Maryland Eviction Protections for Tenants

In Maryland, a landlord can remove you only by winning a case in District Court and having a sheriff or constable carry out the court's order; lockouts and utility shutoffs are illegal. For unpaid rent, state law requires the landlord to give you a written notice with 10 days to pay, and even after a judgment you can usually stop the eviction by paying the amount the court found due, plus court costs, before the sheriff carries it out. Tenants whose household income is at or below 50% of the state median can qualify for a free lawyer through the Access to Counsel in Evictions program.

Every eviction goes through the District Court

Under Real Property section 8-216, a landlord may not take back your home, or threaten to, by locking you out or by deliberately cutting off heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or gas to force you out. The landlord can retake the unit only through a warrant of restitution, the court order that lets a sheriff or constable put the landlord back in possession, or after you move out or abandon the unit. If a court finds the landlord broke this rule, you can recover your actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees.

Landlords file one of three kinds of cases, and each starts with its own written notice:

If you receive a state or federal housing subsidy, your program may require a longer notice period. For unpaid rent, the CARES Act requires at least 30 days' notice to vacate for properties in covered federal housing programs or with federally backed mortgages, even if you receive no subsidy. Your lease rights in Maryland covers how leases end, and the eviction timeline shows how Maryland's stages compare with other states.

The 10-day notice before a rent case

Before filing for unpaid rent, the landlord must give you a Notice of Intent to File a Complaint for Summary Ejectment on a form created by the Maryland Judiciary. The notice counts as given when it is sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, posted on your door, or, if you chose electronic delivery, sent by email, text, or tenant portal. It is not an eviction order, and you do not have to move.

The notice, and any case that follows, can cover only past-due rent and late fees. Utility charges, maintenance charges, and other penalties cannot be collected in a failure-to-pay-rent case. Use the 10 days to pay the amount listed, apply for rental assistance, or ask the landlord for a ledger of every charge and payment if the amount looks wrong.

When the landlord files, the complaint must state the date the notice was given. If you never received a proper notice, tell the judge: you can challenge the landlord's statement, and the court can dismiss the case. What a pay-or-quit notice means explains how notices like this work in other states.

What happens in rent court

The court has the summons mailed to you and either handed to you or posted on your door. State law sets the trial for the fifth business day after the landlord files, so read the papers as soon as they arrive and note the trial date. For court periods of 7 days or less, count from the day after the event and skip Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays under Maryland Rule 1-203. If you do not appear, the court can enter a judgment for the landlord.

At trial, the landlord has to prove the rent owed. Common defenses include:

• The amount is wrong. Bring receipts, bank records, or money order stubs.
• The rental is unlicensed. In a county or city that requires a rental license, the landlord must show the unit is licensed or exempt, and the court can rule against a landlord who cannot.
• Serious defects. If you held back rent because the landlord did not fix a dangerous condition, ask for rent escrow, described in the next section.
• Retaliation. A landlord may not file because you made a good-faith complaint about conditions or a legal violation, sued the landlord or took part in a lawsuit involving the landlord, joined a tenant organization, or called police or emergency services. The defense requires that you were current on rent when the landlord acted, unless you were withholding it through rent escrow, and it does not cover landlord actions more than 6 months after your complaint.

If you, or someone paying for you, hands the landlord the rent and late fees the judge finds due plus court costs at the trial, the case is marked satisfied and you stay. If you lose, the judge orders you to give up possession within 4 business days. A physician's certificate stating that leaving that soon would endanger someone's health or life can extend the deadline to as much as 15 days after trial. Either side can appeal to the circuit court within 4 business days of the judgment, and you must post a bond to stop the eviction while the appeal is pending.

Rent escrow when repairs are the problem

Real Property section 8-211 lets you raise a landlord's failure to fix serious defects as a defense in a rent case, or pay rent into court instead of to the landlord. It covers conditions that threaten life, health, or safety: no heat, light, electricity, or hot or cold water; inadequate sewage disposal; rodents in two or more units; a dangerous structural defect; or a fire or health hazard. Cosmetic problems do not qualify.

The defense works only if:

1. The landlord had notice through a certified letter listing the problems, proof the landlord knew, or a written violation notice from a government inspector.
2. The landlord had a reasonable time to repair. More than 30 days after notice is presumed unreasonable.
3. You pay your rent into court, unless the judge sets a different amount.

Either side can ask the judge to postpone the trial to bring evidence about the conditions. The judge can then reduce the rent, order repairs, or end the lease. Under state law, escrow is not available to a tenant on a monthly lease with three judgments for unpaid rent in the prior 12 months. Baltimore City's local law allows up to five, or two if you have lived in the unit 6 months or less. How rent escrow works covers the general process, and habitability rights in Maryland explains filing your own escrow case.

After a judgment: the warrant and the eviction date

If you have not paid or moved out within 7 business days after the judgment, the landlord can ask the court for a warrant of restitution starting on the eighth business day. The landlord must request it within 60 days of the judgment, or of the end of any stay, or the judgment for possession is canceled, and a warrant expires if the landlord takes no action on it within 60 days. A canceled judgment can still count toward the limit on redemption described below unless the court decides otherwise.

Once the sheriff schedules the eviction, Real Property section 8-407 requires the landlord to notify you at least 6 days before the date by all of these methods:

• First-class mail with a certificate of mailing.
• Posting on your front door, with a date-stamped photo as proof.
• Email or text, if the landlord has your address or number.

The notice must list the case number and the scheduled date, show the amount needed to redeem if you still can, and warn that belongings left inside could be lost. Local law can set the notice period anywhere from 4 to 14 days; the Maryland Judiciary says Baltimore City landlords must mail the notice 14 days before the eviction and post it 7 days before. If the landlord skipped the notice, the court must cancel the warrant, and you can recover damages and attorney's fees.

Evictions are put off day to day when the temperature or next-day forecast is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or during a National Weather Service winter storm, blizzard, hurricane, tropical storm, or excessive heat warning, and must be completed within 5 days after the weather clears. On eviction day, the sheriff or constable has you step out and the landlord changes the locks. State law sets no period for retrieving belongings, local practice varies, and the Judiciary says belongings left inside in Baltimore City are forfeited to the landlord. Move valuables, documents, and medicine out before the scheduled date.

Paying to stay: the right of redemption

In a failure-to-pay-rent case, you can usually keep your home after losing by paying the landlord or the landlord's agent all past-due amounts the court found, plus the court costs and fees it awarded, at any time before the eviction is actually carried out. Pay in cash, by certified check, or by money order; a check from a government agency, such as a rental assistance program, counts the same as your payment. Once you pay in full, the landlord must contact the sheriff or constable to cancel the eviction. Get a receipt.

You can lose this right if three or more judgments for unpaid rent were entered against you in the 12 months before the current case (four or more in Baltimore City) and the landlord asks the court to deny redemption. Check your judgment or warrant to see whether redemption was denied. Without the right, paying does not by itself stop the eviction; it takes the landlord's agreement.

Free lawyers through Access to Counsel in Evictions

Maryland's Access to Counsel in Evictions program is for tenants whose household income is at or below 50% of the state median income, adjusted for household size. It provides a lawyer in eviction cases and in proceedings to end a housing voucher or subsidy, and help can start as soon as you get a notice ending your tenancy or the landlord files. Call 211 or visit LegalHelpMD.org to check whether you qualify. If you do not, the Maryland Court Help Center gives free legal advice by phone at 410-260-1392.