Maryland eviction law requires every residential eviction to run through the District Court. A landlord cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, or set belongings on the curb without first winning a judgment and having a sheriff or constable carry out a warrant. Before any filing, the tenant must receive specific written notice, and the length of that notice depends on why the landlord wants them out.
Grounds and How Much Notice Is Required
Maryland recognizes four reasons a landlord can pursue eviction, and each carries its own notice period.
Failure to pay rent. This is the most common case and applies whether the lease is written or oral. Before filing, the landlord must deliver a written notice on the form created by the Maryland Judiciary, stating the past-due rent and any late fees. The tenant then has 10 days to pay and avoid court.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Failure to Pay Rent2Maryland Courts. Notice of Intent to File a Complaint for Failure to Pay Rent The notice can be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, posted on the unit’s door, or sent electronically if the tenant has opted in to email, text, or a tenant portal. Late fees cannot exceed 5% of the monthly rent.
Breach of lease. For a material lease violation, such as unauthorized pets, unpermitted subletting, or prohibited activity, the landlord must give 30 days’ written notice identifying the breach and stating the intent to repossess. The tenant can cure the problem or move out within that window.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-402.1 – Breach of Lease The lease itself must allow early termination for the violation.
Clear and imminent danger. If the tenant’s behavior creates a serious risk of harm to other residents, the landlord, or the property, the notice period drops to 14 days.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-402.1 – Breach of Lease
Holding over. When a lease ends and the landlord does not want to renew, a tenant who stays becomes a holdover. Notice depends on the tenancy: 60 days for a written lease longer than a week or a month-to-month arrangement, 90 days for a year-to-year tenancy, and either 7 days (with a written lease) or 21 days (without one) for week-to-week.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-402 – Holding Over
Skipping or shortening notice is not a small mistake. Courts routinely dismiss cases where the landlord used the wrong period, missed a required amount, or delivered the notice improperly.
Filing the Case and the Hearing
Once the notice period passes without the tenant curing or moving, the landlord files a written complaint in the District Court of the county where the property sits. For nonpayment cases, the complaint must state the rent owed (net of any utility bills or security deposit the tenant has paid) and request both possession and a money judgment.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Failure to Pay Rent The court issues a summons, and the sheriff posts it on the property and mails a copy; personal service is available if the landlord requests and pays for it.6Maryland Courts. Failure to Pay Rent – Landlords Complaint for Repossession of Rented Property
At the hearing, both sides present evidence. The judge checks whether the landlord followed every statutory requirement, including proper notice and correct amounts. If the landlord wins, the court enters a judgment for possession. In nonpayment cases, the judgment also specifies the dollars owed, plus court costs and any late fees the lease permits.
Paying to Stop a Nonpayment Eviction
Even after losing a nonpayment case, a tenant can stop the eviction by paying everything owed. Under Real Property § 8-401(g), the tenant may redeem the property at any point before the sheriff actually carries out the lockout by tendering the full past-due rent, court-awarded costs, and late fees in cash, certified check, or money order.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Failure to Pay Rent A government-issued check counts the same as the tenant’s own payment.
There is a hard cap. A tenant who has had three judgments of possession for unpaid rent entered against them in the previous 12 months loses the right to redeem entirely.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Failure to Pay Rent After that threshold, paying the balance does not stop the sheriff.
Appeal Deadlines Are Short
A tenant who loses can appeal to the Circuit Court, but the windows are narrow and differ by case type. In failure-to-pay-rent cases, the appeal must be filed within 4 business days of the judgment. In breach-of-lease and holdover cases, the deadline is 10 calendar days.7Maryland Courts. Information for Tenants The tenant may need to post a bond covering rent that comes due while the appeal is pending. Missing the deadline by one day forfeits the appeal.
The Warrant of Restitution and the Lockout
A judgment for possession does not itself remove the tenant. The landlord has to request a warrant of restitution. Under the Tenant Possessions Recovery Act, effective October 1, 2025, the court issues the warrant if the tenant has not complied with the judgment within 7 days.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Tenant Possessions Recovery Act If the landlord does not request the warrant within 60 days of the judgment, the judgment for possession expires.
Once the warrant is issued, the landlord must give the tenant written notice of the scheduled eviction date at least 6 days in advance, and some counties require longer.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Real Property 8-407 – Warrant of Restitution; Notice to Tenant On the scheduled date a sheriff or constable puts the landlord back in possession, typically supervising as the locks are changed. Start to finish, from the initial complaint to the physical lockout commonly runs several weeks to a few months depending on the court’s schedule and the sheriff’s caseload.
Belongings left behind after the sheriff executes the warrant are treated as abandoned. The landlord cannot dump them on the sidewalk, in the street, or on any other public property; illegal dumping of eviction property is a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to $1,000 per day. The landlord may take the items to a landfill or solid waste facility, or donate them to charity.10Maryland Courts. Petition for Warrant of Restitution
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Rent Escrow for Serious Conditions
If a rental has serious defects that threaten health or safety, such as no heat, no running water, rodent infestation across multiple units, or structural hazards, the tenant can pay rent into court instead of to the landlord. Rent escrow works as both a shield in an eviction case and a tool to force repairs. The tenant must first notify the landlord in writing and give a reasonable chance to fix the problem. If the landlord does not act, the tenant can file a rent escrow action or raise the conditions as an affirmative defense. Escrow is unavailable to tenants who have had three or more judgments for unpaid rent entered against them in the previous 12 months (for monthly tenancies).11Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-211
Retaliatory Eviction
A landlord cannot evict, raise the rent, or cut services solely because the tenant filed a good-faith complaint with the landlord or a government agency, sued the landlord, or joined a tenants’ organization. A court that finds retaliation can rule for the tenant and award attorney’s fees against the landlord. The protection expires six months after the final resolution of the original complaint or lawsuit.12Justia. Maryland Code Real Property 8-208.1 – Retaliatory Evictions
Procedural Defenses
Tenants can attack the complaint itself: the wrong notice period, an incorrect amount, improper delivery, or a misstatement of when notice was given. Any of these can produce a dismissal.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 – Failure to Pay Rent
What Landlords Cannot Do
Maryland flatly bans self-help evictions. Under Real Property § 8-216, a landlord cannot take possession by locking the tenant out and cannot intentionally interrupt heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or gas to force a tenant to leave. The only lawful routes to possession are a warrant of restitution executed by a sheriff or constable, or a genuine abandonment by the tenant. The statute does let a landlord temporarily change locks to secure an unsecured unit, but only after making a good-faith effort to give reasonable notice and promptly restoring access.13Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-216 A landlord who cuts utilities or changes the locks without a court order is the one breaking the law, no matter how much rent is owed.
Federal Rules That Can Change the Timeline
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to evict based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing Selectively enforcing lease terms against tenants in a protected class, or filing eviction after a tenant asks for a disability accommodation, opens the landlord to a federal claim on top of any state retaliation defense.
Bankruptcy has a narrower effect than many tenants assume. If the tenant files before the landlord obtains a judgment of possession, the automatic stay freezes the case until the bankruptcy court lifts it. If the filing comes after the judgment, the stay generally does not block enforcement. A tenant may be able to buy up to 30 days by depositing the next month’s rent with the bankruptcy clerk and filing the required paperwork at the time of the bankruptcy filing, but missing that window lets the sheriff proceed.
Tenants in HUD-assisted housing previously had a federal rule requiring at least 30 days’ notice before termination for unpaid rent. Starting March 30, 2026, that federal requirement no longer applies, and assisted-housing evictions in Maryland will follow state law, which for most tenants means the same 10-day notice used in private-market nonpayment cases.