How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maryland?

1 month's rent — The limit runs per dwelling unit regardless of the number of tenants (RP § 8-203(b)(1)). Up to 2 months is allowed only where a utility-assistance tenant pays utilities directly to the landlord and both parties agree in writing.

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Maryland?

45 days. The deposit comes back with accrued interest, less damages rightfully withheld, counted from the end of the tenancy (§ 8-203(e)(1)). Any damage claim must be mailed inside that same window, or the right to withhold anything at all is forfeited.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Maryland?

Withholding the deposit past 45 days with no reasonable basis for keeping it costs up to 3x the withheld amount plus attorney's fees (§ 8-203(e)(4)). Failing to send the 45-day itemized damage list separately forfeits the right to withhold anything.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Maryland?

Yes — Maryland requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Interest is simple, not compounded, and accrues monthly from the day the deposit is paid, at the greater of 1.5% per year or the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate for 1 year as of the first business day of the year. It is owed only on deposits of $50 or more held at least 6 months (§ 8-203(e)).

What are the security deposit rules in Maryland?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Maryland topics →

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. 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 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.

Cited to RP § 8-203 (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i) and 3 more Maryland statutes · Verified July 9, 2026

The deposit must sit in a federally insured Maryland branch account and earn simple interest at the greater of 1.5% or the one-year Treasury yield rate, calculated monthly (the state DHCD publishes an official calculator). Within 45 days of the tenancy ending the landlord must return the deposit with interest, and any damage claim requires a written itemized list of damages and actual costs mailed first-class within those same 45 days — miss the list and the right to withhold is forfeited entirely. Withholding without a reasonable basis exposes the landlord to up to three times the withheld amount plus attorney's fees, overcharging above the cap carries its own treble penalty, the written receipt (now required in the lease itself) carries a $25 penalty, and tenants who give 15 days' certified-mail notice have the right to attend the move-out inspection.

Maryland security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	1 month's rent — The limit runs per dwelling unit regardless of the number of tenants (RP § 8-203(b)(1)). Up to 2 months is allowed only where a utility-assistance tenant pays utilities directly to the landlord and both parties agree in writing. The provision was rewritten by the Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (HB 693, Ch. 124, eff. 2024-10-01): a landlord 'may not impose a security deposit in excess of the equivalent of 1 month's rent per dwelling unit, regardless of the number of tenants.' The exception in (b)(2) requires ALL of: the tenant qualifies for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services, the lease has the tenant paying utilities directly to the landlord, and the parties agree to the amount in writing. Overcharging lets the tenant recover up to three times the extra amount charged plus attorney's fees (b)(3).
Return deadline	45 days
Deadline conditions	The deposit comes back with accrued interest, less damages rightfully withheld, counted from the end of the tenancy (§ 8-203(e)(1)). Any damage claim must be mailed inside that same window, or the right to withhold anything at all is forfeited. Both duties run within 45 days after the end of the tenancy: return of the deposit with accrued interest, less damages rightfully withheld (§ 8-203(e)(1)), and the damage claim — a written list of claimed damages with an itemized statement of costs incurred, by first-class mail to the tenant's last known address (§ 8-203(g)(1)). Failure to send the (g) list forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Written list of damages claimed plus an itemized statement of the actual costs incurred, mailed first-class to the tenant's last known address within 45 days of termination (§ 8-203(g)(1)). The tenant also has a certified-mail-triggered right to attend the move-out inspection: if the tenant notifies the landlord by certified mail at least 15 days before moving (with date and new address), the landlord must give certified-mail notice of an inspection held within 5 days before or after the move date (§ 8-203(f)).
Separate account required	Yes
Interest owed to tenant	Yes
Account & interest rules	Interest is simple, not compounded, and accrues monthly from the day the deposit is paid, at the greater of 1.5% per year or the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate for 1 year as of the first business day of the year. It is owed only on deposits of $50 or more held at least 6 months (§ 8-203(e)). No interest accrues for any period less than a full month. The state DHCD publishes an official calculator landlords may rely on. Deposits must be held in federally insured financial institutions doing business in Maryland, in branches located in-state, deposited promptly after receipt (§ 8-203(d)). A tenant may alternatively purchase a surety bond in lieu of all or part of the deposit (§ 8-203(i)).
Pet deposits	No pet-specific deposit statute; any pet deposit is part of the security deposit and fits inside the 1-month cap, which applies 'regardless of the number of tenants' and however the funds are labeled.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Withholding the deposit past 45 days with no reasonable basis for keeping it costs up to 3x the withheld amount plus attorney's fees (§ 8-203(e)(4)). Failing to send the 45-day itemized damage list separately forfeits the right to withhold anything. That is one of three treble exposures in the statute — the other two are overcharging above the cap, up to 3x the extra amount charged plus attorney's fees (§ 8-203(b)(3)), and the receipt failure penalty, $25 for failing to give the written deposit receipt (§ 8-203.1).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	No duty gates the return itself, but the move-out-inspection right requires the tenant's certified-mail notice at least 15 days before moving, stating the move date and new address (§ 8-203(f)(1)).

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Maryland Security Deposit Laws (verified July 9, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/maryland/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Maryland statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Maryland security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Maryland rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

The 1-month cap is 2024 law — older sources still say 2 months — This is the premier stale-source trap for Maryland: nearly every source dated before October 2024 — and many still-circulating 50-state charts — says the cap is 2 months. It is one month's rent.
The cap does have an exception — a new, obscure one — The § 8-203(b)(2) utility-assistance exception is new and obscure, and it is recorded here to preempt the opposite overcorrection: claims that 'the cap has no exceptions' are wrong too.
The treble penalty is not strict liability — The § 8-203(e)(4) treble penalty attaches only to withholding 'without a reasonable basis' — it is not strict liability, unlike Massachusetts.
The $25 receipt penalty moved, and the receipt now lives in the lease — HB 693 also reorganized § 8-203.1 — the $25 receipt penalty moved subsections (older mirrors cite (b); the current official text is (c)) — and made the written deposit receipt mandatory in the written lease itself.
Nonrefundable fees: the statute is silent — The question is open because no Maryland statute squarely authorizes or bans nonrefundable move-in fees. Fee-disclosure regulation failed in the 2026 session — HB 80 passed the House but died in Senate Judicial Proceedings at Sine Die — and a 2027 refile is likely.
The surety-bond alternative is unusual — Maryland's tenant surety-bond alternative (§ 8-203(i)) — letting a tenant post a bond in lieu of all or part of the deposit — is unusual among the states.

Common questions: Maryland security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maryland?: 1 month's rent — The limit runs per dwelling unit regardless of the number of tenants (RP § 8-203(b)(1)). Up to 2 months is allowed only where a utility-assistance tenant pays utilities directly to the landlord and both parties agree in writing.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Maryland?: 45 days. The deposit comes back with accrued interest, less damages rightfully withheld, counted from the end of the tenancy (§ 8-203(e)(1)). Any damage claim must be mailed inside that same window, or the right to withhold anything at all is forfeited.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Maryland?: Withholding the deposit past 45 days with no reasonable basis for keeping it costs up to 3x the withheld amount plus attorney's fees (§ 8-203(e)(4)). Failing to send the 45-day itemized damage list separately forfeits the right to withhold anything.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Maryland?: Yes — Maryland requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Interest is simple, not compounded, and accrues monthly from the day the deposit is paid, at the greater of 1.5% per year or the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate for 1 year as of the first business day of the year. It is owed only on deposits of $50 or more held at least 6 months (§ 8-203(e)).
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Maryland?: Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

RP § 8-203 (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i) (verified 2026) Official source
RP § 8-203.1 (verified 2026) Official source
HB 693 (2024), Ch. 124 — Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (verified 2026) Official source
Maryland DHCD security deposit interest calculator (verified 2026) Official source

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 reads 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. § 8-208 re-read three times on 2026-07-09 to resolve the (d)(3) scope question (see late_fees notes). 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.