A stay of eviction in Maryland is any court-recognized mechanism that stops the sheriff from removing you after a judge rules for your landlord. It is not a single form. Maryland law gives tenants several distinct tools, and which one fits depends on why you need more time and where you are in the process. For most tenants facing a failure-to-pay-rent judgment, the most powerful option is not technically a stay at all: it is the right of redemption, which cancels the eviction entirely if you pay what you owe before the sheriff arrives.
How Much Time You Have Before the Sheriff Arrives
After a failure-to-pay-rent judgment, the court orders you to leave within four days. If you do not move out within seven days, the landlord can ask the court to issue a warrant of restitution, the document that authorizes the sheriff to oversee your removal. The landlord cannot file that request until the eighth business day after trial.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-4012Maryland Courts. Rent Court for Landlords Part 2 Transcript
Once the warrant is issued, the landlord must give at least six days’ written notice before the scheduled eviction, mailed with a certificate of mailing and posted on your door.2Maryland Courts. Rent Court for Landlords Part 2 Transcript Two clock rules also work in your favor. If the landlord does not request the warrant within 60 days of the judgment, or does not act on the warrant within 60 days of issuance, the judgment for possession is stricken.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401
Pay to Cancel the Eviction: The Right of Redemption
In failure-to-pay-rent cases, you can stop the eviction at any time before the sheriff carries it out by paying the full rent the judge determined was owed, plus all court costs and late fees.3Maryland Courts. Rent Court for Tenants Part 2 – Right of Redemption and Eviction Payment must be in cash, certified check, or money order. The landlord does not have to accept a personal check.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401
Once you pay in full, the landlord must contact the sheriff to cancel the eviction, and you get to stay.3Maryland Courts. Rent Court for Tenants Part 2 – Right of Redemption and Eviction This is stronger than any stay because it ends the case rather than pausing it.
One important limit: the court can foreclose your right of redemption if three or more judgments for unpaid rent were entered against you in the past 12 months. In Baltimore City, the threshold is four.4Maryland Courts. Information for Tenants Read your judgment paperwork and the warrant of restitution carefully. They will state whether redemption is still available to you.
Medical Extension of the Move-Out Deadline
If a physician signs a certificate stating that surrendering the property within the standard four-day period would endanger you or another occupant, the court can extend the move-out deadline up to 15 days after trial.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 Three details matter. The certificate must come from a physician. It must state that the move would endanger health or life, not just that it would be inconvenient or stressful. And the 15 days run from the date of trial, not from the date you request the extension. If a medical crisis is in play, ask your doctor for the certificate immediately; every day you wait is a day you lose.
Stays Under Maryland Rule 3-632
Maryland Rule 3-632 governs stays of enforcement for District Court judgments and offers two mechanisms.
Enforcement of a money judgment is automatically stayed for 10 days after it is entered.5New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rule 3-632 Stay of Enforcement This applies to the money portion of the judgment, meaning the back rent you were ordered to pay. It does not necessarily stop the order to surrender possession, which runs on the separate timeline in Real Property ยง 8-401.
The court also has discretion to stay enforcement while a post-trial motion is pending: a motion for a new trial, to alter or amend the judgment, or to revise the judgment. The court can attach conditions, such as requiring you to pay rent during the stay.5New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rule 3-632 Stay of Enforcement The stay is not guaranteed, and the judge will weigh your circumstances against the landlord’s interest in getting the property back.
A common misconception is that Rule 3-632 lets a judge grant a general hardship stay because moving would be difficult. It does not. The discretionary stay is tied to a qualifying post-trial motion. Without grounds for a new trial or a revision of the judgment, this rule is not available to you.
Appeal and Bond
Appealing the judgment to the Circuit Court is another route, but filing the appeal alone does not stop the eviction. You must also post a bond set by the court. Only posting the bond stays the eviction while the appeal is pending.4Maryland Courts. Information for Tenants
The deadline to file the appeal is short. In failure-to-pay-rent cases, you have four business days from the judgment. In other possession cases, you have 10 calendar days.4Maryland Courts. Information for Tenants Miss the deadline and the right to appeal is gone. The bond amount is set by the court, usually to cover rent that would accrue during the appeal. Ask the clerk or the judge at filing what will be required. If you cannot post it, the eviction proceeds even though your appeal is pending.
Active-Duty Servicemember Protections
The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act runs alongside Maryland procedure. If you are on active duty and your military service materially affects your ability to pay rent, the court must either grant a 90-day delay in the eviction or adjust the lease obligations.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress
The protection applies only when the monthly rent falls below a threshold that is adjusted annually for housing inflation. The base amount was $2,400 in 2003 and has risen significantly since.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress Your nearest military legal assistance office can give you the current figure. If you qualify, a landlord cannot evict you or your dependents without a court order, whatever the lease says.
Extreme Weather Stays Happen Automatically
Maryland law requires the administrative judge of each district to stay execution of a residential warrant of restitution, day by day, during extreme weather.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 You do not file anything. The stay lasts only as long as the conditions do, and the eviction can proceed once weather returns to normal.
Filing a Post-Trial Motion or Medical Extension Request
If you are pursuing a discretionary stay under Rule 3-632 or presenting a physician’s certificate, you file with the District Court that heard the case. Pull your case number, the parties’ names as they appear on the original filing, and the property address from your court papers before you start.
Write a motion that identifies the case, states the specific legal basis for what you want (cite the post-trial motion rule or the medical extension statute rather than describing general hardship), and attach supporting documents. For a medical extension, that is the physician’s certificate. For a motion to revise, it is the evidence supporting your claim that the judgment should change.
File at the District Court clerk’s office and give the landlord a copy. The court requires proof of service, meaning written confirmation the landlord was notified. A hearing usually gets scheduled quickly. Bring copies of everything, explain your situation concisely, and expect a ruling the same day.
When a Stay Ends
Every stay has an end date. When it passes, the case picks up where it stopped. After a medical extension, the landlord can request the warrant once the extended deadline expires. If your bond kept the eviction paused during appeal, the eviction moves forward if you lose in Circuit Court. The six-day notice requirement still applies, so the sheriff will not appear without warning.
If the landlord fails to act on the warrant within 60 days of issuance, or any court-extended date, the warrant expires and the possession judgment is stricken.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Real Property 8-401 That does not erase any rent you owe. It means the landlord would have to start the eviction process over to remove you.