October 2024 Updates

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

THESE NEW MARYLAND LAWS WENT INTO EFFECT OCTOBER 1, 2024 AS IT RELATES TO RENTERS RIGHTS

Warranty of Habitability and Joint Escrow Filings: Tenant Safety Act

Renters are now able to bring rent escrow actions as a collective group as long as they are all dealing with similar issues. If you and your neighbors are dealing with similar housing conditions that are a threat to everyone’s safety, you can now sue your landlord through the rent escrow process together. Renters as a collective are now able to be awarded actual damages, have their unpaid rent decreased, terminate their lease before it expires, receive their security deposit back, be awarded relocation assistance, and/or, in an effort to allow renters better access to attorneys, be awarded attorneys’ fees. Real Prop: § 8 211

Security Deposit Limited to Only One (1) Month Now

In most circumstances, your landlord can only require the equivalent of 1 month of a security deposit to be paid, regardless of number of renters on your lease. Real Prop. § 8-203(b)

Renter’s Right of First Offer/First Refusal

FIRST OFFER: Before your landlord may offer certain rental properties for sale to the public, they must send each renter a written notice of their right to make their own offer to purchase the property. If you want to make an offer you must send a written offer to purchase the property 30 days after receiving the notice from the landlord. Within 5 days of receiving your offer to purchase, LL must accept the offer. Real Prop. §8 -119 FIRST REFUSAL: For certain properties, if your landlord intends to accept an offer from a third party to purchase for an amount that is at least 10% lower than the lowest price offered to the tenant previously; or (ii) the owner, without having sought offers at all, receives a third party’s offer to purchase the property may not accept it until it has notified the you the renter. They must notify you of the same sales price offered by the third party and must give you the opportunity to respond within 30 days. If a your offer matches sales price as the third party’s offer, landlord must accept your offer. Real Prop. §8 -119

Failure to Pay Rent Record Shielding

Courts must now limit the inspection for records (shield) of failure to pay rent cases when the case does not end in a judgment for your landlord. If a judgment is entered for the landlord, you may file with a court a motion to seal the record if you have paid the judgment amount and twelve months have passed. Real Prop. § 8-503