How much notice must a landlord give before entering in Maryland?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Maryland topics →

Check your municipality. Maryland does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below.

What the state record says

No statewide rent control — but Maryland is a non-preemption state, and three sizable local programs are active: Takoma Park (rent stabilization since 1981, CPI-based annual allowance), Montgomery County (Bill 15-23, eff. 2024-07-23, cap of CPI+3% up to a 6% max, buildings under 23 years old exempt), and Prince George's County (Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024, eff. 2024-10-17, cap of the lower of 6% or CPI-U+3%). 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 out of scope v1 but flagged on-page.

Maryland adopted its first statewide landlord entry-notice law effective October 1, 2025: written notice at least 24 hours in advance, with entry confined to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time — making Maryland one of the only states to bar routine Sunday entry by statute.

Permitted purposes cover repairs, inspections, showings, safety, government-ordered work, and tenant-requested visits, and a landlord may enter without notice only in an emergency threatening imminent harm to the property or occupants. Courts can enjoin violations and award damages for breach of the tenant's covenant of quiet enjoyment. Because the law is this new, virtually every guide published before mid-2025 — including major legal aggregators — still says Maryland has no entry-notice statute; that is no longer true.

Maryland entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required	24 hours
Notice standard	RP § 8-221 (new — HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564, effective 2025-10-01): the landlord must provide WRITTEN notice at least 24 hours before entering, and entry must occur between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time.
Permitted reasons	Repairs, maintenance, or improvements; inspections; showing the unit to prospective purchasers, tenants, or contractors; ensuring the protection and safety of the property; completing government-ordered work; or responding to a tenant's written request (§ 8-221(a)).
Emergency exception	Yes
Time-of-day restrictions	7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday — no Sunday entry — unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii)). One of the few state statutes with fixed clock hours AND a day-of-week restriction.

Notes and caveats

This is the MD record's second modern stale-source trap (with the deposit cap): 'Maryland has no entry statute' was true until 2025-10-01 and is repeated everywhere. Codification quirk verified on the official site: the BILL text of HB 1076 says § 8-220, but codification landed at § 8-221 — cite 8-221, not 8-220. The 7am-7pm Mon-Sat window with written-consent override is stricter than the FL-style time restrictions and worth the answer box alongside the 24-hour figure. Emergency exception covers imminent protection of property or occupant safety (§ 8-221(b)(2)). Local codes (e.g., Montgomery County) may add requirements — out of scope v1, flagged.

Statute citations

RP § 8-221 (a)-(d) Official source
HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564 Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Maryland General Assembly site (mgaleg.maryland.gov): Real Property §§ 8-203 (read in full twice — independent fetches matched verbatim), 8-203.1, 8-208, 8-209 (read twice), 8-209.1, 8-221 (read twice), and 8-402. Session-law provenance verified on official mgaleg bill pages: HB 693 (2024) / Ch. 124 (deposit cap cut, eff. 2024-10-01), HB 151 (2023) / Ch. 146 (§ 8-209 rent-increase notice, eff. 2023-10-01), HB 1076 (2025) / Ch. 564 (§ 8-221 entry notice, eff. 2025-10-01), and HB 80 (2026) status. Interest mechanics cross-checked against the Maryland DHCD official deposit-interest calculator page; local rent-stabilization programs confirmed on official Takoma Park, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County government pages.