How to Evict a Tenant in Maryland: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Maryland Eviction Timeline 2026: A 10-Day Notice, a Fifth-Day Trial, Then Two 60-Day Clocks
Before a Maryland landlord can file a Failure to Pay Rent case, RP § 8-401(c)(1) requires a written notice of intent to file, on a form created by the Maryland Judiciary, giving the tenant 10 days to cure. Once that notice has run, the District Court moves fast — the summons sets trial for the fifth day after filing. What that speed buys back is a slower back end: a mandatory wait before a warrant can issue, and two separate 60-day deadlines that can strike the whole judgment if a landlord doesn’t act. This page covers that lawsuit — notice, filing, trial, the warrant. Lease terms, deposits, and repair rights are covered separately on our Maryland landlord-tenant law guide.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure to pay rent | 10 days’ written notice of intent to file, on the Maryland Judiciary’s form (first-class mail with certificate of mailing, posted on the door, or electronic delivery if the tenant elected it) | RP § 8-401(c)(1)–(2) | Yes — within the 10-day notice; at trial by paying the rent and late fees the court finds due plus costs; and after judgment up to the moment the eviction is actually carried out, unless 3 rent judgments were entered against the tenant in the prior 12 months (RP § 8-401(e)(5), (h)) |
| Breach of lease (lease must allow repossession for breach) | 30 days’ written notice that the tenant is in violation and the landlord wants the unit back | RP § 8-402.1(a)(1)(i)2.A | No statutory cure right — but the court may evict only if the breach was “substantial and warrants an eviction” (RP § 8-402.1(b)(1)) |
| Breach showing clear and imminent danger of serious harm to people or property | 14 days’ written notice | RP § 8-402.1(a)(1)(i)2.B | No statutory cure right; same “substantial” finding required |
| Holdover, month-to-month or written lease over 1 week | 60 days before the tenancy ends | RP § 8-402(c)(2)(i) | N/A |
| Holdover, year-to-year | 90 days before the end of the current year | RP § 8-402(c)(2)(ii) | N/A |
| Holdover, week-to-week | 7 days before the tenancy ends with a written lease; 21 days without one | RP § 8-402(c)(2)(iv) | N/A |
A different holdover schedule — at least 30 days before the lease expires for month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies, at least 60 for year-to-year — applies only when the landlord has received a notice of intent to foreclose under RP § 7-105.1(c)(1) and wants to end the tenancy, and not at all in Baltimore City or Montgomery County, for landlords offering 5 or more units in the state, or for a property subject to an order to docket under RP § 7-105.1(e) (RP § 8-402(c)(4)).
The Court Process
- Notice, then file. A Failure to Pay Rent complaint can be filed only after the 10-day notice of intent has run, and the complaint has to state the date that notice was given; a tenant can challenge that date and the court can dismiss the case. Breach-of-lease and holdover cases file once their notice period above has run.
- Court date. In a rent case, the summons orders the tenant to appear at a trial held on the fifth day after the complaint is filed (RP § 8-401(b)(4)). The court can adjourn it by 1 day to let a party bring witnesses, longer only if both sides agree.
- Trial. If the tenant tenders the rent and late fees the court finds due, plus costs, at trial, the complaint is entered as satisfied. Otherwise the judgment orders possession returned within 4 days after trial — extendable up to 15 days after trial on a physician’s certificate that moving sooner would endanger someone’s health or life.
- Appeal. Either side can appeal a Failure to Pay Rent judgment to the circuit court within 4 days from the rendition of the judgment; to stay execution, the tenant must also give the landlord a bond with sureties who own sufficient property in Maryland (RP § 8-401(i)). Holdover and breach-of-lease judgments carry a 10-day appeal window instead. In a holdover case, the tenant keeps possession during the appeal only by filing an affidavit that the appeal isn’t taken for delay and a bond with one or more securities, conditioned on prosecuting the appeal with effect and paying all rent in arrears, all costs in the District Court and the appellate court, and all loss or damage the landlord may suffer by reason of the holding over, including the value of the premises during that time (RP § 8-402(b)(2)(ii)–(iii)). In a breach-of-lease case, the tenant has to file the affidavit and a bond conditioned on diligent prosecution of the appeal, and also pay all rent in arrears, all court costs, and all losses or damages the landlord may suffer by reason of the holding over (RP § 8-402.1(b)(2)).
- The 7-day floor before a warrant can issue. RP § 8-401(f)(1)(i) lets the court issue a warrant of restitution only after the tenant has failed to comply with the judgment for 7 days.
- Two 60-day clocks that can undo the judgment. The landlord has to order the warrant within 60 days of the later of the judgment date or the end of any stay — miss it, and the judgment for possession is struck outright. Order the warrant in time but then sit on it? The landlord also has 60 days from the date the court issues the warrant order to act on it, or the warrant expires and the judgment is struck the same way.
- Execution. After the warrant issues, the landlord must give the tenant written notice of the scheduled eviction date at least 6 days before it — by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, by posting on the front door with a date-stamped photo, and by email or text if the landlord has that contact — and a county or city may set that minimum anywhere from 4 to 14 days. If the court finds the notice wasn’t given, it must vacate the warrant (RP § 8-407(b), (e)). Then the sheriff or constable carries it out. The administrative judge must hold execution day to day in extreme weather — 32°F or lower (including the next-day forecast), or a National Weather Service winter storm, blizzard, hurricane, tropical storm, or excessive heat warning — and then complete it within 5 days after the conditions end.
What This Costs
Confirm the current filing and warrant fees with the District Court clerk before filing.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Under RP § 8-216, a Maryland landlord can take a unit back only through a court warrant executed by a sheriff or constable, or after the tenant abandons or surrenders it — locking a tenant out, or deliberately cutting heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or gas to force them out, is barred, and the tenant can recover actual damages plus attorney’s fees and costs. Two carve-outs are written into the same section: a landlord may take temporary measures, including changing the locks, to secure an unsecured property if it makes good-faith attempts to tell the tenant they can promptly be restored to possession (RP § 8-216(d)); and a landlord that stops paying for a utility after a final court order awarding possession isn’t cutting services, if it gave the tenant reasonable notice and the chance to open an account in their own name (RP § 8-216(a)(3)(ii)). Retaliation is barred under RP § 8-208.1: a landlord may not bring or threaten an eviction, arbitrarily raise rent or cut services, or end a periodic tenancy because a tenant made a good-faith complaint about a lease or legal violation or a health-and-safety condition (to the landlord or a public agency), sued or testified against the landlord, joined a tenants’ organization, or called police or emergency services. An action taken more than 6 months after the tenant’s protected act can’t be deemed retaliatory, the protection requires the tenant to be current on rent (unless withholding under § 8-211 or the lease), and a court that finds retaliation can award damages up to 3 months’ rent, reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Maryland tenant stop an eviction by paying? Yes — in a rent case, the tenant can pay all past-due amounts the court determined plus court-awarded costs and fees, in cash, certified check, or money order, at any time before the eviction is actually carried out (RP § 8-401(h)). The right is lost for a tenant who had 3 rent judgments for possession entered against them in the 12 months before the case was filed.
How much can a Maryland security deposit be? 1 month’s rent under RP § 8-203(b)(1), as amended by the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (Chapter 124), effective October 1, 2024 — not 2 months, which is now a narrow exception (a tenant who has qualified for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services and pays utilities directly to the landlord, with both sides agreeing in writing). Older guides quoting a flat 2-month cap are describing the pre-October-2024 rule. Overcharging can cost the landlord up to 3 times the excess, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
How long after judgment before a Maryland landlord can get a warrant of restitution? At least 7 days (RP § 8-401(f)) — the court issues the warrant only after the tenant has failed to comply with the judgment for 7 days. That 7-day wait is not the tenant’s window to challenge the judgment: an appeal of a rent judgment has to be filed within 4 days from the rendition of the judgment (RP § 8-401(i)(1)), and the judgment itself sets 4 days after trial for handing back possession. After that, the landlord still has to order the warrant within 60 days of the judgment or a stay ending, and then act on it within another 60 days of the court issuing it, or the judgment gets struck and the case has to start over.