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Maryland residential lease agreement

Answer the questions, download the lease. Free, no account, and it holds your figures to what Maryland allows.

What Maryland law does to your lease

These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.

RuleMarylandWhere it says so
Most a landlord may take as a deposit1 month's rentTwo months is allowed only in the narrow utility-assistance case the statute describes, and only by written agreement.Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-203(b)
Earliest a late fee may be chargedThe day after it is dueMd. Code, Real Prop. 8-208(d)(3)
Most a late fee may be5% of the rentFive percent of the rent unpaid for the period. On a weekly tenancy it is $3 a week and no more than $12 a month.Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-208(d)(3)
Notice before the landlord may enternot sourced yet-
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy60 days from the landlord, 30 from the tenantThe tenant's 30 days may be given orally outside Baltimore City, but the landlord then has to prove it was given, so put it in writing either way.Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-402(c)

What Maryland makes you disclose

What the lease itself must contain
A Maryland lease must state that the premises will be delivered in a habitable condition, set out who is responsible for which utilities and repairs, include the security deposit receipt required by Real Prop. 8-203.1, and attach a current copy of the Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights published by the Department of Housing and Community Development. A prospective tenant who asks in writing must be given the whole proposed lease before signing or paying anything. Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-208(d)

The clause most landlords get wrong

Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.

The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.

After it is signed

Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.

Is this Maryland lease legally binding?

A written lease signed by the landlord and every adult tenant is a contract, and this one is built to say what Maryland requires a residential lease to say. What it is not is legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. It is a form you complete yourself, the same category as the fill-in-the-blank lease sold in an office supply shop, and it is worth having a lawyer in your state read it before you rely on it, especially on a property you will hold for years.

How much can a landlord charge as a security deposit in Maryland?

Maryland caps every deposit taken together at 1 month's rent (Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-203(b)). That is the total of the security deposit, any pet deposit, and any last month's rent held as a deposit, not each of them separately. The builder holds your figure to that ceiling and tells you when it has. Two months is allowed only in the narrow utility-assistance case the statute describes, and only by written agreement.

Can a landlord charge a late fee in Maryland?

Yes, but not without limit. Maryland caps it at 5% of the rent (Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-208(d)(3)). A fee charged earlier or larger than that is not enforceable, and the rest of the lease still stands. Five percent of the rent unpaid for the period. On a weekly tenancy it is $3 a week and no more than $12 a month.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Maryland?

We have not sourced an entry-notice rule for Maryland. Twenty-four hours is the most common requirement in the states that set one, and it is what the builder uses as a default, but confirm your state's before you rely on it. Emergencies need no notice anywhere.

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Maryland?

60 days of written notice from the landlord and 30 from the tenant (Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-402(c)). The builder writes that figure into the term clause. A lease may agree on longer notice than the statute; one that gives less is unenforceable to that extent, and the statutory period governs instead. The tenant's 30 days may be given orally outside Baltimore City, but the landlord then has to prove it was given, so put it in writing either way.

Do I have to include a lead-based paint disclosure?

Only if the home was built before 1978, and then yes, everywhere in the country. Federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint, hand over any report they have, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet before the tenant is committed to the lease (42 U.S.C. 4852d). Enter the year built and the builder attaches it for you.

Can I have the tenant sign it online?

Yes. Download the PDF and sign it however you like, or make a free Kouzr account and send it to the tenant for signature from here: they get a link, sign on a phone, and the executed copy files itself against the tenancy alongside rent and the deposit record. The PDF is free either way and does not require an account.

Kouzr is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The builder produces a form you complete yourself, and no lawyer has reviewed the document it assembles. Have one admitted in Maryland read it before you rely on it.