What is the Access to Counsel in Evictions program in Maryland?

Access to Counsel in Evictions (ACE) is a Maryland program that provides free legal representation to income-eligible tenants facing eviction. The program was established by House Bill 18, passed during the 2021 General Assembly session, and is administered by the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC) with phased statewide rollout. The statutory full-implementation target was October 1, 2025.

Who qualifies for an ACE attorney in Maryland?

Tenants residing in Maryland with a household income at or below 50% of Maryland's state median income, who are facing eviction (including but not limited to Failure to Pay Rent cases, holdover actions, and Breach of Lease cases). The income threshold is set by the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and updated periodically. Tenants can access ACE services by calling 211 or applying online at legalhelpmd.org.

How does ACE change rent court hearings for landlords?

Materially. Before ACE, the vast majority of tenants in Maryland rent court appeared pro se (self-represented). With ACE rollout, a growing share of tenants arrive with attorneys. Tenant counsel raises more sophisticated defenses (habitability under § 8-211, retaliation, source-of-income discrimination under the HOME Act, Tenants' Bill of Rights violations, defective notice or expired prerequisites). The presence of tenant counsel typically extends hearing length, increases continuance rates, and raises the bar for landlord documentation.

Is ACE the same as 'right to counsel' in housing court?

Functionally yes, with the caveat that Maryland's ACE program is statutorily framed as a 'right to counsel' for income-eligible tenants but is phased in geographically rather than universally available statewide on day one. As implementation reaches the statutory October 1, 2025 target, ACE approaches the universal-coverage character of right-to-counsel programs in other jurisdictions.

Should landlords retain their own attorney when the tenant has ACE counsel?

Strong yes for cases that look procedurally clean, even stronger yes for cases with any complexity. An ACE attorney will raise every plausible defense the law allows, and the documentation bar at the hearing rises accordingly. For LLCs above the $5,000 small-claims threshold under § 4-405 of the Courts Article, counsel is mandatory anyway under Md. Code § 10-206(b)(4). For individual landlords on uncontested cases, the cost-benefit depends on the specific case profile.

What defenses do ACE attorneys typically raise?

Most commonly: defective 10-day notice (missing element, improper service), expired Baltimore City rental license or lead paint certificate, wrong amount on DC-CV-082 (claiming notice-period amount instead of filing-date balance), late fees over the 5% statutory cap under § 8-208(d)(3), habitability counterclaims under § 8-211, retaliation claims, source-of-income discrimination under the HOME Act, and Tenants' Bill of Rights violations (lease attachment, 90-day rent increase notice under § 8-209, etc.).

Can ACE attorneys delay an eviction?

Through legitimate procedural tools, yes. Continuances are the most common: an ACE attorney appearing on a case where the tenant has not previously had counsel will typically request 2-4 weeks for evidentiary preparation. Multiple continuances are possible if the case has substantive defenses. ACE attorneys are not granted special treatment by the court, but they tend to use the procedural tools available more effectively than pro se tenants. Plan against continuance risk by walking into the hearing with complete documentation.

Does the ACE program affect the landlord-side cost of an eviction?

Indirectly. ACE itself is funded by the state and does not bill landlords. The cost effect comes from the dynamics ACE creates: more continuances, more defenses raised, higher documentation requirements, and more cases where landlords retain their own counsel as a result. For landlords filing in jurisdictions with active ACE rollouts (Baltimore City and Prince George's County are the most developed), budget for slightly longer timelines and consider retaining counsel for cases that would have been straightforward pro se filings five years ago.

Maryland's Access to Counsel in Evictions Program: A 2026 Landlord's Guide to ACE

The Access to Counsel in Evictions program is the most significant shift in Maryland rent court dynamics in a generation. Before 2021, the vast majority of tenants in Maryland eviction proceedings appeared pro se. As the program phases in toward its statutory October 1, 2025 full-implementation target, a growing share of tenants arrive at the rent court hearing with an attorney. This is the 2026 landlord's guide to what ACE is, who qualifies, how it changes the dynamics at the document table, and what to expect when tenant counsel is across the aisle.

HB 18 (2021)

establishing law

three-year phased rollout

≤50% AMI

tenant income eligibility

state median income

Oct 1, 2025

full-implementation target

statutory deadline

Pro se rent court is a different forum than counseled rent court. The statute is the same; the procedural tools used are not. ACE did not change Maryland law. It changed who knows how to use it.

The ACE program was authorized by HB 18 (2021) and is administered by the Maryland Legal Services Corporation. The Maryland Attorney General's office hosts the ACE Task Force page at oag.maryland.gov. Tenant-facing program access is at legalhelpmd.org. For statewide eviction- proceeding background, see the Maryland Judiciary's housing help page at mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/housing. The underlying eviction statute is Md. Code, Real Property § 8-401. For program impact analysis, the Maryland Access to Justice Commission publishes outcome data at mdaccesstojustice.org.

For the broader 2025 law-update context, see Maryland's Tenants' Bill of Rights: Landlord Compliance Guide.

What ACE Is

ACE provides free, legal representation to qualified Maryland tenants facing eviction. The program covers:

Pre-court counsel before a complaint is filed
Rent court representation at the hearing
Post-judgment representation through warrant of restitution and eviction execution
Appellate representation where appropriate

Tenant counsel under ACE is provided by Maryland legal aid organizations, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, Civil Justice Inc., and other partner organizations coordinated by the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.

What ACE is not

ACE is not a stay of eviction. The tenant still has to respond to the case and appear at the hearing. The lawyer represents the tenant within the existing procedural framework.
ACE does not change the underlying eviction statute. § 8-401 (FTPR), § 8-402 (holdover), and the other case-type statutes apply the same with or without tenant counsel.
ACE does not bill landlords. The program is state-funded.

Who Qualifies for ACE

The eligibility criteria are tenant-facing, not landlord-facing:

Requirement	Threshold
Residency	Maryland tenant
Income	Household income at or below 50% of state median income
Case type	Facing eviction (FTPR, holdover, breach of lease, wrongful detainer)
Application	Calls 211 or applies online at legalhelpmd.org

The 50% AMI threshold is updated periodically by MLSC. Specific dollar amounts vary by household size and are published by MLSC for the current period.

How ACE Changed Rent Court Dynamics

Before ACE, Maryland rent court was largely a pro se forum on the tenant side. Landlords appeared with documentation (or with their own counsel for LLC cases above the small-claims threshold); tenants appeared without. The dynamics that followed:

Most hearings ran 5 to 10 minutes
Most cases resulted in default judgment (tenant did not appear) or judgment for possession (tenant appeared but did not raise substantive defenses)
Continuances were uncommon
Tenant defenses were typically informal hardship arguments rather than statute-based legal arguments

After ACE rollout (in jurisdictions where the program is mature), the dynamics shifted measurably:

Hearings with represented tenants run 20 to 30 minutes
Continuance rates rise as ACE attorneys request time for evidentiary preparation
Substantive defenses (habitability, defective notice, source- of-income discrimination, TBOR violations) are raised more systematically
Settlement-on-record outcomes (consent orders for payment plans, agreed move-out dates) increase

The case outcomes shift too. Tenants represented by ACE counsel see materially higher rates of:

Continuances granted
Affirmative defenses succeeding
Settlements that avoid possession judgments
Cases voluntarily dismissed by the landlord after tenant counsel identifies a procedural defect

What Defenses ACE Attorneys Typically Raise

The defenses most commonly raised by ACE counsel, ranked by how often they actually result in case reduction or dismissal:

1. Defective 10-day Notice

The top single dismissal cause statewide. Missing element on the notice (tenant legal name, property address, amount owed, cure deadline, service method), improper service (posting that did not satisfy the statute, certified mail without return receipt), or filing before day 10. For the full required-element checklist, see Maryland's 10-Day Notice Requirement.

2. Expired Baltimore City Rental License

Automatic dismissal at the bench. The license number must appear on DC-CV-082 and the license itself must be current at filing. ACE attorneys check the license status during pre-hearing review. For the full Baltimore City compliance framework see Baltimore Rental License Dismissed Eviction.

3. Wrong Amount on DC-CV-082

Claiming the notice-period total instead of the filing-date balance. If the tenant made a partial payment during the notice period, the amount claimed should reflect the reduction. ACE attorneys regularly catch this and request reduction or dismissal.

4. Late Fees Over 5% Cap

Under § 8-208(d)(3), residential late fees are capped at 5% of monthly rent per delinquent rental period. Late fees over the cap get reduced from the bench in most cases; in Baltimore City rent court post-Tenants' Bill of Rights, increasingly the entire claim is dismissed when the over-claim is material. See Maryland's 5% Late Fee Cap.

5. Habitability Counterclaims (§ 8-211)

Maryland's rent escrow / habitability statute lets tenants escrow rent for substantial defects that the landlord has not cured. ACE attorneys gather inspection records, repair request logs, and photographs to support the defense. Even when the underlying case is otherwise clean, a credible habitability counterclaim typically results in a continuance for evidentiary preparation.

6. Source-of-Income Discrimination (HOME Act)

For Section 8 tenants and other voucher-using tenants, ACE counsel may raise HOME Act defenses under Md. Code, State Government § 20-705 if the case has any pattern suggesting the voucher itself motivated the action. See Section 8 Eviction in Maryland.

7. Tenants' Bill of Rights Compliance Failures

Post-October 1, 2025, ACE attorneys raise TBOR compliance issues including missing lease attachment, illegal late fees, and defective 90-day rent increase notices under § 8-209. The TBOR itself does not create a freestanding defense, but the underlying statutes it references do.

Strategy for Landlords Facing ACE Cases

The single highest-leverage move when an ACE attorney appears opposite is documentation discipline before filing.

Pre-filing checklist (more rigorous when ACE is in the picture)

Rental registration and lead paint certificate verified current at the moment of filing, not at the time you served the notice
10-day notice elements complete with proof of service in the case file
Rent ledger reconciled to the filing date, with partial payments during the notice period subtracted
Late fees capped at 5% of monthly rent per delinquent period
TBOR attachment on every lease (new or renewed since October 1, 2025)
Property condition documentation ready in case a habitability counterclaim arises

When to retain landlord-side counsel

Five situations push the math strongly toward retaining counsel when the tenant has ACE representation:

LLC above $5,000. Counsel is mandatory under § 10-206(b)(4) regardless of whether the tenant has ACE counsel.
Habitability counterclaim raised. Evidentiary preparation matters enough to want experienced trial advocacy.
Multiple continuances likely. ACE attorneys are skilled at continuance requests; multi-hearing cases are not pro se territory.
Section 8 federal grounds. Cross-jurisdictional federal law (24 CFR § 982.310) plus state law makes the case more complex.
HOME Act allegation. Source-of-income discrimination claims have meaningful damages exposure and require attorney counsel.

For the broader pro se vs counsel decision framework, see Can a Landlord Evict Without a Lawyer in Maryland?.

Statewide Rollout

ACE rolled out in phases over three years per the statutory implementation timeline. The most-developed jurisdictions:

Baltimore City: longest-running and most mature ACE presence. Tenant counsel appearance rates highest here.
Prince George's County: second-most-mature rollout. ACE counsel routinely appears in Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro rent court.
Other counties: phased rollout per statute. Full statewide coverage targeted by October 1, 2025.

Implementation status varies by jurisdiction. Landlords filing in Baltimore City should expect ACE counsel routinely; landlords filing in less-developed rollout areas may see ACE counsel less frequently in 2026 but increasingly through 2027.

Outcomes and Data

The Maryland Access to Justice Commission publishes outcome data showing the ACE program's measurable impact on tenant outcomes: higher rates of case dismissal, settlement, and continued tenancy when tenants are represented vs unrepresented. The program also tracks landlord outcomes (timelines, case completion rates, refile rates).

For current outcome data, see mdaccesstojustice.org.

How EvictPro Handles Cases with ACE Counsel

The platform's compliance-checks workflow is the operational answer to the rising ACE counsel presence. Every defense an ACE attorney is likely to raise is a workflow check on the platform side before the case ever reaches the hearing.

What the platform validates pre-filing

Rental license and lead paint certificate currency at the filing date, not at notice date (closes the gap ACE attorneys exploit)
10-day notice element completeness with timestamped service documentation
Rent ledger reconciliation to filing date with partial payment subtraction
Late fee 5% cap enforcement in the amount claimed
TBOR attachment confirmation for every active lease
HOME Act exposure flagging for Section 8 cases or income-multiplier policies

Stage-based pricing (court fees inclusive)

Notice of Intent: $0
Filing with Court: $99 (DC-CV-082 prep + filing + court fee, with ACE-defense-ready compliance package)
Court Hearing: $249 (experienced agent appearance, document package, ACE counsel response preparation)
Warrant of Restitution: $199 (DC-CV-081 prep + filing + court fee)
Sheriff Scheduling: $75
Eviction Day: $225

Or bundle with Full Eviction Service: $749. Pay only for the stages you need. Court fees inside the stage prices.

Related reading:

Ready to file with a documentation package that holds up against ACE counsel? Start with a Notice of Intent that timestamps service and locks the compliance trail into the case file from day one: