How many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in Maryland?

24 hours. The notice must be WRITTEN, and the entry itself must fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (RP § 8-221).

What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Maryland?

A landlord may enter for 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)).

Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Maryland?

Yes — Maryland recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.

Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Maryland?

Entry is limited to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday — no Sunday entry — unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii)).

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. 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.

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.

Cited to RP § 8-221 (a)-(d) and 1 more Maryland statute · Verified July 9, 2026

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	The notice must be WRITTEN, and the entry itself must fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (RP § 8-221). The landlord must provide written notice at least 24 hours before entering. The section is new: RP § 8-221, added by HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564, effective 2025-10-01.
Permitted reasons	A landlord may enter for 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	Entry is limited to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday — no Sunday entry — unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii)). This is one of the few state statutes with fixed clock hours AND a day-of-week restriction.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maryland Landlord Entry Notice Laws (verified July 9, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/entry-notice/maryland/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Maryland statute in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

'Maryland has no entry statute' is out of date — That was true until October 1, 2025, and it is repeated everywhere — this is Maryland's second modern stale-source trap, alongside the deposit cap.
Cite § 8-221, not § 8-220 — A codification quirk: the bill text of HB 1076 says § 8-220, but codification landed at § 8-221.
Stricter than the usual time-of-day rules — The 7 a.m.–7 p.m., Monday-through-Saturday window with a written-consent override is stricter than the Florida-style time restrictions found in other states.
When no notice is needed — The emergency exception covers entry for the imminent protection of the property or the safety of occupants (§ 8-221(b)(2)).
Local codes may add requirements — Local codes — Montgomery County, for example — may add requirements on top of the state statute. This page covers state law only.

Common questions: Maryland entry notice

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 many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in Maryland?: 24 hours. The notice must be WRITTEN, and the entry itself must fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (RP § 8-221).
What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Maryland?: A landlord may enter for 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)).
Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Maryland?: Yes — Maryland recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.
Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Maryland?: Entry is limited to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday — no Sunday entry — unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii)).

Statute citations

RP § 8-221 (a)-(d) (verified 2026) Official source
HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564 (verified 2026) 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 reads 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. § 8-208 re-read three times on 2026-07-09 to resolve the (d)(3) scope question (see late_fees notes). 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.