Takoma Park, MD — landlord and rental rules

Takoma Park's corrected official notice sets a 3.0% rent-stabilization allowance from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 for covered rental units.

The City corrected its earlier 3.3% announcement. Use 3.0% only for this effective period and verify property-level coverage.

Annual cap

3%

In effect since 2026-07-01.

Montgomery County publishes a 5.2% maximum rent increase for covered units from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

Do not apply the cap from county or postal geography alone. Confirm the exact SDAT town, license, construction date, unit configuration, and exemptions.

Annual cap

5.2%

In effect since 2026-07-01.

For failure to pay rent, Maryland Courts describes a written 10-day notice before filing, followed by a court case; removal requires a judgment, warrant of restitution, and sheriff or constable process.

The official procedure does not promise a fixed end-to-end duration. Case facts, service, defenses, redemption rights, court scheduling, and enforcement timing can change the result; obtain legal advice for a live case.

Takoma Park requires rental housing facilities and individual rental condominiums in its licensing jurisdiction to hold a current City rental housing license.

The application requires current Maryland lead compliance for covered pre-1978 housing, landlord certification, and the City's inspection process. Confirm facility-specific requirements with Housing and Community Development.

Montgomery County generally requires a rental facility license for rental housing in the County's licensing jurisdiction.

Municipal identity is topic-specific: Barnesville and Laytonsville are excluded from County rent stabilization but are not on the County rental-license exclusion list.

Takoma Park's rental licensing process includes a City inspection and correction of cited housing-code violations.

Inspection and lead documentation are prerequisites within the licensing workflow, but they remain distinct obligations and should be verified for the particular unit.

Maryland requires affected pre-1978 rental dwelling units to be registered with the Department of the Environment and to satisfy the applicable lead-risk-reduction and certificate duties before occupancy changes.

MDE says registrations renew every two years beginning January 1, 2026. The required certificate and risk-reduction path depend on property and turnover facts; confirm the current MDE record rather than treating this summary as legal advice.

Construction

Built before 1978

Maryland ordinarily caps a cash security deposit at one month's rent per dwelling unit. It must be held in a qualifying interest-bearing in-state account and returned with required interest, less lawful withholding, within 45 days after the tenancy ends.

A narrow written utility-assistance arrangement may permit up to two months' rent. Interest applies to deposits of at least $50 held for at least six months, at the daily one-year U.S. Treasury yield-curve rate for the first business day of the year or 1.5% annually, whichever is greater. The statute also sets inspection, itemization, forfeiture, and potential threefold-damages and attorney-fee rules; this summary is informational, not legal advice.

Damages

3× the deposit, plus fees