Maryland Landlord Maintenance and Repair Obligations

Maryland landlords must repair conditions that are a fire hazard or a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants, such as no heat, no hot or cold running water, failed sewage, or a rodent infestation in two or more units. After a tenant gives notice, you have a reasonable time to make the repair, and a delay of more than 30 days is presumed unreasonable. If you miss that window, the tenant can pay rent into court under the state's rent escrow law, Real Property section 8-211, or sue for damages under the warranty of habitability that took effect October 1, 2024.

Which repairs does Maryland law require?

The rent escrow law covers serious and dangerous defects in the unit and in shared areas of the property. The statute lists:

• Lack of heat, light, electricity, or hot or cold running water, unless the tenant pays that utility and service stopped because the tenant did not pay the bill.
• Lack of adequate sewage disposal.
• A rodent infestation in two or more dwelling units.
• A structural defect that is a serious threat to the occupants' physical safety.
• Any condition that is a health or fire hazard to the unit.

Minor defects and nondangerous housing code violations are not covered. The law presumes that the following are outside its reach unless they create a serious threat: cosmetic issues such as old paint or worn carpet, small cracks in walls, floors, or ceilings, missing floor tile on an otherwise sound floor, and the absence of air conditioning.

You also have defenses. A tenant cannot get relief for a defect the tenant, their family, or guests caused, or when you or your agent were denied reasonable entry to make the repair. Our guide to Maryland landlord entry and access rules covers how to request entry so that record exists.

How does rent escrow work, step by step?

1. Notice. The tenant must tell you about the defect. Notice counts if it is a certified-mail letter listing the problems, actual notice (for example, you saw the problem or the tenant told you), or a written violation notice from a state, county, or city agency.
2. Your time to repair. A reasonable time is a question of fact for the court, based on how severe and dangerous the condition is. More than 30 days from the date you received notice is presumed unreasonable, and a court can expect faster action for no heat in winter or a sewage backup. If notice arrives March 3, the presumption begins after April 2.
3. The tenant files or defends. The tenant can file a Complaint for Rent Escrow and Breach of Warranty of Habitability (form DC-CV-083) in the District Court for the county where the property sits. A tenant can also stop paying and raise the defects as a defense when you file for unpaid rent. In that case the court can postpone the trial so both sides can bring evidence.
4. Paying into court. To keep the remedy, the tenant must pay the rent required by the lease into court unless the judge sets a different amount. The law presumes the escrow covers rent that comes due after the court's order, and that the tenant is entitled to a rent reduction (abatement) going forward in an amount the court decides. Either side can ask the court to adjust the amount at any time.
5. The court's order. The judge can end the lease, dismiss the case, reduce the rent to reflect the defects, or order you to make specific repairs. If the repairs are still not made 90 days after the court finds the conditions exist, the tenant can ask for an injunction ordering them.
6. Releasing the money. Once repairs are made, the court releases the escrowed rent to you, after a hearing if you or the court requests one. The court can also pay escrow funds to a contractor or a court-appointed administrator to make the repairs, or toward your mortgage to stop a foreclosure. If no repair or good-faith effort happens within 6 months of the escrow order, the court can return the money to the tenant.

A tenant who wins any relief can recover reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and litigation expenses. If the court finds the complaint was filed in bad faith or without substantial justification, it can award those amounts to you.

Some tenants cannot use rent escrow. For a monthly tenancy, the remedy is unavailable if the court entered three judgments of possession against the tenant for unpaid rent in the 12 months before the case started. Baltimore City also has its own rent escrow law, and local laws that give tenants more protection apply on top of the state statute.

What did the Tenant Safety Act of 2024 change?

The Tenant Safety Act of 2024 (Chapter 125, effective October 1, 2024) added a statutory warranty of habitability in Real Property section 8-212. Every landlord who rents a dwelling, under a written or oral lease, is deemed to promise that it is fit for human habitation, meaning free of the same serious, dangerous defects the escrow law covers. The promise applies from move-in through the end of the tenancy.

Under the warranty, after the same notice and a reasonable time to repair:

• The tenant can sue you for damages and rent abatement, or withhold rent and raise the defects as a defense to your rent or possession case.
• The tenant does not have to pay rent into court to get relief under the warranty, which is the main difference from rent escrow.
• Multiple tenants can join as plaintiffs in one case, under both the warranty and the escrow law.
• The court can award actual damages, reduce rent that is due and unpaid, or end the lease and order you to return the unused part of the security deposit and pay the tenant's relocation expenses.
• A tenant who wins can recover reasonable attorney's fees and litigation expenses, and the same defenses (tenant-caused damage, denied entry) apply.

If conditions force a tenant out early, our article on whether a tenant can move out due to bad conditions covers how lease termination for defects works in general.

What are the mold and lead paint rules?

Mold. Since July 1, 2025, Real Property section 8-220 requires you to give each tenant the state mold pamphlet when the lease is signed and on request, and to ask the tenant to sign an acknowledgment. After written notice of mold from a tenant, an occupant, or the local code agency, you must have a mold assessment done within 15 days. If mold is found, remediation is due within 45 days after the assessment, or within a reasonable time if 45 days is not feasible. You must update occupants during the work and keep the property ventilated with low indoor humidity.

Lead paint. If your rental was built before 1978, Maryland's lead law adds these duties, enforced by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE):

A unit may be exempt if an MDE-accredited inspector has certified it lead-free. If you miss the lead standard, a tenant can pay rent into a separate escrow account with the District Court until the work is done. Lead compliance also affects rent collection: a failure-to-pay-rent complaint for a pre-1978 unit must state that the unit is registered with MDE and give the inspection certificate number for the current tenancy. Our guide on what to do if your rental has lead covers testing and safe repair practices.

Do you need a local rental license?

Often, and it carries its own inspection and repair standards. In Baltimore City, every non-owner-occupied property must be registered by January 1 each year. To get a rental license, you must submit a passing inspection report for each unit from a Maryland-licensed home inspector registered with the city (or a passing Section 8 inspection), current lead certification for each unit, paid registration fees, and proof of no open code violations. The third-party inspection must occur within 90 days before you apply; a Section 8 inspection must be no more than 1 year old when submitted. New licenses are issued for 2 years. Other counties and cities run their own programs, so check with your local housing agency before you rent a unit.

Can you evict or raise rent after a tenant complains about conditions?

Not for a retaliatory reason. Maryland bars a landlord from filing or threatening a possession case, arbitrarily raising rent or cutting services, or ending a periodic tenancy because the tenant made a good-faith complaint about a dangerous condition to you or a public agency, or because the tenant sued you. A court that finds retaliation can award the tenant up to 3 months' rent plus attorney's fees and costs. The protection requires the tenant to be current on rent, unless the rent is being withheld under the rent escrow law. An action taken more than 6 months after the tenant's complaint is not treated as retaliation.

If a tenant stops paying for reasons unrelated to repairs, the court steps are covered in the Maryland eviction process for landlords. For the general rules on what any landlord must fix, see how much maintenance and repair is required by law.