Montgomery County, Maryland: Rent Stabilization

The cap is the lesser of inflation (CPI-U) plus 3% or 6%; from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the maximum allowed increase is 5.2%, and no single increase may ever exceed 10% of base rent even with banked amounts. Newly built units are exempt for their first 23 years, and other exemptions include accessory dwellings, income-restricted units, and landlords who own two or fewer rental units in the county. The law does not apply inside Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, or Laytonsville.

Current published figures

These figures change on a published cycle; each row states the window it applies to and links the source that published it. Confirm the current figure at the source before acting on it.

What is in force

In force today. Enacted as Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023), approved July 2023, and applicable since July 23, 2024, when the Council approved the implementing Executive Regulation 2-24. The codified sections are Montgomery County Code §§ 29-56 through 29-62. A 2025 technical-corrections law (2025 L.M.C. ch. 10, from Expedited Bill 9-25E, effective April 14, 2025) reworded a cross-reference in § 29-56 and the vacant-unit clause in § 29-58 without changing any figure or requirement.

The rent increase limit

The annual rent increase allowance is the lesser of the change in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U) plus 3%, or 6%. At a lease renewal or new lease the rent may not exceed the base rent plus the allowance plus any banked amount, and the total increase may not exceed 10% of the base rent. Only one increase is allowed per 12 months, and 90 days' notice is required for any increase. Landlords may petition for capital-improvement surcharges (building-wide: spread over at least 96 months, at most 20% of base rent; unit-specific: at least 60 months, at most 15%) or for a fair-return increase.

What housing is covered

County-licensed residential rental units at least 23 years old — a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after its state-assessment 'Year Built,' so units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026. The municipalities of Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, and Laytonsville are not subject to the county law. Exemptions include newly constructed units offered for rent less than 23 years (a rolling window), accessory dwelling units, owner-occupied two-unit buildings, units under government affordability agreements, substantially renovated buildings (renovation of at least 40% of the building's assessed value), licensed care facilities, religious and transient facilities, dormitories, and small landlords — a natural person, or a decedent's trust or estate, owning two or fewer rental units in the county. An exemption ends when its conditions cease.

What happens on vacancy

There is no general vacancy decontrol: after the regulations took effect, a vacancy does not reset a regulated unit's base-rent trajectory. A unit that returns to the market after being vacant more than 12 months with no active lease re-prices under a determination by the housing department's director, and units in properties designated troubled or at-risk face a stricter director-set limit.

Eviction and termination rules

The rent stabilization law itself imposes no eviction restrictions. A separate 2025 county law (Bill 31-25E, effective December 15, 2025) added pre-eviction notice duties for landlords in county code § 29-31A.

Registration and filings

The regime rides on the county's existing rental licensing (roughly 114,000 licensed units) and annual survey; landlords report rent data through those channels.

Other requirements

Fee increases on regulated units are tied to CPI-U alone. The county's long-standing Voluntary Rent Guideline continues to be published alongside the binding allowance. The county's Office of Rent Stabilization enforces the law with notices of violation, citations, and fines.

Notes and caveats

• The 23-year window rolls — coverage is not fixed at a construction year: a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after the year the state assessment records say it was built. Units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026, and later-built units join year by year.
• Applicability date differs from the bill's effective date — Bill 15-23's own effective date was October 23, 2023, but the bill barred application until its implementing regulations took effect, which happened July 23, 2024 with Executive Regulation 2-24. The county Office of Rent Stabilization states the law became effective on that date.
• Watch: county algorithmic rent-setting bill — Bill 8-26, which would prohibit price coordination and certain rent-setting practices in landlord-tenant relations, was at the public-hearing stage as of August 2026 and has not become law.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Montgomery County, Maryland: Rent Stabilization (verified August 13, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/maryland/montgomery-county/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

• Montgomery County Code § 29-57 (annual rent increase allowance) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-58 (rent increases; vacant units; capital-improvement surcharges) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-60 (exempt rental units) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023) — certified enrolled text (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County DHCA — current allowance (verified 2026) Official source

This page records local law. Statewide rules — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the Maryland hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.