Whether you can raise the rent on a Maryland rental has less to do with Annapolis than with which side of a county line the building sits on. The state caps nothing. Montgomery County, Takoma Park, and Prince George's County all cap something. And since 2024, the General Assembly has been rewriting the rest of the rulebook faster than Maryland landlords have seen in decades.

Here is the 2026 picture, statute by statute. Keep the Maryland quick-reference page handy for the short version.

Rent increases: three Maryland counties cap them, the state doesn't

Maryland has no statewide rent control and no statewide limit on the size of an increase. What it has instead is local regulation with real teeth.

Montgomery County rent stabilization took effect July 23, 2024. Annual increases on covered units (generally county-licensed rentals at least 23 years old) are capped at rental CPI plus 3 percent, never more than 6 percent. The county publishes the allowance each year: 5.7 percent for increases taking effect July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. Separately, county law requires 90 days' written notice before any increase.

Takoma Park runs its own, older rent stabilization program and is carved out of the county law. Its allowance tracks regional CPI: 2.4 percent for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.

Prince George's County converted its temporary 3 percent cap into a permanent rent stabilization law in 2024, with CPI-linked limits and a list of exemptions. If you own there, read the county code before every renewal cycle.

Everywhere else the market sets the number, but the timing is regulated: on a month-to-month tenancy, an increase is a change in terms, so give the same 60 days' written notice you would need to end the tenancy (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-402). And if you also hold doors across the district line, Washington, D.C. runs full rent stabilization on most older buildings, so never assume your D.C. units work like your Silver Spring ones.

The one-month deposit cap (and the triple-damages trap)

This is the change that still catches people. For any lease signed on or after October 1, 2024, the security deposit is capped at one month's rent per dwelling unit, no matter how many tenants sign (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203, as amended by the Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act, HB 693). The old two-month ceiling survives only on leases signed before that date. Collect more and the tenant can recover up to three times the excess, plus attorney's fees.

One narrow exception: up to two months is allowed when the tenant qualifies for utility assistance, pays utilities directly to you under the lease, and agrees in writing.

Maryland deposits also come with homework most states skip:

  • Give a written receipt (the lease itself can serve) and park the money in an account at a Maryland financial institution within 30 days of receiving it.
  • Deposits of $50 or more earn simple interest, accruing in six-month intervals, at the greater of 1.5 percent a year or the one-year U.S. Treasury yield curve rate set each January. The state posts an official calculator; use it rather than guessing.
  • Return the deposit plus interest within 45 days after the tenancy ends. If you withhold anything, mail a written itemized list of damages with actual costs, first-class, within that same 45 days. Skip the list and you forfeit the right to withhold at all.
  • Withholding without a reasonable basis can cost you up to three times the withheld amount plus attorney's fees. The full text of § 8-203 is on the General Assembly site and is worth ten minutes of your time.

A tenant who asks by certified mail at least 15 days before moving out also has the right to attend the move-out inspection, held within five days either side of the move date. Rentari tracks the 45-day clock and the interest math state by state, which is exactly the kind of deadline that slips in a busy month.

Deposit rules flip fast at the state line; compare the Delaware guide and the Florida guide if your portfolio crosses borders.

24 hours' written notice before you enter, statewide since October 2025

Until last fall, Maryland had no statewide entry-notice statute; leases and county codes filled the gap. HB 1076 (Ch. 564 of 2025) changed that. Since October 1, 2025, Real Prop. § 8-220 requires written notice at least 24 hours before entry, stating the date, the approximate time, and the specific purpose.

Delivery has rules too: first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, a paper notice on the door, or (only if the tenant opted in) email, text, or your tenant portal. Entry is limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the tenant agrees in writing to another window. Emergencies threatening the property or anyone's safety need no notice.

Ignore § 8-220 and a court can enjoin you and award damages for breaching the tenant's quiet enjoyment. The statute cuts both ways, though: a tenant who alleges a housing code violation must give you access within 24 hours of reporting it.

Late fees: 5 percent of what's actually unpaid

Maryland's late-fee ceiling has been 5 percent for years (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208). What changed on October 1, 2025 (HB 273) is the base: the fee is now capped at 5 percent of the unpaid rent, not the full month. Say rent is $1,800 and the tenant paid $1,300 on time; your maximum late fee is $25, not $90. Weekly tenancies stay capped at $3 per week and $12 per month.

There is no statewide grace period; the lease controls when rent turns late, and a few counties layer on local grace rules. What you can't do anywhere in Maryland is stack fees or penalties above that 5 percent line.

Rent court, the 10-day notice, and Maryland's pay-to-stay rule

Every Maryland eviction runs through the District Court. Changing locks, cutting utilities, or hauling belongings to the curb is illegal self-help against a protected resident (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-113) and invites a damages award.

The notice ladder:

  • Nonpayment: a written notice of intent to file, giving the tenant 10 days, must precede a failure-to-pay-rent complaint (Real Prop. § 8-401(c)). Tenants keep a right of redemption: pay everything owed plus costs any time before the eviction is executed and they stay, unless they have racked up three or more rent judgments in the prior 12 months.
  • Lease breach: 30 days' written notice to vacate, cut to 14 days when the conduct poses a clear and imminent danger (Real Prop. § 8-402.1).
  • Holdover or ending a month-to-month: 60 days' written notice (Real Prop. § 8-402). Baltimore City procedure differs in spots, so check local rules there.

Budget items from the recent sessions: the filing surcharge on nonpayment cases jumped from $8 to $43 under the 2024 Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act, and it generally stays your cost rather than the tenant's. And since October 1, 2025 (HB 767), tenants must be notified when a warrant of restitution issues, which adds a formal step before the sheriff arrives. State-specific notice templates live in the forms library.

The Tenants' Bill of Rights, lead registration, and rent escrow

Maryland leases now carry a mandatory attachment: the Tenants' Bill of Rights published by the state's new Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs. The obligation came out of the 2024 Act and kicked in during 2025. DHCD posts the current version, so staple the latest one to every new lease.

Lead is the other big one. Pre-1978 rentals must be registered with the Maryland Department of the Environment and pass lead-risk requirements at turnover under the state's Lead Risk Reduction in Housing law. Federal law separately requires the lead-paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet for pre-1978 housing.

Selling? Since October 1, 2024, an owner selling a rental property with one to three units must give the sitting tenants a first opportunity to purchase, using the state-published notices, before going to market.

On habitability, Maryland's core tenant remedy is rent escrow: for serious defects (no heat, no water, structural hazards), a tenant who gave you notice and 30 days without repair can ask the court to hold rent in escrow until the work is done (Real Prop. § 8-211). Retaliation for asserting those rights is barred (§ 8-208.1), and Maryland Real Property Title 8 collects the rest of the landlord-tenant code in one place.

Maryland's 2024 to 2026 change log

  • July 23, 2024: Montgomery County rent stabilization effective (CPI plus 3, max 6 percent; 5.7 percent allowance from July 1, 2025).
  • October 1, 2024 (HB 693, Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act): deposit cap cut to one month, $43 eviction filing surcharge, tenant first-purchase opportunity on one-to-three-unit sales, Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs created.
  • 2025 rollout of HB 693: Tenants' Bill of Rights must be attached to residential leases.
  • October 1, 2025 (HB 1076): statewide 24-hour entry notice, new § 8-220.
  • October 1, 2025 (HB 273): late fees recalculated as 5 percent of unpaid rent.
  • October 1, 2025 (HB 767): tenants notified when a warrant of restitution issues.

The pattern is unmistakable: big changes land every October 1. Recheck the rules each fall before you send renewals.

Maryland landlord FAQ

Can I still charge a two-month security deposit?

Only on a lease signed before October 1, 2024, or under the narrow utility-assistance exception in § 8-203. On anything newer, one month is the ceiling, and overcharging exposes you to three times the excess plus attorney's fees.

How much notice do I need to raise the rent?

Statewide, treat a month-to-month increase like a termination: 60 days' written notice under § 8-402. Montgomery County requires 90 days and caps the size of the increase; Takoma Park and Prince George's County apply their own caps. A fixed-term lease changes only at renewal unless it says otherwise.

What happens if I miss the 45-day deposit deadline?

If the itemized damage list isn't mailed within 45 days, you forfeit the right to withhold anything. Late or bad-faith withholding can cost up to three times the withheld amount plus attorney's fees under § 8-203, so calendar the date the tenancy ends.

Can I text my tenant an entry notice?

Only if the tenant elected electronic delivery. Otherwise § 8-220 wants first-class mail with a certificate of mailing or a paper notice on the door, at least 24 hours out, with entry between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

How fast can I evict for nonpayment?

Count 10 days for the notice of intent to file, then the District Court docket (usually a few weeks, varying by county), then the warrant stage with its new tenant-notification step. The tenant can stop it cold by paying in full before the eviction executes, unless they have three or more rent judgments in the prior 12 months.

This guide is general information for Maryland landlords, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and counties add their own layers, so verify anything you rely on against the current statute text or with a Maryland landlord-tenant attorney before acting.