Maryland Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Maryland, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside Maryland: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Maryland data files, checked November 2026 against 12 official pages, among them Maryland General Assembly: Real Property 8-203 (current statute text); Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development: Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights (effective October 1, 2026); Maryland Courts: Housing Cases; Maryland Courts: Rent Court for Landlords Part 2, I Won in Rent Court, Now What?; Maryland Courts: Housing Cases (legal help); Maryland Courts: Failure to Pay Rent, Information for Landlords and Tenants (DC-CV-082BR, rev. 10/2025).
• Every item is confirmed on an official page and linked to it.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Maryland notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 23 confirmed Maryland rules at a glance.
• Maryland landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: No more than one month's rent per unit, regardless of the number of tenants; up to two months if the tenant qualifies for Department of Human Services utility assistance, the lease has the tenant pay utilities to the landlord, and both agree in writing (8-203(b)); return deadline: Within 45 days after the tenancy ends: the deposit with interest, less damages rightfully withheld (8-203(e)); itemized list of deductions: A written list of damages claimed with itemized costs, sent by first-class mail to the tenant's last known address within 45 days; costs need supporting documents, which may be an estimate, with the final invoice after repairs (8-203(g), (j), (k)); interest on the deposit: Simple interest at the greater of the one-year U.S; where the deposit is held: Within 30 days of receipt, in a federally insured institution doing business in Maryland, in an in-state branch, in an account used only for deposits; or in insured certificates of deposit or government securities (8-203(d)); penalty the law states: Up to three times the amount withheld plus reasonable attorney fees, where the landlord had no reasonable basis (8-203(e)(4)); up to three times any excess charged over the limit (8-203(b)(3)); ending month-to-month (landlord): At least 60 days' written notice; ending month-to-month (tenant): At least 30 days' written notice, unless the lease requires more; rent increase notice: Written notice 90 days before an increase in most cases, unless it comes with a notice ending the tenancy; unpaid rent notice: Written notice at least 10 days before filing for failure to pay rent; entry notice: Written notice at least 24 hours before an inspection or repairs; entry Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except emergencies; late fee limits: No more than 5% of the late rent amount; on a partial payment, only on the unpaid part; court: Failure to pay rent and other landlord-tenant cases are handled by the District Court; filing fee: $50 for a Failure to Pay Rent complaint in every county but Baltimore City ($60 there), plus $5 for each tenant of record; the amount includes state surcharges; time to answer or appear: No written answer is described; the tenant defends by attending the hearing, and a judgment can be entered against a tenant who doesn't; hearing after filing: The summons sets the Failure to Pay Rent trial for the fifth day after the complaint is filed; the court can postpone it by one day (longer only if all parties agree).
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Maryland's return deadline (within 45 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The Maryland case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• Maryland landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Maryland rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.