Leasing, Property Management, and Landlord-Tenant Law
Lease requirements
Maryland leases may be oral or written, but terms over one year require a writing under the Statute of Frauds. A written lease should identify the parties, premises, term, rent, and required disclosures (security deposit account information, lead paint for pre-1978 units, landlord or agent contact information). Lease clauses waiving statutory tenant rights are unenforceable.
Security deposits
Maryland caps a security deposit at two months' rent and requires the landlord to hold it in a federally insured escrow account, give the tenant a receipt and notice of the account, and return the balance with an itemized damage list within 45 days of move-out. Interest is owed at the rate set by regulation. The tenant has a right to be present at the move-out inspection.
Habitability, rent, and remedies
Every lease carries an implied warranty of habitability. Late fees are capped by statute and apply only if the lease provides for them. Retaliation against a tenant who complains is prohibited, and rent escrow is the tenant's remedy for serious defects.
Eviction - the sequence
Self-help eviction (changing locks, removing belongings, shutting off utilities) is illegal. The landlord must give the required written notice to quit, file in District Court, obtain a judgment, then obtain a warrant of restitution executed by the sheriff. For nonpayment, the tenant may generally redeem by paying the amount owed before eviction. Different notice periods apply to breach of lease, dangerous conditions, and month-to-month terminations.
Traps
Treating the deposit as the landlord's spending money; assuming a lease can be ended mid-term without statutory cause or breach; confusing the notice-to-quit timeline with the court timeline.