Free Maryland Rent Increase Notice

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Maryland has no statewide rent cap on how much you can raise the rent, but state law sets a firm tiered notice rule: under Md. Real Property § 8-209 you must give at least 60 days’ written notice for a month-to-month tenancy and at least 90 days’ notice for a longer term. Watch for local rent stabilization in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Takoma Park. Generate a clean notice below.

60 / 90-day (tiered) Md. Real Prop. § 8-209 Maryland Free PDF

This Maryland Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy. Maryland sets no statewide cap on the amount, but it requires tiered written notice under Md. Real Property § 8-209: at least 60 days for a month-to-month tenancy and at least 90 days for a term longer than one month, sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing (or tenant-elected electronic delivery). Keep the increase out of the retaliation bar in § 8-208.1, and check for local rent stabilization in your county or city. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a Maryland rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable Maryland law; retain proof of service.

A Maryland rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. Maryland is a market-rate state: there is no statewide rent control and no statutory cap on how much the rent can go up. The Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 reshaped several landlord-tenant rules – it created an Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs to act as a tenant ombudsman, established a statewide tenant right of first refusal when a property of three or fewer units is sold, raised the court surcharge for filing a failure-to-pay-rent case, and capped most security deposits at one month’s rent – but it did not impose a statewide rent cap. What state law regulates on a rent increase is how much notice the tenant must get, how that notice is delivered, and why the increase is being made.

The central rule is the notice tier in Maryland Real Property Section 8-209, the rent-increase notice statute enacted by House Bill 151 that took effect on October 1, 2023. The required notice depends on the length of the tenancy. For a periodic tenancy of more than one week but not more than one month – the ordinary month-to-month tenancy – the landlord must give at least 60 days’ written notice before the increase takes effect. For a tenancy with a term longer than one month, the notice jumps to at least 90 days. For a week-to-week tenancy, the notice is 7 days if there is a written lease and 21 days if the agreement is oral. It is worth keeping Section 8-209 separate from Section 8-402(c): Section 8-402(c) is the notice a landlord gives to end a periodic tenancy (60 days for month-to-month, 90 days for a year-to-year), while Section 8-209 is the notice to raise the rent on a continuing tenancy. They are different requirements that happen to share some of the same day counts.

Delivery is part of the statute, not an afterthought. Section 8-209 requires the rent-increase notice to be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or – only if the tenant elects it – by electronic delivery such as email, a text message, or an electronic tenant portal. A landlord may not require electronic delivery or condition acceptance of a lease application on the tenant choosing it, and a verbal notice does not satisfy the statute at all. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep the certificate of mailing and a dated copy of the notice. On a fixed-term lease the rent cannot change mid-term unless the lease contains an escalation clause; any increase takes effect at renewal.

Even with proper notice, an increase can be unlawful because of its motive. Maryland Real Property Section 8-208.1 prohibits a landlord from evicting a tenant, arbitrarily increasing the rent, or decreasing services solely because the tenant filed a good-faith written complaint with the landlord or a public agency, filed a lawsuit against the landlord, or is a member or organizer of a tenants’ organization. A landlord’s action is not treated as retaliatory if it occurs more than six months after the tenant’s protected act, and a tenant who proves retaliation can recover damages of up to three months’ rent plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. Federal and Maryland fair housing law independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic.

Maryland’s other wrinkle is local. While there is no statewide cap, several jurisdictions run their own rent stabilization. Montgomery County limits annual increases on covered units to the lesser of the local CPI-U plus three percent or six percent – the allowance for July 2025 through June 2026 is 5.7 percent, and unincorporated Montgomery County also requires 90 days’ notice of any increase regardless of lease type. Prince George’s County’s Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act, effective in October 2024, caps non-senior regulated units at the lesser of six percent or CPI-U plus three percent and age-restricted senior housing at the lesser of 4.5 percent or CPI-U. Takoma Park ties its annual allowance to the Washington-Baltimore CPI, set at 2.4 percent for July 2025 through June 2026. A landlord with a unit in one of these jurisdictions has to keep the amount within the local cap on top of meeting the Section 8-209 notice tier.

Put together, a clean Maryland increase is exact: confirm the tenancy type, match the notice to the right Section 8-209 tier (60 days month-to-month, 90 days for a longer term), check whether a Montgomery, Prince George’s, or Takoma Park cap limits the amount, deliver the notice by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing (or tenant-elected electronic delivery), keep the timing outside the Section 8-208.1 retaliation bar, and never raise the rent mid-term on a fixed lease that does not allow it. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• No statewide cap on the amount of a rent increase, and no statewide rent control – the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 did not impose a statewide cap.
• Tiered written notice under Md. Real Property § 8-209 — at least 60 days for a month-to-month tenancy, at least 90 days for a term longer than one month, and 7 days (written) / 21 days (oral) for week-to-week.
• Statutory delivery — first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or electronic delivery only if the tenant elects it; a landlord may not require electronic delivery.
• No mid-term increase on a fixed-term lease unless the lease expressly allows it; the increase applies at renewal.
• No retaliatory increase after a tenant’s protected action (Md. Real Property § 8-208.1); a retaliatory action is barred for six months after the protected act.
• Local rent stabilization may cap the amount — Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Takoma Park each set an annual cap.
• No source-of-income discrimination — the HOME Act (Md. State Government § 20-705, 2020) bars refusing to rent, or setting different rent or terms, because a tenant pays with a Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher or other lawful income.
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and Maryland fair housing law).

• Md. Real Property § 8-209 requires the rent-increase notice to be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or by electronic delivery only if the tenant has elected it.
• First-class mail with a certificate of mailing (or certified mail with a return receipt) gives the dated paper trail the statute contemplates; allow added days for receipt when you mail.
• Electronic delivery — email, text, or an electronic tenant portal — works only if the tenant elects it; a landlord may not require it or condition the lease on it.
• Personal delivery can supplement mailing, but the statutory method is mail with a certificate of mailing; keep the certificate and a copy of the notice either way.

• Using one flat notice period — Md. Real Property § 8-209 is tiered: 60 days month-to-month, 90 days for a longer term.
• Confusing the § 8-209 rent-increase notice with the § 8-402(c) notice to end the tenancy — they are separate requirements.
• Serving the notice in person or by phone only — the statute requires first-class mail with a certificate of mailing (or tenant-elected electronic delivery).
• Ignoring local rent stabilization in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, or Takoma Park, where the amount is capped.
• Raising the rent right after a tenant’s good-faith complaint — § 8-208.1 treats that as retaliation for six months.
• Raising the rent mid-term on a fixed-term lease that does not allow it.

• Match the notice to the tenancy tier first — 60 days month-to-month, 90 days for a longer term, under § 8-209.
• Check your jurisdiction for local rent stabilization and confirm the current allowance before you set the amount.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, and set the effective date after the notice period runs.
• Send by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, keep the certificate, and avoid timing an increase right after a tenant complaint.

Maryland sets no statewide limit on how often the rent can go up. Because there is no rent-control statute and no cap on the amount, a landlord may raise the rent on a periodic tenancy as often as each new notice cycle allows — practically, once the current Md. Real Property § 8-209 notice period runs and a fresh notice is served. What the statute controls is the timing of each increase, not the number of them.

Two limits sit on top of that. A fixed-term lease locks the rent for the whole term, so the landlord cannot raise it again until renewal unless the lease contains an escalation clause. And in a jurisdiction with local rent stabilization — Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, or Takoma Park — a covered unit is generally limited to one increase within a 12-month period, capped at the local allowance. Outside those jurisdictions, a month-to-month landlord who keeps serving proper 60-day notices is not barred by state law from raising the rent more than once in a year, but stacking increases on a reliable tenant is a fast route to turnover.

Maryland’s Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (House Bill 693, effective October 1, 2024) reshaped landlord-tenant practice without adding a statewide rent cap. It created the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs — a statewide tenant ombudsman that also trains landlords — gave the tenants of a property with three or fewer units a right of first refusal when the owner sells, capped most security deposits at one month’s rent, and raised the surcharge to file a failure-to-pay-rent case.

The most visible change for a landlord serving an increase is the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Since July 1, 2025, this document — the first statewide tenants’ bill of rights in the country — must be included with every residential lease. The Department of Housing and Community Development refreshes it each year by September 1, with an October 1 effective date. It does not change the § 8-209 notice tiers, but a landlord who is already sending § 8-209 notices should attach the current Tenants’ Bill of Rights to leases and renewals so the tenancy stays compliant.

An otherwise-valid increase can still be unlawful because of its motive. Under Md. Real Property § 8-208.1, a landlord may not bring an action for possession, arbitrarily increase the rent, decrease services, or terminate a periodic tenancy because the tenant did any protected thing: gave the landlord or a public agency written or actual notice of a good-faith complaint about a lease or law violation or a condition that threatens health or safety; filed or took part in a lawsuit against the landlord; joined or organized a tenants’ organization; or — as the statute now spells out — summoned law enforcement or emergency services to the property.

The window is six months: an increase served within six months of the protected act can be treated as retaliatory, while one served after six months is not. A tenant can raise retaliation as a defense to an eviction or as an affirmative claim for damages, and a court that finds retaliation may award up to three months’ rent, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs. One condition protects landlords: the tenant must be current on the rent at the time of the alleged retaliation, unless the tenant is lawfully withholding under the lease or the § 8-211 rent-escrow procedure. The safe practice is to document a neutral, market-based reason for every increase and never serve one on the heels of a complaint.

Count the full § 8-209 period from the day the notice is delivered, not the day it is written: at least 60 days for a month-to-month tenancy or at least 90 days for a term longer than one month, with the new rent taking effect only after that period closes. When the notice goes by mail, allow extra days for delivery so the tenant still receives the full statutory window. An effective date that lands before the tier’s period runs makes the increase unenforceable until enough time has passed.

A clean notice states the parties and the property, the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and it identifies the tenancy so the right tier is obvious. Two carve-outs are worth knowing: § 8-209 does not apply where the landlord has already given a § 8-402(c)(2) notice to terminate the tenancy, and § 8-209(c) preserves any local ordinance that requires more notice — so a Montgomery, Prince George’s, or Takoma Park landlord follows the longer of the state tier or the local rule. The generator above assembles all of this into a dated PDF you can mail with a certificate of mailing.

Maryland’s HOME Act (Housing Opportunities Made Equal, 2020) added source of income to the characteristics a landlord may not discriminate on. Under Md. State Government § 20-705, a landlord may not refuse to rent, or set different rent or terms, because a tenant pays with a Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher or other lawful source of income. A rent increase timed or sized to push a voucher-holding tenant out of the unit can be an unlawful source-of-income practice on top of any § 8-208.1 retaliation problem. Increases should rest on neutral, market reasons and apply evenhandedly, and they may never target a tenant because of a protected class under federal or Maryland fair housing law.

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