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 to complete repairs, maintenance, modifications, renovations or improvements; to inspect; to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors; to ensure the protection and safety of the property and occupants; to complete work ordered by a governmental entity; or, if appropriate, to respond to any other written request of the tenant (§ 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.

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

Verified 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.

Maryland's statewide landlord entry-notice law took effect 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, so routine entry on a Sunday needs that agreement.

Cited to RP § 8-221 (a)-(d) and 2 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 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, to ensure the imminent protection or preservation of the property, the imminent protection and safety of occupants, or the health, safety and welfare of other tenants and staff. 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, stating the date, the approximate time and the specific purpose of the entry; the tenant may agree in writing to a shorter time (§ 8-221(c)(1), (2), (5)). The notice may be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing if it is delivered at least 24 hours before the entry, affixed to the door, or, if the tenant elected it, sent by e-mail, text message or tenant portal with proof of transmission (§ 8-221(c)(3)-(4)). RP § 8-221 was added by HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564, effective 2025-10-01.
Permitted reasons	A landlord may enter to complete repairs, maintenance, modifications, renovations or improvements; to inspect; to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors; to ensure the protection and safety of the property and occupants; to complete work ordered by a governmental entity; or, if appropriate, to respond to any other written request of the tenant (§ 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)). The emergency entry allowed by § 8-221(b)(2) is not limited to these hours.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maryland Landlord Entry Notice Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/entry-notice/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

'Maryland has no entry statute' is out of date — For residential leases generally that has not been true since October 1, 2025, and the old claim is still repeated widely — this is Maryland's second modern stale-source trap, alongside the deposit cap. The mobile home park title has its own entry rule as well: except in an emergency or to prevent imminent danger, a park owner has no right to enter a resident's mobile home without the resident's prior written consent (§ 8A-704(b)).
Cite § 8-221, not § 8-220 — A codification quirk: the bill text of HB 1076 says § 8-220, but codification landed at § 8-221.
Fixed hours and days — Routine entry is limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time (§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii)).
When no notice is needed — The emergency exception covers entry to ensure the imminent protection or preservation of the property, the imminent protection and safety of any occupants, or the health, safety and welfare of other tenants and staff (§ 8-221(b)(2)).
Local codes may add requirements — Local codes 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 to complete repairs, maintenance, modifications, renovations or improvements; to inspect; to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors; to ensure the protection and safety of the property and occupants; to complete work ordered by a governmental entity; or, if appropriate, to respond to any other written request of the tenant (§ 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)). The emergency entry allowed by § 8-221(b)(2) is not limited to these hours.

Citations

RP § 8-221 · (a)-(d) (verified 2026) Official source
HB 1076 (2025), Ch. 564 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8A-704 (mobile home park right of entry) · (b) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the Maryland General Assembly site (mgaleg.maryland.gov). October 1, 2026: every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was read there in the text in effect that day. The site's default view prints the text in effect on January 1, 2026, so each section a later act amended was read in the view that includes those enactments. The sections: Real Property §§ 8-203, 8-203.1, 8-208, 8-209, 8-209.1, 8-210, 8-213, 8-216, 8-221, 8-401, 8-402, 8-402.1, 8-406, 8-407 and 8-901 to 8-905; for mobile home parks, §§ 8A-404, 8A-704 and 8A-1001; Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 7-301; and General Provisions § 1-302. The chapter laws behind them were read on the same site, each passage the act strikes settled on the code page: 2023 ch. 146, 2024 ch. 124, 2025 chs. 564 and 580, and 2026 chs. 494 and 754. Interest mechanics were read on the Department of Housing and Community Development's deposit-interest calculator page, and the local rent-stabilization programs on the Takoma Park, Montgomery County and Prince George's County government pages.