local ordinances are outside the scope of this page but are flagged here.

What did not become law. None of the following is law; failed bills are sometimes still described as if enacted:

H.B. 313 (2026 Regular Session) — Rental Applications and Tenant Screening — Would have barred a landlord from collecting an application fee or screening fee unless the unit is available for lease or will become available within 30 days, required written disclosure before accepting either fee, given applicants a right to dispute information in a screening report, made a refund of the application or screening fee an available remedy, and made a violation an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice. Status: Passed the House of Delegates 96-36 on March 18, 2026 and went to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which set a hearing for April 2, 2026. The bill page records no action after that, the 2026 regular session has ended, no chaptered version was published, and the Real Property section the bill would have added does not appear in the Code. It did not become law. (checked August 25, 2026).
H.B. 80 (2026 Regular Session) — Residential Leases, Fee Disclosures — Would have required a landlord with four or more dwelling units to give prospective tenants a written itemized list of every fee that may be imposed, with the basis for each fee, its amount, whether it is mandatory or optional, and when it is due, and would have barred imposing a mandatory fee that was not disclosed. It carried treble damages and attorney's fees for tenants, applying to leases signed or renewed on or after October 1, 2026. Status: Passed the House of Delegates 94-35 on March 5, 2026 and went to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which set a hearing for March 25, 2026. The bill page records no action after that, no enrolled or chaptered version was published, and the Real Property section it would have added does not appear in the Code. It did not become law. Its 2025 predecessor, H.B. 1257, followed the same path. (checked August 25, 2026).

Maryland regulates rental application money through a refund rule rather than a price ceiling: a landlord who takes more than $25 in fees from an applicant must hand back everything not actually spent on a credit check or other application expenses, within 15 days of move-in or of written word that no tenancy will occur, or owe twice the fees.

Cited to Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 (b)(1)(i), (b)(2), (c) and 33 more cited sources · Verified August 25, 2026

A fee of $25 or less may be kept outright, and the rule reaches neither a landlord offering four or fewer units at one location nor seasonal and condominium rentals. The application form itself must explain what the applicant is signing up for and how the fee rule works, and every landlord must state whether it accepts a reusable tenant screening report, which it may not charge to access or add an application fee on top of. Maryland sets no cap on the amount charged, no receipt duty for application money, no holding-deposit rule, and no requirement that advertised rents show all-in pricing. Since October 1, 2026, a landlord with five or more rental units in the State must give applicants written notice about criminal history checks before taking an application fee, and a written, specific reason when it withdraws a conditional offer on criminal history grounds; a violation carries a civil penalty of up to $500.

Maryland application & screening fees at a glance

Application fee cap	No dollar ceiling on the amount charged, but a $25 threshold makes the money refundable. A landlord who requires from a prospective tenant any fee other than a security deposit, and takes more than $25, must return the money and may keep only the part actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. A fee of $25 or less carries no return duty. The rule does not reach a landlord who offers four or fewer dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, and it does not reach seasonal or condominium rentals. Where it does apply, a landlord who fails to return the refundable portion is liable for twice the amount of the fees.
Fee limited to actual screening cost	Yes
Screening charge rules	Two conditions ride on screening charges. Anything taken above $25 may be kept only to the extent actually spent on a credit check or other application expenses. And a landlord that accepts reusable tenant screening reports, and receives one from an applicant, may charge that applicant neither a fee to access the report nor an application fee. Since October 1, 2026 a third condition binds a landlord that manages or owns five or more residential rental units in the State: before accepting an application fee it must give the applicant the written notice about criminal history records checks, and if it runs criminal history records checks it must run one for every prospective tenant. Every landlord must state whether it accepts reusable tenant screening reports, which makes the no-fee rule turn on the landlord's own posted position. The four-or-fewer-unit, seasonal, and condominium carve-outs sit in the application-fee section alone; the reusable-report section carries no such carve-out and applies to landlords of every size. Maryland sets no one-charge-per-applicant rule, no requirement that the landlord actually run a screening report after taking a fee, and no vacancy prerequisite.
Receipt required	No statutory receipt duty for application money
Refund required in some circumstances	Yes
Refund rules	Fees above $25 must be returned less only the portion actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. The deadline is no later than 15 days after the date of occupancy, or 15 days after either party gives the other written word that no tenancy will occur. The duty runs whether or not the applicant is approved and whether or not the applicant moves in, since the deadline is keyed to occupancy or to written word that no tenancy will happen, whichever comes. Fees of $25 or less are outside the rule, as are landlords offering four or fewer dwelling units on one parcel or at one location and seasonal and condominium rentals. The statute does not say in what form the money must be returned.
Disclosure before collecting	The lease application itself must carry a statement explaining the liabilities the applicant takes on by signing it and explaining the fee-return requirement and who is exempt from it. Separately, every landlord must tell prospective tenants whether it accepts reusable tenant screening reports, in writing or by conspicuous posting such as a rental listing, a website homepage, or the online application page. A landlord renting under a written lease must also give any prospective applicant a complete copy of the proposed lease form on written request, without requiring a signature or any prior deposit. Since October 1, 2026, a landlord that manages or owns five or more residential rental units in the State must also, before accepting an application fee, give the applicant written notice about the use of a criminal history records check in deciding eligibility, including a statement that a conviction for a crime the law lists may be considered only after a conditional offer, and information on the applicant's ability to submit evidence of inaccuracies in the records, of rehabilitation, and of other mitigating factors. That landlord must also tell the applicant that an individualized assessment will be conducted. Before a conditional offer, that landlord's application may not ask about criminal history except whether the applicant has been convicted of one of the offenses the law names or is or has been subject to sex offender registration, and, unless federal law requires it, no application form, advertisement or statement may express a criminal-history limitation the law does not allow. The criminal-history duties do not apply to owner-occupied rental units. Maryland does not otherwise require a landlord to publish its screening criteria, to break down what an application fee pays for, or to re-notice applicants when criteria change.
Denial-notice duties (state law)	A landlord that manages or owns five or more residential rental units in the State and withdraws a conditional offer because of a criminal history records check must give the applicant written notice stating a specific reason for the withdrawal and telling the applicant that a reassessment may be requested by giving the landlord written evidence, signed under penalty of perjury, of inaccuracies in the records, of rehabilitation, or of other mitigating factors. The landlord may withdraw on those grounds only if it determines that the withdrawal is necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest, and after a conditional offer it may weigh only a felony conviction within the 5 years before the application, a conviction in another state or a federal court for a crime with the same elements as a Maryland felony within the same 5 years, or a conviction the law lists that the applicant did not disclose. A reassessment must consider the nature and severity of the offense, the applicant's age at the time, the time since, evidence of rehabilitation and good conduct, the risk a repeat would pose to other tenants or the property, and whether the offense happened at the rented property. Within 30 days after the withdrawal notice the applicant may ask for a copy of everything the landlord relied on, including the criminal history records, and the landlord must supply it within 10 days of a timely request. These duties have applied since October 1, 2026 and do not reach owner-occupied rental units. Maryland places no other state denial-notice duty on a landlord who turns down a rental applicant. The Maryland Consumer Credit Reporting Act's adverse-action duty is confined by its own words to denials of credit, insurance, and employment, and does not reach a decision about a tenancy. Federal fair credit reporting law applies to landlords on its own terms and is not Maryland law. The criminal-history withdrawal notice is narrow: it covers withdrawal of a conditional offer on criminal history grounds, not denials on income, credit, or rental-history grounds.
Reusable screening reports	A landlord does not have to accept a reusable tenant screening report, but every landlord must say whether it does. A qualifying report is one prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the applicant's request and expense and made available to the landlord at no charge, containing a credit report; for each jurisdiction shown as a prior residence, a criminal history records check and an eviction history each covering the previous 7 years; verification of employment and income; and current address and rental history. A landlord that accepts one may charge neither a fee to access it nor an application fee, may require the applicant to certify that name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history, and eviction history have not materially changed, and may reject the application before the lease is signed if the applicant made a material change to the report. Notice of whether reusable reports are accepted may be in writing or posted conspicuously, including on a rental listing, on a website homepage, on the online rental application page, or in any other manner reasonably calculated to reach potential tenants. The rule came from Chapter 784 of the 2021 session and took effect October 1, 2021. Since October 1, 2026, the criminal history part of the report is expressly made subject to Maryland's criminal-history subtitle, which governs when a landlord of five or more units in the State may consider criminal history; the report's 7-year look-back is unchanged.
Holding deposits	No statute on holding deposits
Rental fee-transparency rules	No rental fee-transparency statute
Penalty for violation	A landlord who fails to return application fees above $25 is liable for twice the amount of the fees in damages. A landlord who tenders or seeks to enforce a lease provision prohibited by the written-lease section, including one demanding more than the security deposit and first month's rent to commence the lease, owes the tenant actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. Since October 1, 2026, a person who violates Maryland's criminal-history subtitle is subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation. The double-damages remedy attaches to the fee-return duty in the application section. The actual-damages and attorney's-fees remedy attaches to prohibited lease provisions, not to application fees as such. The reusable tenant screening report section carries no penalty of its own, so its notice and no-fee duties have no stated statutory remedy. The $500 penalty covers every duty in the criminal-history subtitle, including the pre-fee written notice and the conditional-offer withdrawal notice. The subtitle does not make a violation a Consumer Protection Act violation, does not say who imposes the penalty, and creates no right to sue of its own; the model notice the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs must publish is to tell applicants of their right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division under section 13-401 of the Commercial Law article.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maryland Application & Screening Fee Laws (verified August 25, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/application-fees/maryland/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

The $25 figure is a threshold, not a cap — Maryland does not limit what a landlord may charge to apply. The $25 figure marks the point above which the money becomes refundable, less actual expenses, and above which double damages can follow. A $75 fee is lawful to charge; keeping the unspent part of it is not.
Small landlords and some property types are outside the fee rule — The application-fee section does not apply to a landlord offering four or fewer dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals. Those landlords are under no statutory duty to return application money.
The reusable-report rule has no size carve-out — Unlike the application-fee section, the reusable tenant screening report section applies to landlords of every size. Every landlord must say whether it accepts such reports, even one renting a single unit.
Two different exemption thresholds are in play — The application-fee section turns on four or fewer units at one location. The criminal-history duties in force since October 1, 2026 turn on managing or owning five or more residential rental units anywhere in the State, counted across entities, and do not apply to owner-occupied units. The two thresholds are counted differently.
Itemizing what the fee paid for is guidance, not a statutory duty — The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division tells applicants they may ask a landlord for a written explanation of the expenses charged and the cost of each item. The statute sets no itemization duty, so that is practical guidance rather than a rule a landlord must follow.
Fee-transparency legislation has stalled twice — Bills requiring landlords to give prospective tenants an itemized list of every fee, and barring undisclosed mandatory fees, passed the House of Delegates in 2025 and again in 2026 and did not clear the Senate. A separate 2026 bill would have barred application and screening fees unless a unit was available within 30 days; it also passed the House and stopped in the Senate.
Screening criteria are a separate subject — Maryland's 2026 limits on the use of criminal history in leasing, and its 2026 rules on income-based subsidy discrimination, govern what a landlord may consider rather than what it may charge. Only their notice, fee, and penalty provisions are reflected here.
Local rules can go further — Maryland counties and municipalities regulate rental housing alongside the State, and several fee-related State provisions expressly leave room for stricter local laws. Applicants and landlords should check the county or city rules for the property in addition to State law. One exception runs the other way: since October 1, 2026, the State's criminal-history subtitle preempts and supersedes any county or city law comparable in subject matter.
How the cost limit works — The statute lets the landlord retain only the portion of the fees actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application, and requires the rest to be returned. The tie to actual cost is not free-standing: it operates on fees above the $25 threshold, and a landlord who takes $25 or less has no return duty at all.
What the receipt duty covers — Section 8-213 is the provision that would carry a receipt duty for application money, and it contains none: subsection (a) governs what the application form must say, subsection (b) governs return of the money, and subsection (c) governs scope. Maryland's receipt duties attach to security deposits instead, where a written receipt with prescribed content is required and penalties follow its absence. What an applicant gets for an application fee is set by the landlord's own paperwork, not by statute.
When money must come back — Where a landlord required more than $25 in fees other than a security deposit from a prospective tenant, the statute directs that the fees be returned, less only what was actually spent, on pain of double damages.
Money to hold a unit — The provisions that would carry such a rule do not contain one. The application-fee section speaks generally of any fees other than a security deposit required from a prospective tenant, and the security deposit definition turns on whether the money protects the landlord against unpaid rent or damage. Whether a payment described as a reservation or holding deposit falls under one, the other, or neither depends on what the money secures, and the statutes do not settle it. One related limit does exist: a lease provision requiring a tenant to pay more than the security deposit plus the first month's rent to commence the lease and occupy the premises is unenforceable.
Advertising and fee transparency — The Maryland Consumer Protection Act reaches residential rental by its own terms, barring unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices in the lease or rental of consumer realty and in the offer of the same, but that is a deception standard rather than a rule about how prices and fees must be displayed. The one sector-specific fee-disclosure duty in the residential leases subtitle covers landlords who allocate master-metered utility costs among tenants, who must give prospective tenants written information including any service charges or administrative fees; a lease provision requiring payment of those utility charges is unenforceable if the information is not given. Bills to require full fee disclosure passed the House of Delegates in both 2025 and 2026 and did not clear the Senate.

Common questions: Maryland application & screening fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in Maryland?: No dollar ceiling on the amount charged, but a $25 threshold makes the money refundable. A landlord who requires from a prospective tenant any fee other than a security deposit, and takes more than $25, must return the money and may keep only the part actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. A fee of $25 or less carries no return duty.
Does an application fee have to be refunded in Maryland?: Yes — in Maryland at least one circumstance requires application-stage money to be returned. Fees above $25 must be returned less only the portion actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. The deadline is no later than 15 days after the date of occupancy, or 15 days after either party gives the other written word that no tenancy will occur.
Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in Maryland?: No statutory receipt duty for application money.
Does Maryland have a reusable tenant screening report law?: A landlord does not have to accept a reusable tenant screening report, but every landlord must say whether it does. A qualifying report is one prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the applicant's request and expense and made available to the landlord at no charge, containing a credit report; for each jurisdiction shown as a prior residence, a criminal history records check and an eviction history each covering the previous 7 years; verification of employment and income; and current address and rental history. A landlord that accepts one may charge neither a fee to access it nor an application fee, may require the applicant to certify that name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history, and eviction history have not materially changed, and may reject the application before the lease is signed if the applicant made a material change to the report.
Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in Maryland?: No statute on holding deposits.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (August 25, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Updated, October 1, 2026 — Maryland: the criminal-history subtitle (Real Prop. §§ 8-2A-01 to 8-2A-12, 2026 chapter 752) is in force as of October 1, 2026 for a landlord that manages or owns five or more rental units in the State: written notice about criminal history checks before an application fee is accepted, a specific written reason and a reassessment right when a conditional offer is withdrawn, a 30-day right to request the records relied on, and state preemption of comparable local laws. Corrections to what this page had stated in advance: the civil penalty is up to $500 per violation, not $1,000; a violation is not made a Consumer Protection Act violation; and the reusable screening report's criminal-history look-back remains 7 years.

Citations

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (b)(1)(i), (b)(2), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (b)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 · (c), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203.1 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (b)(1)(i) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (b)(1)(ii), (b)(2), (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 · (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208 · (b) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-04 · (b)-(c) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-1212 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-06 · (a)-(e) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 · (a)-(f) (verified 2026) Official source
Ch. 784 (S.B. 691), Acts of 2021 · § 2 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 · (b)(2)(i) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 · (b) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208 · (d)(11) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Com. Law § 13-303 · (1)-(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-212.4 · (c) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208 · (g)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-10 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-1212 (verified 2026) Official source
Ch. 752 (S.B. 937), Acts of 2026 · §§ 1-2 (verified 2026) Official source
Ch. 784 (S.B. 691), Acts of 2021 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-02 · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-03 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-05 · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-07 · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-09 · (b)(2)(ii) (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-11 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of Md. Code, Real Property §§ 8-201, 8-203, 8-203.1, 8-208, 8-210, 8-212.4, 8-213 and 8-218, and Commercial Law §§ 13-303, 14-1202 and 14-1212, on the Maryland General Assembly's statute site at mgaleg.maryland.gov, with § 8-213 read in both the HTML statute page and the official section PDF. Every remaining section of Real Property Title 8, Subtitle 2 was opened and screened for application-stage content. Enacted-law claims were read on the General Assembly's own chaptered acts and bill files: Chapter 784 (Senate Bill 691) of 2021, and the enrolled Senate Bill 937 (Chapter 752) of 2026. The 2025 and 2026 regular sessions were swept for application-fee, screening, and fee-transparency measures through the General Assembly's bill pages, including House Bill 313 and House Bill 80 of 2026, House Bill 1257 and House Bill 242 of 2025, and House Bill 315 and Senate Bill 335 of 2026. On October 1, 2026, the day Chapter 752 took effect, the new Real Property sections 8-2A-01 through 8-2A-12 and the amended section 8-218 were read on the General Assembly's statute site in the section view that includes new enactments and in the 2027-session Real Property article file, and the signed chapter was read with its struck amendments removed; the enrolled fiscal and policy note was read beside it.