Is there a legal limit on late fees in Maryland?

5% of the amount of unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent; for weekly-rent leases, $3 per week up to $12 per month (RP § 8-208(d)(3)). The 5% cap is the operative limit. A lease provision violating it is unenforceable by the landlord (§ 8-208(g)(1)), and a landlord who tenders a lease containing one, or attempts to enforce it, is liable for the tenant's actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 8-208(g)(2)).

Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in Maryland?

A daily fee is allowed only inside the 5% cap. § 8-208(d)(3) voids any lease penalty exceeding 5% of the delinquent amount for the rental period, which forecloses accruing daily fees beyond that ceiling.

What late fees can a landlord charge 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 caps residential late fees at 5% of the unpaid rent due for the period the payment is delinquent — and for tenants who pay weekly, at $3 per week with a $12 monthly ceiling.

Cited to RP § 8-208 (a)(1), (d)(2)-(3), (g) and 3 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 2026

The cap is written as a limit on lease provisions: a clause charging more is unenforceable, and a landlord who puts one in a lease or tries to enforce it owes the tenant's actual damages and attorney's fees. Note the precise base: 5% of the DELINQUENT amount, not flatly 5% of a month's rent — a tenant who has paid half the month's rent can only be charged 5% of the unpaid half. The 5% also has to absorb the landlord's costs of collecting the late rent: Maryland's highest court held in 2024 that the cap is inclusive of collection costs other than court costs a court actually awards. Title 8 sets no grace period for residential leases generally; timing is left to the lease, though local codes can add protections. A mobile home park's lot rent is the exception: a park late fee may be charged only if the rent is more than 5 days late, and it is capped at 5% of the rent due or $5, whichever is higher. Fee-disclosure legislation (itemized up-front fee lists with treble damages) passed the House in 2026 but died in the Senate, so watch for a refile.

Maryland late fees at a glance

Statutory cap	5% of the amount of unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent; for weekly-rent leases, $3 per week up to $12 per month (RP § 8-208(d)(3))
Mandatory grace period	None mandated statewide
Must be in the lease	Not addressed by statute
Daily fees	A daily fee is allowed only inside the 5% cap. § 8-208(d)(3) voids any lease penalty exceeding 5% of the delinquent amount for the rental period, which forecloses accruing daily fees beyond that ceiling.
Reasonableness standard	The 5% cap is the operative limit. A lease provision violating it is unenforceable by the landlord (§ 8-208(g)(1)), and a landlord who tenders a lease containing one, or attempts to enforce it, is liable for the tenant's actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 8-208(g)(2)). § 8-208(d)(2) separately voids lease provisions waiving tenant rights or remedies. The 5% ceiling also covers what it costs the landlord to collect the late rent. The Supreme Court of Maryland held on March 25, 2024 that the penalty allowed by § 8-208(d)(3)(i) is inclusive of any costs of collection other than court costs actually awarded by a court. A landlord who charges the 5% late fee may not add agent fees, summons fees, writ fees or similar charges triggered by the late payment. A mobile home park has its own rule for lot rent: a park owner may charge a late fee only if the rental agreement provides for it, the fee does not exceed 5% of the rent due or $5, whichever is higher, and the rent is not paid within 5 days after the due date (§ 8A-404).

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maryland Late Fee Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/late-fees/maryland/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Check a late fee against the Maryland rules — free, no signup, built on the same verified Maryland law as this page.

Notes and caveats

5% of the unpaid amount, since October 1, 2025 — Since October 1, 2025 the cap is 5% of the 'unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent' (2025 Md. Laws ch. 580). Before that date the section read '5% of the amount of rent due', so sources written earlier state the older base, which overstates the cap when part of the rent has been paid.
No general grace period — Title 8 sets no grace period for residential leases generally, so timing is left to the lease. A mobile home park's lot rent is the exception: a park owner may charge a late fee only if the rent is not paid within 5 days after the due date (§ 8A-404).
The cap binds every landlord, regardless of portfolio size — The 5-or-more-unit threshold in § 8-208(a)(1) scopes only the written-lease mandate. The (d) prohibitions open 'A landlord may not use a lease or form of lease containing any provision that:' with no landlord-size scoping, and the section contains no other applicability limit (subsection (f) lets local law supplement but not diminish) — so the (d)(3) late-fee cap binds every residential lease in Maryland. A mobile home park also has its own late-fee rule in the park title: the rental agreement must provide for the fee, which may not exceed 5% of the rent due or $5, whichever is higher, and only after the rent is 5 days late (§ 8A-404).
Even tendering an over-cap clause carries liability — Enforcement runs through § 8-208(g): a prohibited provision is unenforceable, and a landlord who tenders a lease containing one — or attempts to enforce it — owes the tenant's actual damages plus attorney's fees.
No statute requires the fee to be in the lease — No Maryland statute says in terms that a late fee must be written into a residential lease; § 8-208(d)(3) limits what a lease may provide. The mobile home park title is different: a park late fee may be charged only if the rental agreement provides for it (§ 8A-404(1)).
Fee-disclosure bill died in 2026 — watch for a refile — HB 80 (2026 fee disclosure, a new § 8-212.5 with treble damages) passed the House 94-35 and died in Senate Judicial Proceedings at Sine Die; nothing is pending now.
The 5% has to cover collection costs as well — A landlord who charges the full 5% late fee may not also pass on the cost of collecting the late rent. In Westminster Management, LLC v. Smith, 486 Md. 616 (2024), the Supreme Court of Maryland held that the penalty permitted by section 8-208(d)(3)(i) is inclusive of any costs incurred to collect rent other than court costs actually awarded by the court. The charges before the court were agent fees, summons fees and writ fees added automatically once rent was late; all of them count against the 5% ceiling. Court costs are the single exception, and only where a court actually awards them.

Common questions: Maryland late 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.

Is there a legal limit on late fees in Maryland?: 5% of the amount of unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent; for weekly-rent leases, $3 per week up to $12 per month (RP § 8-208(d)(3)). The 5% cap is the operative limit. A lease provision violating it is unenforceable by the landlord (§ 8-208(g)(1)), and a landlord who tenders a lease containing one, or attempts to enforce it, is liable for the tenant's actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 8-208(g)(2)).
Is there a grace period before rent is late in Maryland?: None mandated statewide.
Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in Maryland?: Not addressed by statute.
Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in Maryland?: A daily fee is allowed only inside the 5% cap. § 8-208(d)(3) voids any lease penalty exceeding 5% of the delinquent amount for the rental period, which forecloses accruing daily fees beyond that ceiling.

Citations

RP § 8-208 · (a)(1), (d)(2)-(3), (g) (verified 2026) Official source
Westminster Management, LLC v. Smith, 486 Md. 616 (2024) · holding on Real Property § 8-208(d)(3)(i) (verified 2026) Official source
2025 Md. Laws ch. 580 (House Bill 273) · § 1, amending Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(3)(i); effective October 1, 2025 (verified 2026) Official source
Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8A-404 (mobile home park late payment fee) · (1)-(3) (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.