How to become a landlord in Maryland

Set up the property, lease and recordkeeping before move-in. Start with the requirements for the address, then prepare screening documents, deposit handling, tenant disclosures and a dependable way to respond to repairs. The detailed topics in this guide explain the Maryland rules (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c)).

• Compare similar homes and record the assumptions behind your asking rent. Budget for taxes, insurance, utilities you pay, maintenance, turnover and vacancy rather than treating the advertised rent as profit. Confirm local registration, licensing, inspection and rent-stabilization requirements, and review the lead-paint topic for covered properties before offering the home (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-209.1).See Lead paint on the Maryland page
• Prepare lawful written screening criteria and the application’s required disclosures, including the pet policy. Review reusable-report handling, fee refunds and the applicable criminal-screening sequence before accepting money or ordering reports. Keep the report notices and reasons for decisions with the application records (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213).See Application and screening fees on the Maryland page
• Check the lease for the condition statement, utility and repair responsibilities, deposit receipt and current Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Review whether the rent-reporting option applies to your properties. Set up deposit accounting and the required interest-bearing arrangement separately from operating money, and retain signed documents and delivery records (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208.4(b), (c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(d), (e)).See Required disclosures and lease contents on the Maryland page
• Document the starting condition and explain the inspection rights and request procedure described in this guide. Give clear contacts for rent, routine repairs and urgent problems. Track payment receipts, maintenance requests, work completed, notices and communications in an organized file with appropriate access limits; calendar lease dates and required notice periods (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203.1(a); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(f)).See Move-in and move-out inspections on the Maryland page

Every Maryland residential lease must include a statement about the condition of the premises, each side's duties for heat, gas, electricity, water and repairs, a receipt for the security deposit, and a copy of the most current Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights from the Department of Housing and Community Development. Since October 1, 2026, a landlord that owns six or more Maryland rental units must also include in the written lease an option to have the tenant's on-time rent payments reported to a consumer reporting agency (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208.4(b), (c)).

• A landlord who offers five or more units must use a written lease, and any landlord who rents with a written lease must give a prospective applicant who asks in writing a complete copy of the proposed lease form, without requiring a signature or a deposit (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(a), (b)).
• An automatic renewal clause for more than one month is unenforceable unless it is set apart from the rest of the lease and initialed by the tenant (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(e)).
• At signing, give each tenant the state mold pamphlet and ask for a signed acknowledgment (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-220(b)).See Mold on the Maryland page
• For homes covered by the lead law, give the Department of the Environment's Notice of Tenant's Rights with the current inspection certificate when the lease is signed (Md. Code, Env. § 6-820).See Lead paint on the Maryland page
• If you bill tenants for utilities, the lease must give the notices the utility billing sections require. Since October 1, 2026, if tenants pay a third party for submetered water or sewer, the written lease must say so, you must give a copy of each bill at least 20 days before it is due, and before the lease starts you must tell the applicant in writing the unit's (or a comparable unit's) water and sewer costs for the prior 2 years (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-205.1; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-205.2; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-212.4; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-205.3).
• List your name, address and phone number, or your agent's for notices, in the lease or on a posted sign (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(a)).See Landlord identity on the Maryland page
• The rent reporting offer must use the state's form, be made at signing and at least once a year (by January 1, 2027 for leases signed earlier), and you may charge a tenant who opts in no more than the lesser of your actual cost or $10 a month (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208.4(d), (e), (h)).
• A Maryland lease also may not include a confession of judgment, a jury trial waiver, a notice to quit shorter than the law requires, or a term making the tenant pay the District Court filing surcharge assessed against you. A tenant offered or threatened with such a term can recover actual damages and attorney's fees (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(1), (4), (5), (13), (g)).

You must put in the lease, or post in a conspicuous place on the property, the name, address and phone number of the landlord or of the person authorized to accept notices and court papers for you (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(a)(1)).

• If you do not, a tenant's notices and court papers are properly served if sent to the person you pay rent to or the address where rent is paid, among other routes the section allows (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(a)(2)).

Maryland's landlord and tenant law has no flood disclosure for residential leases. Other parts of the Code were not searched for one (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208).

• The lease contents rule lists what a Maryland lease must include, and flood risk is not among them (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c)).

Rental homes covered by Maryland's lead law must be registered with the Department of the Environment, meet the lead risk reduction standard, and be inspected at each change in occupancy. When the lease is signed, and at least every two years, you must give the tenant the Department's Notice of Tenant's Rights with the current verified inspection certificate (Md. Code, Env. § 6-811; Md. Code, Env. § 6-815; Md. Code, Env. § 6-820).

• The law covers rental units built before 1950, and since January 1, 2015 also units built before 1978 (Md. Code, Env. § 6-801(b)).
• The notice goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, or another verifiable method the Department approves (Md. Code, Env. § 6-820(e)).

Each sleeping area and each level of the unit, including the basement (not unoccupied attics, garages or crawl spaces), needs at least one smoke alarm; every existing residential occupancy had to meet this by January 1, 2018. You as landlord are responsible for installing, repairing, maintaining and replacing the required alarms; the tenant tests them and may not disable them (Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 9-104(a), (d)(2), (d)(3); Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 9-106(c)-(e)).

• When a tenant reports a failed alarm in writing, by certified mail or hand delivery, you must acknowledge it in writing and repair or replace the alarm within 5 calendar days (Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 9-106(e)).
• On written request for a deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing tenant, you must provide an approved alarm notification appliance for the tenant's sleeping room at your own cost, and you may not require supporting documentation with the request (Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 9-105).
• Whether alarms may run on batteries or must be hard-wired depends on the building type and when it was built (Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 9-104).

Maryland's landlord and tenant law sets no general rule on locks or rekeying between tenants. Its lock rule is for victims of abuse: on a written request with a protective or peace order that orders the abuser to stay away or vacate, you must change the locks by the close of the next business day (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-5A-05).

• If you do not change the locks in time, the tenant may have a certified locksmith change them and must give you a duplicate key by the close of the next business day. When you change them, you give the tenant a key within 48 hours, and you may charge a reasonable fee (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-5A-05).

A Maryland landlord may not charge a security deposit of more than one month's rent per dwelling unit, no matter how many tenants live there. A security deposit is any payment meant to protect the landlord against nonpayment of rent or damage, and it includes last month's rent paid in advance (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(a), (b)).

• You may charge up to two months' rent if the tenant has qualified for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services, the lease has the tenant pay for utility service directly to you, and you both agree in writing to the deposit amount (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(b)(2)).
• A tenant charged more than the limit may recover up to three times the extra amount, plus reasonable attorney's fees (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(b)(3)).
• A lease may not require the tenant to pay more than the security deposit and the first month's rent to start the lease and move in (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(11)).
• You may not require a tenant to buy a surety bond in place of a deposit, and you do not have to accept one; the section sets separate rules when a tenant buys a bond instead of paying all or part of the deposit (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(i)).

Within 30 days of receiving it, you must put the deposit in an interest-bearing account used only for security deposits at a Maryland branch of a federally insured financial institution, or hold it in insured certificates of deposit or certain government securities. The deposit earns simple interest at the one-year U.S. Treasury yield curve rate as of the first business day of the year, or 1.5 percent a year, whichever is greater (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(d), (e)).

• Interest accrues at monthly intervals, is not owed for a partial month, is not owed unless you held the deposit for at least six months, and applies only to deposits of $50 or more. It is paid with the deposit at the end of the tenancy (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(e)).
• The Department of Housing and Community Development keeps the yearly rates, or a calculator, on its website, and you may rely on it (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(m), (n)).
• The lease must contain a receipt for the deposit with the notices the law lists. Keep a copy for two years after the tenancy ends; a landlord who gives no written receipt owes the tenant $25 (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203.1(b), (c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c)(3)).
• On transfer, provide the deposit and an accounting of original amount/date, applicable rates and tenant contact. The transferor remains liable for amounts not delivered with that accounting; successors also have statutory return liability. Reconcile funds and records at closing (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(d)(3)–(4)).

If the tenant asks by certified mail within 15 days of moving in, you must inspect the home with the tenant and make a written list of damage that already exists. At the end, a tenant who tells you by certified mail at least 15 days before moving, with the move date and a new address, has the right to be present at your move-out inspection (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203.1(a); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(f)).

• On receiving the tenant's notice, you must tell the tenant by certified mail the time and date of the move-out inspection, which must fall within five days before or after the tenant's stated move date (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(f)).
• If you did not tell the tenant in writing, when the deposit was paid, about the right to be present at the move-out inspection, you lose the right to withhold any part of the deposit for damages (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(f)).
• These notices belong in the deposit receipt that the lease must include (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203.1(a); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(c)(3)).See Deposit account and interest on the Maryland page

Maryland does not set a maximum application fee. If you charge fees other than a security deposit that total more than $25, you may keep only what you actually spent on a credit check or other application expenses and must return the rest within 15 days after the tenant moves in or after either side says in writing that no tenancy will happen; otherwise you can owe twice the fees. Since October 1, 2026, a landlord that owns or manages five or more Maryland rental units must also follow the state's limits on criminal history screening, and every landlord must put the pet policy in the rental application (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-05; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(c)).

• This refund rule does not apply to a landlord who offers four or fewer units on one parcel or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(c)).
• The application must state the applicant's liability for these fees and the refund rules (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(a)).
• You must tell applicants whether you accept reusable tenant screening reports. If you accept them and an applicant gives you one, you may not charge an application fee or a fee to access the report (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218(c), (d)).
• Maryland's fair housing law lists source of income among the protected classes (Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-705).See Fair housing on the Maryland page
• The criminal history screening rules apply to a landlord that owns or manages five or more residential rental units in Maryland, counting units held through other entities, and do not apply to owner-occupied units (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-02).
• Before accepting an application fee, you must tell the applicant in writing how a criminal history check is used, that listed convictions are considered only after a conditional offer, and that the applicant may show inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. You may not require a drug or alcohol test (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-04).
• Before a conditional offer, you may not ask about criminal history in the application or otherwise, except about the specific convictions and sex offender registration the statute lists (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-05(a)).
• After a conditional offer, you may withdraw it based on a criminal history check only for a felony conviction in any state or federal court within the 5 years before the application or an undisclosed listed conviction, only when necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate and nondiscriminatory interest, and with written notice giving the specific reason and the right to ask for a reassessment (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-06(a)-(c)).
• Each violation of the criminal history screening rules carries a civil penalty of up to $500 (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-2A-10).
• Every rental application form must include a written copy or summary of the property's pet policy, linked on the property's website if there is one, stating any breed and weight limits, pet fees and deposits, limits on the number of pets and any other pet rules (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(c)).
• A reusable report under Maryland law is prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the previous 30 days at the applicant's request and expense, then made directly available to the landlord without charge. Required contents include credit, employment and income verification, address and rental history, plus seven-year criminal and eviction checks for prior-residence jurisdictions. That describes this report; it does not create a universal seven-year permission to use records. Apply the separate screening restrictions described above (Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-218(a), (b)).
• If you accept a reusable report, you may request certification that the applicant's name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history and eviction history have not materially changed since it was generated. Before the lease is signed, the statute also permits rejection if the applicant materially altered the reusable report. Distinguish a change in circumstances from alteration of the report itself (Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-218(e), (f)).
• Review a consumer report for a matching identity, duplicate entries and the actual outcome of any case you may lawfully consider; a filing alone does not show the result. If the report contributes to a denial or less favorable rent, deposit or cosigner terms, give the required federal adverse-action notice with the reporting company’s name, address and phone number, a statement that it did not make the decision and cannot explain your reasons, and the rights to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free report from that company within sixty days of the notice. Keep that notice separate from Maryland’s conditional-offer withdrawal and reassessment requirements, and preserve the reasons and delivery records (FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance; FTC: tenant background checks and rights).