Landlord Atlas

Takoma Park, Maryland: Rent Stabilization

Verified August 13, 2026 All Maryland topics →

Takoma Park has limited annual rent increases on most apartment buildings and rented condominium units since 1981.

Cited to Takoma Park Municipal Code § 6.20.010 (applicability) and 4 more sources · Verified August 13, 2026

Each year the city sets a rent increase allowance equal to the change in the Washington-area consumer price index; for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the allowance is 3%, and landlords must give tenants two months' written notice before any increase. Single-family homes, accessory apartments, owner-occupied duplexes, and newly built rentals (for their first five years) are among the exemptions, and landlords may seek a larger increase only through a fair-return petition to the city's landlord-tenant commission.

Current published figures

Figure Value Applies to Source
Annual rent stabilization allowance 3% July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 Official source

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. Takoma Park has limited rent increases since 1981. The current codified regime is Takoma Park Municipal Code Chapter 6.20, comprehensively reenacted by Ordinance 2007-40 and last amended by Ordinance 2013-25. A city Rent Stabilization Policy Review is underway, with a final report targeted for March 2027; no code change has resulted yet.

The rent increase limit

Each year the city sets a rent stabilization allowance equal to the percentage increase in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria area) from March to March. The allowance runs July 1 through June 30, increases may not exceed it, and a unit's rent may be raised only once in any 12 months. Landlords may seek a larger increase only through a fair-return petition to the city's Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs, which caps any resulting increase on occupied units at 15% per 12 months and phases the remainder.

What housing is covered

All residential rental units except exempted categories. Categorical exemptions include single-family homes, accessory apartments, owner-occupied two-unit buildings, owner-occupied group houses, licensed treatment and assisted-living facilities, nonprofit shelters, religious facilities, transient lodging, and dormitories. On application, federally subsidized tenancies, government-regulated affordable housing, and newly constructed rental facilities of two or more units (for five years from rental-license issuance) are also exempt.

What happens on vacancy

Rent increase room that a landlord did not use may be carried forward and taken only when a unit turns over through the tenant's voluntary departure or a for-cause termination; the annual allowance itself does not reset on vacancy.

Eviction and termination rules

Chapter 6.20 imposes no eviction restrictions of its own; termination rules are a matter of state law and other city code provisions.

Registration and filings

A rental housing license is required before operating, and landlords must file an annual rent report by September 30. The landlord-tenant commission must reject a fair-return petition if the property's registration or rent reports are not current.

Other requirements

Tenants must receive two months' written notice before any rent increase. Bad-faith fair-return petitions can lead to rollbacks and refunds.

Notes and caveats

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

Citations

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.