Maryland Landlord-Tenant Laws

Local rent regulation in Maryland

Maryland law does not preempt local rent regulation, and Takoma Park, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County each operate rent stabilization programs under local home-rule powers.

• Montgomery County — Rent Stabilization
• Prince George's County — Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act
• Takoma Park — Rent Stabilization

Cited to Md. Code, Local Gov't § 10-206 (Express Powers Act) · Verified August 12, 2026 · Full Maryland rent-increase rules →

Maryland Security deposits

Maryland caps security deposits at one month's rent — cut from two months effective October 1, 2024 by the Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act, a change many older guides still miss — with a narrow written-agreement exception to two months for utility-assistance tenants who pay utilities through the landlord.

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Maryland Rent increase notice

Maryland requires true statewide advance notice of rent increases — since October 1, 2023, RP § 8-209 makes a landlord give a month-to-month tenant at least 60 days' written notice of any increase, and tenants on terms longer than a month get 90 days; only weekly tenancies drop to 7 days (21 without a written lease).

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Maryland Late fees

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.

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Maryland Entry notice

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.

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Maryland Eviction process

Maryland evicts nonpaying tenants through 'summary ejectment' in the District Court — a written 10-day notice of intent to file, a trial set on the fifth day after filing, and a signature tenant protection: the right of redemption, which lets the tenant cancel the eviction by paying everything the court found due plus costs and fees at any time before the sheriff actually executes the eviction order.

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Maryland Application fees

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.

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Maryland mobile home park laws

Maryland's Mobile Home Parks Act of 1980, Title 8A of the Real Property Article, governs the tenancy of a resident who owns the home and rents the lot beneath it in a park of two or more sites, and its centerpiece is a one-year lease: the park owner must offer every year-round resident an agreement of at least a year and must offer a further year to a qualified resident before the term runs out, eviction is limited to four listed grounds on thirty days' written notice, changing the use of the land takes a year's written notice to every resident plus a relocation plan filed with the county or city, and closing a park with more than ten sites means paying each household a full year's rent in relocation assistance.

Lot-rent, closure, park-sale and home-sale rules with statute citations →