10 Tenant Rights Every Maryland Renter Should Know
Renting a home can be an exciting and liberating experience, especially for first-time renters, but it's important to familiarize yourself with local laws and regulations to make sure you're well-versed in your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
By staying informed, you can maintain a positive and respectful relationship with your landlord while ensuring that your living situation is both comfortable and fair. In this article, we'll explore ten essential tenant rights that every Maryland renter should be aware of.
1. Right to a Habitable Living Space
By law, landlords are required to provide their tenants with a safe living environment at all times. This means your rental unit should, first and foremost, have basic amenities such as functioning plumbing, heating, and electrical systems.
Last year, Montgomery County added radon testing as an additional requirement prior to tenant occupancy of single-family and multi-family rental properties.
If a property’s test results indicate a radon level equal to or greater than four picocuries per liter (the EPA recommended hazard level), landlords are legally required to address the radon risk. Failure to do so entitles renters to terminate their written lease without any penalty.
2. Right to Timely Repairs
If something in your rental unit breaks or requires maintenance, it's the landlord’s responsibility to address any necessary repairs promptly, given that the tenant provides proper notice (ideally written).
In Maryland, landlords have a grace period of 30 days maximum to make necessary repairs. Beyond that timeframe, tenants are legally entitled to withhold rent by diverting payments to an alternative escrow account set up by the court rather than paying their landlord directly. Tenants are also free to vacate the premises and/or break the rental agreement altogether.
3. Right to Habitability During Repairs
If extensive repairs are necessary in your rental unit, there may be instances in which remaining at the property until repairs are complete could put your health and safety at risk.
Landlords in Maryland are not legally required to pay for temporary alternative accommodations while those repairs are being made.
4. Right to Privacy
As a tenant, you have the right to privacy in your rental home or apartment. In most Maryland counties, landlords must provide advance notice, usually of at least 24 hours, before entering your unit for non-emergency purposes. Be aware that this notification period is not enforced at a state level, though counties that don’t require a heads-up from landlords for non-emergency entry still strongly advise it.
5. Right to Fair Housing
It's illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on factors like race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, source of income, marital status, or familial status.
If you ever feel you have been a victim of housing discrimination, you can submit an online form here, with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights to initiate the complaint filing process. After filling out the initial inquiry, MCCR will follow up with you to complete the intake of your complaint.
6. Right to Security Deposit Protection
Landlords often require security deposits to cover potential damages or unpaid rent. However, many states have laws requiring landlords to keep these deposits in a separate account and provide itemized lists of deductions when returning the deposit at the end of the lease.
In Maryland, security deposits must be returned to the tenant within 45 days after the tenant’s move-out date or the day that the lease is terminated, whichever comes first. Failure to do so entitles the tenant the right to go to small claims court and sue their landlord or property management company for up to $5,000 total.
7. Right to Non-Retaliation
Landlords cannot evict, raise rent, or otherwise retaliate against tenants who exercise their legal rights, such as reporting code violations or joining a tenant organization. These protections ensure that you can advocate for your rights without fear of repercussions.
8. Right to a Written Lease Agreement
Maryland law states that a written lease is required for tenancies set for a year or longer, or if the landlord owns five or more rental properties in-state. A written lease agreement helps clarify the terms and conditions of your rental arrangement, including rent, security deposit, maintenance responsibilities, and more. Review the lease carefully before signing and ask for clarification on any unclear points.
Be aware that your written lease as a Maryland tenant CANNOT:
Enforce a late fee of more than 5% of your monthly rent amount due
Enforce a late fee of more than $3 per week for week-to-week rentals
Ask you to waive all rights to defend yourself
Require less than 30-days notice in the event that you wish to terminate your lease
Waive the tenant’s right to a return of their security deposit
9. Right to Rent Increases
While the state of Maryland at large does not have any restrictions on rent increases besides the provision of notice to the tenant beforehand, Montgomery Country recently cracked down on rent increases with its own cap. Passed on July 18, 2023, the bill “limits annual rent increases to the consumer price index plus 3%, with a cap of 6%.”
10. Right to Fair Eviction Procedures
If a landlord wishes to evict a tenant, they are not legally allowed to force move-out without reason. They must first formally file a judgment against you through your local court. Tenants are entitled to due process and the opportunity to defend themselves against unjust eviction.
Landlords maintain the right to evict a tenant for:
Any legitimate breach or violation of the lease agreement
Failure to pay rent
Withholding rent (without deposits in an escrow account)
Removal of the tenant’s personal property, cutting off utilities, changing locks on the unit or otherwise preventing access, or trespassing into the unit are all forms of wrongful eviction and warrant immediate legal intervention against the landlord.
