What must a Maryland apartment lease include?

Who needs a written lease

Under Real Property 8-208(a), a landlord who offers 5 or more dwelling units for rent in Maryland may not rent one without a written lease. If you do, the tenancy is presumed to run one year from first occupancy, and the tenant may still leave earlier on one month's written notice. A landlord who uses a written lease must also give any prospective applicant, on written request, a copy of the proposed lease form, complete except for names, dates, unit and rent, without asking for a deposit or a signature first (8-208(b)).

Walking through the required parts

1. The condition of the unit

A statement that the unit will be ready to live in with reasonable safety, if that is the deal, or a statement of what the deal on condition is (8-208(c)(1)).

2. Utilities and repairs

Each side's specific duties for heat, gas, electricity, water and repairs (8-208(c)(2)). A table in the lease with one row per utility and a column for who pays works well.

3. The security deposit receipt

If you take a deposit, the receipt goes inside the written lease (8-203(c)) and carries seven notices listed in 8-203.1, about the move-in and move-out inspections and the 45-day return. The deposit itself is capped at one month's rent under 8-203(b), and prepaid last month's rent counts toward that cap.

4. The Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights

Attach a copy of the most current version, published by the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs in the Department of Housing and Community Development (8-208(c)(4)). The department's page says you may not edit it in any way, that a new version comes out each year by October 1, and that you must use the latest one. On October 30, 2026, the posted version was dated October 1, 2026, with translations in 18 languages.

Clauses a Maryland lease may not contain

Section 8-208(d) bars these, among others. A banned clause cannot be enforced, and if you include one and try to enforce it or tell the tenant you will, the tenant can recover actual damages and attorney fees (8-208(g)).

• A confession of judgment, or a waiver of any right or remedy the law gives the tenant, or of a jury trial.
• A late fee above 5 percent of the rent due for the period (for weekly rent, more than $3 a week or $12 a month).
• A notice to quit shorter than the law requires (a longer one is allowed).
• Letting you take the unit or the tenant's belongings without court process, unless the lease has ended and the property was abandoned.
• Requiring the tenant to accept rent increase notices by electronic delivery.
• Limiting or penalizing a call to police or emergency services.
• Retaliation for joining a tenant organization.
• Requiring more than the security deposit plus the first month's rent to move in.
• Making the tenant pay the court filing surcharge charged to the landlord, except as the Courts Article allows.

An automatic renewal clause, for a renewal period longer than one month, must be set apart from the rest of the lease with a space for the tenant's initials or signature, or it cannot be enforced (8-208(e)).

The move-in cash cap, worked out

Section 8-208(d)(11) bars a lease that requires the tenant to pay more than the security deposit plus the first month's rent to start the lease and move in. Deposits themselves are capped at one month's rent under 8-203(b). Put together, a Maryland move-in can require at most two months of rent in cash, and a required move-in, admin, amenity or key fee on top of the deposit and first month's rent breaks the rule.

Example a made-up Columbia apartment rents for $1,650 a month. The owner's old packet asked for first month ($1,650), a deposit ($1,650), a $250 nonrefundable move-in fee and a $75 key fee, $3,625 in all. The cap is the deposit plus first month, $3,300, so the lease is $325 over. Dropping both fees brings it to $3,300. Lowering the deposit to make room for the fees does not work, because the cap moves with the deposit: with a $1,325 deposit the cap becomes $2,975, and the $325 of fees is still over. The late fee in the same lease can be at most 5 percent of $1,650, or $82.50.

Counties and cities can add their own rules on top of 8-208, and 8-208(f) says no local law can take away a right this section gives, so check local law too.

Building the Maryland packet in DoorKeeping

In DoorKeeping, you keep the current Tenants' Bill of Rights and your deposit receipt as documents on each Maryland property, and send them with the lease for e-signature. Each property's books keep deposits held apart from income, and late fees are kept within state caps, here 5 percent. Any legal step waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping is $2 per unit per month with $0 in other fees and gives no legal advice.

Sources

1. Maryland Real Property 8-208, Leases, read Oct 30, 2026
2. Maryland Real Property 8-203, Security deposits, read Oct 30, 2026
3. Maryland Real Property 8-203.1, Security deposit receipt, read Oct 30, 2026
4. Maryland DHCD, Tenants' Bill of Rights, read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Do Maryland landlords have to attach the Tenants' Bill of Rights?

Yes. Real Property 8-208(c)(4) requires a copy of the most current version with every lease, unedited, and the state publishes a new one each year by October 1.

Can a Maryland lease require a move-in fee?

Not on top of the deposit and first month's rent. Real Property 8-208(d)(11) bars a lease that requires more than those two to start the lease and move in.

What is the maximum late fee in Maryland?

Five percent of the rent due for the period, under Real Property 8-208(d)(3). For weekly rent, $3 a week and no more than $12 a month.