Can I Sue My Landlord in Maryland?
Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims Maryland tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.
Before you sue
- Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
- Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
- Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
- If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.
Your security deposit wasn't returned
| Penalty for withholding | If the landlord fails to return the deposit and interest within 45 days without a reasonable basis, the tenant may sue for up to 3 times the withheld amount plus reasonable attorney's fees. Deposit provisions cannot be waived in a lease (§ 8-203(l)). Landlord must give a written receipt for the deposit, included in any written lease (§ 8-203(c), § 8-203.1). |
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| Deposit return deadline | Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the deposit plus accrued interest, less damages rightfully withheld. A tenant who was evicted or abandoned the unit before the lease ended must mail the landlord a written request for the deposit within 45 days of leaving. The landlord then has 45 days from that notice (per DHCD Tenants' Bill of Rights and AG guide). |
Free Maryland security deposit demand letter
You were locked out or your utilities were cut off
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Prohibited. A landlord may not take or threaten to take possession by locking out the tenant, willfully cutting heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or gas to force the tenant out, or by any other action. Possession may be taken only under a court warrant of restitution executed by a sheriff or constable, or after abandonment/surrender. Remedy: actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs; other remedies also available. No fixed statutory damages amount. Landlord may temporarily secure an unsecured property (including changing locks) if it makes good-faith efforts to notify the tenant they may be promptly restored to possession (§ 8-216(d)). Leases may not allow taking possession or the tenant's property without legal process (§ 8-208(d)(6)). Source: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-216 |
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Your landlord retaliated after you complained
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not bring or threaten a possession action, arbitrarily raise rent or reduce services, or terminate a periodic tenancy because the tenant made a good-faith complaint (to the landlord or a public agency) about a lease/law violation or a substantial health or safety threat, sued or testified in a suit involving the landlord, joined a tenants' organization, or called police/emergency services. Remedy: damages up to 3 months' rent plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. No presumption period. An action taken more than 6 months after the tenant's protected act is not retaliatory (§ 8-208.1(e)). Tenant must be current on rent unless lawfully withholding (escrow) (§ 8-208.1(d)). Bad-faith tenant claims can result in fees awarded to the landlord. State law overrides any less-protective local ordinance (§ 8-208.1(g)). Source: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208.1 |
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Your landlord won't make repairs
| Repair and deduct | No statute Maryland's statute provides court-supervised rent escrow rather than self-help repair-and-deduct. The AG's guide warns that withholding rent outside the escrow process risks eviction. |
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| Withholding rent | Rent escrow. If the landlord fails to fix serious conditions (lack of heat, light, electricity, hot or cold water; inadequate sewage; rodent infestation in 2+ units; dangerous structural defects; fire or health hazards) within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may file a rent escrow action and pay rent into court, or withhold rent and raise the conditions as a defense to an eviction. Notice can be certified-mail written notice, actual notice, or a government violation notice. More than 30 days after notice is presumed unreasonable. Court may abate rent (rebuttable presumption of abatement of prospective rent), order repairs, terminate the lease, or release escrowed funds for repairs. Barred if the tenant has 3 prior rent judgments in the last 12 months (monthly tenancies; different limits for weekly), or if the tenant/guests caused the defect or denied access. Prevailing tenant may recover attorney's fees (§ 8-211(o)). Cosmetic defects and lack of air conditioning are presumed not to qualify (§ 8-211(e)(2)), though DHCD's Bill of Rights notes a separate A/C requirement for certain buildings with 10+ units. Baltimore City has its own very similar rent escrow law (AG guide); § 8-211(q) lets more-protective local laws stand. |
| Mold | Yes, by statute (Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act, effective July 1, 2025). Landlords must give each tenant the state mold information pamphlet when the lease is signed and on request, and ask the tenant to sign an acknowledgment. Within 15 days after written notice of mold from the tenant, a building occupant or the local housing-code agency, the landlord must do a mold assessment. If mold is found, the landlord must remediate it within 45 days after the assessment, or within a reasonable time if 45 days isn't feasible. Assessment and remediation must follow industry guidelines and state and local law. The landlord must keep the property properly ventilated with low indoor humidity, communicate with occupants during the work, and meet minimum livability codes. Session law: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_539_sb0856e.pdf. The Department of the Environment must adopt uniform mold assessment and remediation standards by June 1, 2027. Mold that creates a serious health hazard may also support rent escrow under Real Prop. § 8-211. |
| Pests & bed bugs | No bed-bug-specific statute. A rodent infestation in two or more units is a listed serious defect: if the landlord fails to fix it within a reasonable time after notice (over 30 days is presumed unreasonable), the tenant may use rent escrow. Other infestations that create a health hazard can also qualify. The state Minimum Livability Code, which adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, applies where no substantially similar local code exists. COMAR 09.12.54.03: https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.12.54.03. The IPMC's pest-extermination allocation rules were not reproduced on the state site and are not quoted here. County and city codes (e.g., Baltimore City, Montgomery County) often have more specific pest rules. |
| Heat | Lack of heat is a listed serious defect: if the landlord doesn't fix it within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant can use rent escrow. This does not apply when the tenant pays the utility and the lack of heat is from the tenant's own nonpayment. No state statute sets a minimum temperature. The state Minimum Livability Code adopts the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, which contains heating standards, for housing in localities without a substantially similar local code. COMAR 09.12.54.04 (application): https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.12.54.04. Most populous jurisdictions have their own housing codes with set temperatures. |
Free Maryland repair request letter to landlord
Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy
| Landlord entry notice | Written notice at least 24 hours in advance stating the approximate date/time and specific purpose; entry only 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, unless the tenant agrees in writing to another time or shorter notice. Permitted purposes include repairs/maintenance, inspections, showing the unit, safety, government-ordered work, and responding to a written tenant request. No notice needed in an emergency. Enacted by 2025 Md. Laws ch. 564 (HB 1076), approved May 13, 2025, effective October 1, 2025 (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB1076?ys=2025RS). Notice may be mailed first-class with a certificate of mailing, posted on the door, or sent electronically if the tenant chose that method. Remedies: injunction and/or damages for breach of quiet enjoyment. A tenant alleging a housing code violation must allow access within 24 hours after notifying the landlord (§ 8-221(f)). A 2026 bill to allow entry without notice for tenant-requested repairs (SB 635) did not pass. Source: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221 |
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| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute, but strong criminal rules apply. A person may not place a camera on real property where a private residence is located to deliberately and secretly observe someone inside the residence. It is not a defense that the defendant owns the residence. Exceptions include cameras placed with an adult resident's consent and cameras without intent to secretly observe people inside. Violations are a misdemeanor (up to 1 year and/or $2,500) and give the person observed a civil claim for damages and attorney fees. Secret surveillance with prurient intent in a private place such as a bedroom or bathroom is separately a crime. Recording private conversations generally requires the consent of ALL parties. § 3-902: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcr§ion=3-902&enactments=false. § 10-402: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj§ion=10-402&enactments=false. § 3-903(b)(8) exempts certain licensed security professionals observing common areas of multiunit dwellings. |
You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | Yes (HOME Act). It is illegal to refuse to rent to someone, or discriminate in rental terms, because of source of income. 'Source of income' means any lawful source of money paid to or for a renter, including any government or private rental assistance and Housing Choice (Section 8) vouchers. |
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Other claims tenants bring in Maryland
| Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out) | No Maryland statute uses the term "constructive eviction." The statutory remedy for serious, dangerous defects is rent escrow: after written notice and a reasonable time for the landlord to repair, the tenant may ask the District Court to let rent be paid into court. The court may abate the rent, order repairs, or order the lease terminated and the premises returned to the landlord, subject to the tenant's right of redemption. A landlord who locks out a tenant or willfully cuts off heat, water, hot water, electricity or gas to force the tenant out owes actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Rent escrow does not cover minor or merely cosmetic defects. A tenant who wants to move out without court involvement should get legal advice. |
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| Covenant of quiet enjoyment | Yes. Unless the lease says otherwise, every Maryland lease includes an implied covenant by the landlord that the tenant shall quietly enjoy the property. For homes, the landlord must also ensure the tenant can peaceably and quietly enter at the start of the lease; if possession is not delivered, rent abates, the tenant may cancel on written notice, and the landlord owes consequential damages after the tenant gives notice. Because § 2-115 applies "unless the lease provides otherwise," read the lease. A lease may not make a tenant waive rights or remedies provided by law (§ 8-208(d)(2)). |
| Injuries on the property | Any lease provision that makes the tenant indemnify or hold the landlord harmless, or that excuses the landlord from liability to the tenant or anyone else for injury, loss or damage caused by the landlord's omission, fault, negligence or other misconduct on the premises or in elevators, stairways, hallways or other areas not under the tenant's exclusive control, is void as against public policy. A landlord who puts such a clause in a lease or tries to enforce it is liable for the tenant's actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. Whether the landlord is liable for a particular injury is decided under court decisions on negligence. |
Where and when to sue
| Small claims limit | $5,000, not counting interest, costs and recoverable attorney's fees. Small claims are for money only, not return of property or performance of a service. The District Court also has exclusive jurisdiction over landlord-tenant actions under Real Property §§ 8-401 and 8-402 where the rent claimed is $5,000 or less. Money-only scope from the Judiciary's small claims page: https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/smallclaims |
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| Small claims filing fee | $44 for a new small claims contract or tort complaint (includes surcharges). A counterclaim, cross claim or third-party claim costs $18. Service is extra: $20 per defendant if mailed by the clerk, or $60 per defendant if served by the sheriff or constable. Fee waivers are available. Fee waiver information: https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/filingfeewaivers |
| Deadline to sue on a written lease | 3 years for a civil action at law, including suits for unpaid rent or damages under a written or oral lease. 12 years if the lease is a contract under seal (a 'specialty'). § 5-102: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj§ion=5-102&enactments=false. Whether a particular lease is 'under seal' depends on how it was signed. |
How small claims court works in Maryland →
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.