Free Maryland Rental Application Fee Receipt
Maryland does not forbid charging more than twenty-five dollars to process a rental application. What it does is switch on a return duty the moment the fees exceed that figure — and the duty runs to the fees, not merely to the excess. Under Real Property § 8-213 you may retain only the portion actually expended on a credit check or other application expenses, and the rest must come back within fifteen days of occupancy or of written notice that no tenancy will occur. Getting it wrong makes the landlord liable for twice the fees. All of that applies to a residential lease: § 8-201 makes the subtitle § 8-213 sits in applicable only to those, and not to a seller-in-possession tenancy of 60 days or less after settlement. This generator records what was taken and what was actually spent, which is the comparison the section turns on.
Almost every published summary of Maryland’s application-fee rule describes it as a twenty-five dollar cap, and an earlier version of this page described it as a twenty-five dollar allowance you may keep on top of your costs. Both are wrong, and the second is wrong in the landlord’s favor by twenty-five dollars on every affected application. The section reads plainly once you have it in front of you. If a landlord requires fees other than a security deposit, and those fees exceed twenty-five dollars, the landlord shall return the fees — or be liable for twice their amount in damages — and may retain only that portion actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. The twenty-five dollars is the threshold that switches the duty on. It is not a retainer, and it is not a ceiling on what you may collect. Around that sit three things a landlord has to get right: a fifteen-day clock with two distinct starting events, a disclosure that must appear in the application document itself and covers two separate matters, and an exemption whose wording is broader than the version usually quoted. And one thing sits above all of them: § 8-213 is a section of Subtitle 2, which § 8-201 makes applicable only to residential leases and inapplicable to a seller-in-possession tenancy of not more than 60 days after the settlement of owner-occupied residential property.
Build the record
Fill in the fields below and the generator produces a dated PDF you can print, sign and give to the applicant, keeping a copy for your file. Nothing is stored and there is no charge. Fields you leave blank print as a dash so you can complete them by hand.
The section returns the fees and lets you keep what you spent — those are different sentences, and the difference is the whole rule
Start one section earlier than the fee rule, with the subtitle it lives in. § 8-213 is part of Real Property Title 8, Subtitle 2, and § 8-201 is that subtitle’s scope section: it “is applicable only to residential leases unless otherwise provided”, and it “does not apply to a tenancy arising after the sale of owner-occupied residential property where the seller and purchaser agree that the seller may remain in possession of the property for a period of not more than 60 days after the settlement”. That is a gate on this page, not a doubt about the rule below. Read (b)(1)(i) and (b)(2) as a pair, because each does a distinct job. The first creates the duty and identifies what it bites on: where a landlord requires from a prospective tenant “any fees other than a security deposit as defined by § 8-203(a) of this subtitle, and these fees exceed $25, then the landlord shall return the fees, subject to the exceptions below, or be liable for twice the amount of the fees in damages”. The object of return is “the fees”. Nothing in that sentence carves out the first twenty-five dollars; the figure appears only in the conditional that switches the duty on. The second sentence is what lets you keep anything at all. Subsection (b)(2): the landlord “may retain only that portion of the fees actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application, and shall return that portion of the fees not actually expended on behalf of the tenant making application”. Read together they produce a single arithmetic: refund equals the fee minus what you actually spent. A forty-dollar fee against a thirty-two dollar screening bill returns eight dollars. A forty-dollar fee where the applicant withdrew before anything was ordered returns forty. The common error runs the other way and is expensive. Treating the twenty-five dollars as retainable produces a refund twenty-five dollars too small on every application above the threshold — and because the remedy is twice the fees rather than twice the shortfall, a systematic misunderstanding applied across a portfolio is not a rounding problem. The word expended is doing the other half of the work. What you may keep is money that actually left your hands for a credit check or an expense arising out of the application. A flat administrative charge, staff time or general overhead is not an expenditure of that kind, and a landlord who cannot show what a given application cost cannot show it was entitled to retain anything at all. That is why the invoice, not the fee schedule, is the operative document — and why it has to be per application rather than a monthly total, since the duty is owed to an individual applicant.
Watch: Maryland Rental Application Fee Receipt explained
Maryland application fee at a glance
Settle this first: is twenty-five dollars a cap, or something you may keep?
Neither. It is the point at which a return duty switches on. § 8-213(b)(1)(i) provides that where a landlord requires fees other than a security deposit “and these fees exceed $25, then the landlord shall return the fees … or be liable for twice the amount of the fees in damages”. Subsection (b)(2) then allows the landlord to retain “only that portion of the fees actually expended”. So charge twenty-five dollars or less and the subsection never engages; charge more and the whole fee is returnable except what you genuinely spent. The twenty-five dollars is not yours to keep — a point most published summaries get wrong. One thing comes even before that: § 8-213 sits in Subtitle 2, and § 8-201 makes that subtitle “applicable only to residential leases” and inapplicable to a tenancy where the seller of owner-occupied residential property stays in possession for not more than 60 days after settlement
What must be returned, and what you may keep
the section returns the fees, and lets you retain “only that portion … actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application” (b)(2). On a forty-dollar fee against thirty-two dollars of screening cost, eight dollars goes back. Where nothing was spent, all of it goes back
Fifteen days, and what starts the clock
the return is due “not later than 15 days following the date of occupancy or the written communication, by either party to the other, of a decision that no tenancy shall occur” (b)(1)(ii). Note the second trigger is written, and either party may give it — the applicant’s own written withdrawal starts your clock
What the application itself must say
subsection (a) requires the application for a lease to “contain a statement which explains” both the liabilities the tenant incurs upon signing and the provisions of subsections (b) and (c). That is two items, not one, and it belongs in the application document rather than in a lease or a website
§ 8-213, subsection by subsection
§ 8-201 — the subtitle’s scope. This is the gate on everything below, because § 8-213 is a section of Subtitle 2. “(a) This subtitle is applicable only to residential leases unless otherwise provided. (b) This subtitle does not apply to a tenancy arising after the sale of owner-occupied residential property where the seller and purchaser agree that the seller may remain in possession of the property for a period of not more than 60 days after the settlement.” (a) The disclosure, and it is two items. An application for a lease “shall contain a statement which explains” (1) “the liabilities which the tenant incurs upon signing the application” and (2) “the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section”. So the application must both warn the applicant what signing commits them to and set out the refund rule and the exemption. (b)(1)(i) The duty and the remedy. Fees other than a security deposit as defined by § 8-203(a), where “these fees exceed $25”, must be returned “subject to the exceptions below, or be liable for twice the amount of the fees in damages”. (b)(1)(ii) The clock. Return “not later than 15 days following the date of occupancy or the written communication, by either party to the other, of a decision that no tenancy shall occur”. (b)(2) What may be kept. “Only that portion of the fees actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application”; the portion not actually expended must be returned. (c) The exemption. The section “does not apply to any landlord who offers four or less dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals”. What this page does not cover: § 8-203, which defines the security deposit the fee is measured against, was not read for this page; no case law was researched; and no municipal ordinance was examined.
How to take a Maryland application fee correctly
Check subsection (c) before anything else
Two gates, and the subtitle’s comes first: § 8-201 makes Subtitle 2 applicable only to residential leases and inapplicable to a seller-in-possession tenancy of not more than 60 days after settlement. Then subsection (c). A landlord offering four or less dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location is outside the section entirely, as are seasonal and condominium rentals. Note the test is parcel or location, so a small holding split across sites may still qualify on the parcel limb. Whether your operation falls inside was not researched here and is worth settling first, because everything below turns on it.
Put the two-part statement in the application document itself
Subsection (a) is satisfied by the application, not by a lease, a website or a follow-up email. It has to explain the liabilities the applicant takes on by signing, and it has to explain the provisions of (b) and (c) — the refund rule and the exemption. Most applications carry neither.
Decide whether you are charging above twenty-five dollars, and price with the duty in mind
At or below the figure, the return duty never engages. Above it, the whole fee is returnable except what you actually spend, so the practical question becomes whether you will have a documented expenditure to set against it.
Keep the invoice per application, because it is the only thing that lets you retain anything
You may keep “only that portion of the fees actually expended”. A monthly bill aggregating a dozen vacancies does not show what this applicant’s fee was spent on, and the duty is owed to this applicant. Record the vendor, the date and the amount against the individual file.
Return within fifteen days, and watch which event started the clock
Either occupancy, or written communication — by either party — of a decision that no tenancy shall occur. An applicant who withdraws in writing has started your clock just as effectively as your own rejection letter. Refund the fee less what you actually spent, and keep the record: the alternative is liability for twice the fees.
About the Maryland application fee receipt
The generator above produces a dated record of the fee and the expenditure set against it — the two figures § 8-213 turns on. Maryland prescribes no form, so this is not a statutory form and is not captioned as one. It records the parties and the unit, the amount received with its date and method, the screening company used, the criteria applied, the outcome, and the refund position. One thing it does not do. It is not the subsection (a) statement: that must appear in the application document the applicant signs, must explain the liabilities signing creates as well as the provisions of (b) and (c), and no receipt issued afterwards can discharge it. And one thing it assumes. It is written for a residential lease, because § 8-201 applies Subtitle 2 only to those. Nothing is stored and there is no charge. Fields left blank print as a dash.
What § 8-213 requires you to be able to show
- That the letting is a residential lease inside Subtitle 2. § 8-201 applies the subtitle § 8-213 sits in only to residential leases, and not to a seller-in-possession tenancy of not more than 60 days after settlement.
- That the application carried the subsection (a) statement. Both limbs: the liabilities incurred on signing, and the provisions of (b) and (c).
- The amount of the fees required, and that they were not a security deposit. The section measures against “any fees other than a security deposit as defined by § 8-203(a)”.
- Whether the fees exceeded twenty-five dollars. That is the fact which engages the duty at all.
- What was actually expended, per application. The only thing you may retain, and the invoice is what evidences it.
- That what was expended was for a credit check or an expense arising out of the application. Overhead and staff time are not that.
- Which event started the fifteen-day clock, and when. Occupancy, or written communication by either party that no tenancy shall occur.
- That the balance was returned within fifteen days. The remedy for failure is twice the amount of the fees.
- The amount actually returned, and to whom. The duty is owed to the individual applicant making application.
- Whether subsection (c) applies to you. Four or less dwelling units on one parcel or at one location, or a seasonal or condominium rental, and the section does not reach you. It is not the only gate — § 8-201 is the other.
- Any local requirement you are also meeting. Municipal codes were not researched for this page.
Common mistakes with Maryland application fees
- Treating twenty-five dollars as money you may keep. It is the threshold that switches the duty on. Once the fees exceed it, the section returns the fees less what was actually expended — not the excess. This is the error most published summaries make, and an earlier version of this page made it too.
- Reading the rule as a twenty-five dollar cap. Nothing forbids collecting more. What follows from collecting more is a return duty, not an offence.
- Retaining a flat administrative amount. You may keep only what was “actually expended” for a credit check or an expense arising out of the application. A round number that exists whether or not anything was ordered is not that.
- Working from a monthly screening bill. The duty is owed to an individual applicant, so an aggregated invoice cannot show what their fee was spent on.
- Putting the disclosure in the lease. Subsection (a) places it in the application for a lease. A statement the applicant sees only after being approved is in the wrong document.
- Treating the disclosure as one item. It is two: the liabilities incurred on signing, and the provisions of subsections (b) and (c).
- Waiting for your own decision to start the clock. Written communication by either party that no tenancy shall occur starts it, so an applicant’s written withdrawal begins the fifteen days.
- Assuming the remedy is proportionate to the shortfall. It is twice the amount of the fees, which makes a small systematic error across a portfolio expensive.
- Quoting the exemption as ‘four or fewer units at one location’. The section says on one parcel of property or at one location, which is wider.
- Assuming you are exempt because you are small. The categories are specific and fact-dependent, and whether a given operation qualifies was not researched here.
- Treating subsection (c) as the only gate on whether § 8-213 reaches you. § 8-201 applies the whole subtitle only to residential leases, and not to a seller-in-possession tenancy of not more than 60 days after settlement.
How much of a Maryland application fee can the landlord keep?
Only what was actually spent. § 8-213(b)(2) allows the landlord to retain “only that portion of the fees actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application”, and requires it to return “that portion of the fees not actually expended”.
That is the answer people most often get wrong, so it is worth stating as arithmetic. Refund equals the fee, minus what you actually spent. A forty-dollar fee against a thirty-two dollar screening bill returns eight dollars. A forty-dollar fee where nothing was ordered returns forty. The twenty-five dollar figure does not appear in that calculation at all — it appears only in the condition that decides whether the duty applies.
So what is the twenty-five dollars for?
It is the trigger. § 8-213(b)(1)(i) engages where a landlord requires fees other than a security deposit “and these fees exceed $25”. Charge twenty-five dollars or less and the return duty never arises. Charge more and it arises as to the fees.
The distinction matters commercially. A landlord charging a modest fee it expects to spend in full is in a straightforward position. A landlord charging well above its screening cost is holding money it will have to return, and the twenty-five dollars does not soften that.
When does the fifteen-day clock start in Maryland?
At one of two events, and the second is easy to miss. Subsection (b)(1)(ii) requires the return “not later than 15 days following the date of occupancy or the written communication, by either party to the other, of a decision that no tenancy shall occur”.
So occupancy starts it — an approved applicant who moves in is still owed the accounting. And written communication by either party starts it, which means an applicant who writes to withdraw has begun your fifteen days without any action on your part. A landlord waiting to issue its own decision letter may already be several days into the period.
What must a Maryland lease application actually say?
Subsection (a) requires that an application for a lease “contain a statement which explains” two things: “the liabilities which the tenant incurs upon signing the application”, and “the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section”.
Both halves are commonly missing. The first is a plain-terms warning about what signing commits the applicant to. The second requires the application to set out the refund rule and the exemption — in effect, to tell the applicant what rights they have against you over this money. It sits in the application document itself, so a disclosure that appears for the first time in the lease is in the wrong place, and a receipt issued afterwards cannot cure it.
Which Maryland landlords are exempt?
Subsection (c) provides that the section “does not apply to any landlord who offers four or less dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals”.
The wording repays attention because it is usually quoted short. It is four or less dwelling units offered for rent on one parcel of property or at one location — either limb will do, which is wider than the “at one location” formulation that circulates. Seasonal and condominium rentals are separate categories again. Whether a particular operation falls inside any of them is fact-specific, and this page did not research it.
Subsection (c) is not the only gate, though it is the only one usually mentioned. § 8-213 is a section of Title 8, Subtitle 2, and § 8-201 is that subtitle’s scope section: it is “applicable only to residential leases unless otherwise provided”, and it “does not apply to a tenancy arising after the sale of owner-occupied residential property where the seller and purchaser agree that the seller may remain in possession of the property for a period of not more than 60 days after the settlement”. Read that as a gate rather than a doubt: on a residential lease the return duty above is unqualified, and outside one the subtitle does not reach the arrangement at all.
Where the application fee sits in the rest of Maryland law
The fee is measured against the security deposit — the section reaches “any fees other than a security deposit as defined by § 8-203(a)” — so the two regimes have to be told apart before either is applied. See Maryland security deposit laws for the money taken at signing.
What you may lawfully consider in the screening the fee pays for, and what a denial requires once a consumer report has driven it, are separate questions again. Our guide to Maryland tenant screening laws covers that ground, including the federal rules that apply whatever Maryland requires about fees.
For the wider framework of the tenancy, see Maryland landlord-tenant laws.
Bottom line
Twenty-five dollars is a trigger, not an allowance. Under Real Property § 8-213, if a landlord requires fees other than a security deposit and those fees exceed twenty-five dollars, the landlord shall return the fees — retaining only that portion actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. The twenty-five dollars is not a sum you may keep once the duty is engaged. The return is due within fifteen days of occupancy, or of written communication by either party that no tenancy shall occur. Get it wrong and the landlord is liable for twice the amount of the fees. The application itself must carry a statement explaining the liabilities the tenant takes on by signing and the provisions of subsections (b) and (c). Exempt: a landlord offering four or less dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, and seasonal and condominium rentals. One gate sits above that one: § 8-201 applies the whole subtitle § 8-213 belongs to only to residential leases, and not to a seller-in-possession tenancy of 60 days or less after the settlement of owner-occupied residential property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a maximum rental application fee in Maryland?
No. Real Property § 8-213 does not cap what may be collected. It provides that where fees other than a security deposit exceed 25 dollars, the landlord shall return the fees, retaining only the portion actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. That is a rule about residential leases: Sec. 8-201 applies the subtitle Sec. 8-213 belongs to only to residential leases, and not to a seller-in-possession tenancy of not more than 60 days after settlement.
Can a Maryland landlord keep the first 25 dollars of an application fee?
No. The 25 dollar figure is the condition that engages the return duty, not a sum the landlord may retain. Once the fees exceed it, what may be kept is only the portion actually expended.
How much has to be refunded in Maryland?
The fee less what was actually spent on a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application. On a 40 dollar fee against 32 dollars of screening cost, 8 dollars is returned; where nothing was spent, the whole fee is returned.
When must a Maryland application fee be returned?
Not later than 15 days following the date of occupancy, or following written communication by either party to the other of a decision that no tenancy shall occur. An applicant’s written withdrawal starts the clock as effectively as the landlord’s rejection.
What happens if a Maryland landlord does not return the fee?
Subsection (b)(1)(i) makes the landlord liable for twice the amount of the fees in damages.
What must a Maryland rental application say about fees?
Subsection (a) requires the application to contain a statement explaining the liabilities the tenant incurs upon signing the application, and the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) – that is, the refund rule and the exemption.
Which Maryland landlords are exempt from the application fee rule?
A landlord offering four or less dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, and seasonal or condominium rentals. That is subsection (c), and it is not the only gate: Sec. 8-213 sits in Subtitle 2, and Sec. 8-201 applies that subtitle only to residential leases and not to a tenancy where the seller of owner-occupied residential property remains in possession for not more than 60 days after settlement. Whether a particular operation qualifies is fact-specific and was not researched for this page.
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