What does Maryland's lead law require of apartment owners at registration and every turnover?
If your Maryland rental building was built before 1978, it is an affected property: you must register every unit with the Maryland Department of the Environment, renew each year by December 31, pass a lead dust inspection before each new tenant moves in, and give tenants the state's notice and information packet. A tenant's notice of chipping paint or a defect starts a 30-day clock to fix it.
Which buildings count
Under Environment Article section 6-801, an affected property is a property built before 1950 with at least one rental unit, and since January 1, 2015, any property built before 1978 with at least one rental unit. Each apartment in a multifamily building counts as an affected property on its own. An owner can also opt a newer building in.
A unit certified lead free under the state process is treated differently and does not need the turnover inspection. For everyone else, the rules below apply to each unit.
The calendar, from purchase to every turnover
| When | What you do | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Within 30 days of buying | Register each affected unit with MDE (name, address, manager, insurer and policy number, year built, last change of occupancy, past treatments). | 6-811, 6-812 |
| Before title transfers, or within 15 days after | Give current tenants the state's notice of tenant rights and the lead poisoning information packet. | 6-820, 6-823 |
| By December 31 each year | Renew the registration. | 6-812 |
| Within 30 days of a change | Update the owner, manager, insurer or contact details in the registration. | 6-812 |
| At each change of occupancy, before the next tenant moves in | Remove or repaint chipping, peeling or flaking paint inside the unit and on the building exterior, pass the lead dust test, and have the unit inspected to verify it. | 6-815 |
| At lease signing | Give the notice of tenant rights with a copy of the current inspection certificate, and the information packet. | 6-820, 6-823 |
| Every 2 years after that | Give the notice and the packet again. | 6-820, 6-823 |
| Within 30 days of a written notice of a defect | Meet the modified risk reduction standard, or temporarily relocate the tenant to a compliant unit. | 6-819 |
Notices and packets go by certified mail, return receipt requested, or another verifiable method MDE approves, and you must document the notice to MDE as it directs.
From the Maryland Code as published on mgaleg.maryland.gov on 2026-10-30. Some counties and Baltimore City have their own rental registration too. This is not legal advice.
What the turnover standard asks for
Section 6-815 calls this the risk reduction standard. In practice the unit has to be prepared before the inspector arrives, because a failed dust test means another round of cleaning and another visit while the unit sits empty.
- Walk the unit and the building exterior for chipping, peeling or flaking paint. Scrape and repaint it with lead-safe work practices.
- Fix whatever is causing the paint to fail, such as a leak behind a wall.
- Clean thoroughly, then schedule the accredited inspector for the dust test.
- Keep the inspection certificate. You need it for the next tenant and it may be asked for in rent court or by a housing program.
Exterior paint work can be delayed by a waiver in cold months (November 1 through April 1 where the local code sets no other period), but the interior work and inspection still happen first and the exterior work must be finished within 30 days after the period ends.
Any paint disturbance in a pre-1978 unit also triggers the federal lead-safe work rule. See EPA lead-safe certification for owners who do their own repairs.
When a tenant reports peeling paint
Under section 6-819, a written notice from the tenant or anyone else about a defect starts a 30-day clock to meet the modified risk reduction standard. That standard goes further than the turnover standard: it includes passing the dust test plus treatments such as repairing structural defects causing paint failure, treating painted windowsills, capping window wells, fixing top window sashes, rehanging rubbing doors, putting smooth, water-resistant covering on kitchen and bathroom floors, and cleaning with a HEPA vacuum.
If the work cannot be done in 30 days, the law treats temporary relocation of the tenant to a compliant unit within that time as compliance. Book the inspector and contractor the day the notice arrives.
What registration costs
MDE's page for rental property owners says annual renewal is due by December 31 with a $30 fee per unit, and that online registration is required for renewals and updates. The current text of section 6-843 as published on 2026-10-30 says the fee for an affected property is $75, collected once every 2 years. Check MDE when you renew to see which amount and schedule it is charging.
Example a made-up 24 unit building built in 1965 pays 24 x $30 = $720 for the year at the per-unit fee on the MDE page. If the $75 every 2 years schedule in the statute applies instead, that is 24 x $75 = $1,800 every second year, or $900 a year on average. Book it to the property as a license and permit expense.
Running it in DoorKeeping
In DoorKeeping, each turnover starts a work order, and the lead dust inspection can be sent to the inspector by link like any other job. Store each inspection certificate and MDE receipt in the property documents so the certificate is ready to go with the next lease, which is e-signed in DoorKeeping. Registration fees and inspection bills are coded to the property books for Schedule E, and payments wait for your approval. The certified mail itself still goes through the post office. DoorKeeping is $2 per unit per month, every feature included.
Sources
- Maryland Environment Article 6-801 (definitions), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-811 (registration), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-812 (renewal and updates), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-815 (risk reduction standard at change in occupancy), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-819 (modified risk reduction standard), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-820 (notice of tenant rights), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-823 (lead poisoning information packet), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Environment Article 6-843 (fees), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland Department of the Environment: Rental Property Owners, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Does the Maryland lead law apply to buildings built after 1977?
- Not automatically. Since January 1, 2015 it covers rental properties built before 1978; an owner of a newer property can elect in.
- When is the Maryland lead registration renewal due?
- By December 31 each year, according to section 6-812 and the MDE page for rental property owners.
- Do I need a new lead inspection for every tenant?
- Yes, unless the unit is certified lead free. Section 6-815 requires the risk reduction standard and an inspection at each change in occupancy, before the next tenant moves in.
- How fast must I fix peeling paint a tenant reports?
- Within 30 days of written notice of a defect, under section 6-819, or temporarily relocate the tenant to a compliant unit in that time.