Maryland Landlord-Tenant Laws

Verified July 9, 2026

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 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.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

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).

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

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.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

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.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

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.