# New Maryland Landlord-Tenant Laws 2026: What Changes on October 1 Four verified Maryland laws hit landlords on October 1, 2026: air conditioning, subsidy discrimination, rent reporting, water submetering. The compliance list. - Published: 2026-09-22 - Author: Jordan Walsh - Canonical: https://www.evictpro.us/blog/maryland-landlord-tenant-laws-october-2026 --- Every October 1, a new batch of General Assembly session laws goes live, and every October, Maryland landlords discover one of them the hard way. This year the verified list is four enacted laws that touch rental housing directly, plus a watch list of bills whose final status you should confirm before relying on them either way. This post covers only what we could verify by bill number against mgaleg.maryland.gov. Where a bill's final disposition was unclear, we say so rather than guess. Accuracy over completeness. - **4**: Verified new laws (effective Oct 1, 2026) - **10+ units**: A/C requirement (SB 12, Ch. 664) - **Ch. 773**: Subsidy discrimination ban (SB 335, MCCR-enforced) > The laws that hurt landlords are rarely the ones in the headlines. They're the ones that quietly become a defense at your Failure to Pay Rent hearing. **The short version:** On October 1, 2026: renovated units in 10-plus-unit buildings join the air conditioning mandate (SB 12), refusing a tenant over a housing subsidy becomes a discriminatory housing practice and you must offer positive rent-payment reporting (SB 335), water submetering gets a statewide rulebook with fee caps and record requirements (SB 130/HB 220), and short-term rentals need specified safety equipment (HB 1221/SB 624). Separately, confirm you're already complying with the 2025 rules landlords still miss: the 6-day eviction-date notice, the 5% late fee cap, and the 90-day rent increase notice. ## The Four Verified Laws Taking Effect October 1, 2026 ### 1. SB 12 (Chapter 664): Air conditioning reaches renovated units [SB 12](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0012?ys=2026RS), the Residential Rental Apartments Air-Conditioning Requirement, was signed May 26, 2026 as Chapter 664. It applies to landlords of apartment buildings with **10 or more dwelling units** and phases in: - **June 1, 2026**: newly constructed units, and units equipped with air conditioning on or after January 2, 2025, must comply. - **October 1, 2026**: units that undergo renovations replacing or substantially upgrading the electrical or heating systems join the requirement. The operational standard: during the cooling season (**June 1 through September 30**), habitable spaces must not exceed **80 degrees Fahrenheit**, either maintained directly by the landlord's system or achievable by a properly working tenant-controlled system. **What to do now:** if you own or manage a 10-plus-unit building and have any renovation touching electrical or heating on the calendar, budget the cooling equipment into the same scope. A unit renovated in November without compliant cooling is a habitability problem waiting for next June, and habitability complaints feed rent escrow cases. ### 2. SB 335 (Chapter 773): Subsidy discrimination ban + positive rent reporting [SB 335](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0335?ys=2026RS), signed May 26, 2026 as Chapter 773, does two distinct things effective October 1, 2026: - **Refusing to rent because a prospective tenant uses an income-based housing subsidy** (a Housing Choice Voucher, for example) becomes a discriminatory housing practice, enforceable by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. - **Landlords must offer tenants the option** of having positive rental payment history reported to consumer reporting agencies. **What to do now:** scrub your listings and screening criteria for anything that reads as "no vouchers," and apply the same neutral screening standards to every applicant. Then build a simple offer-and-election step for rent reporting into your lease onboarding and renewal paperwork, and keep the tenant's signed election on file. If you already run Section 8 tenancies, the [Section 8 eviction guide](/blog/section-8-eviction-maryland) covers how subsidized cases differ once a nonpayment dispute starts. ### 3. SB 130 / HB 220: The water submetering rulebook [SB 130](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0130?ys=2026RS) and its cross-file HB 220, signed in late April 2026, create Maryland's first statewide framework for water submetering in apartment houses and mobile home parks, effective October 1, 2026. Owners and managers may bill occupants for actual submetered water usage, subject to guardrails: - Administrative fees are capped (reported at $1 per unit per month; verify the enacted text before setting your fee). - Tenants cannot be billed for common-area usage or owner-caused leaks. - Billing records must be kept and made available to tenants during business hours. - Prospective tenants receive historical cost information before signing. **What to do now:** if you submeter, or planned to start, align your billing and disclosures with the framework before your first October-cycle invoice. Improper utility charges have a way of surfacing as setoffs and defenses in rent cases, because in a nonpayment hearing the judge asks what "rent" lawfully includes. ### 4. HB 1221 / SB 624 (Chapters 9 and 10): Short-term rental safety The Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act ([HB 1221](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB1221?ys=2026RS), with cross-file SB 624) requires units rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days to carry specified fire prevention and detection equipment: smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, emergency contact information, and evacuation plans, effective October 1, 2026. If part of your portfolio runs short-term, the safety checklist is now statutory. **Compliance is what wins rent court**: https://www.evictpro.us/pricing ## The Watch List: Confirm Before You Rely on These Two closely watched 2026 bills passed the House but we could not verify their final enactment at publication time. Check their status pages on mgaleg.maryland.gov before assuming they do or do not apply: - **HB 80, residential lease fee disclosures.** Would require landlords offering four or more units to give prospective tenants a written, itemized list of every mandatory and optional fee, with undisclosed mandatory fees unenforceable and tenant claims starting February 1, 2027. It passed the House 94-35 on March 5, 2026 and moved to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Whatever its fate, itemizing your fees up front is cheap insurance: fee disputes are a growing theme in rent court. - **HB 774, local "good cause" eviction authority.** Would let counties adopt local good-cause requirements for non-renewals and holdover terminations. It passed the House on March 19, 2026 and was referred to Senate Rules late in the session, which is often where bills end. If your county adopts good-cause rules under any future authority, non-renewal practices change significantly, so this one is worth tracking. ## The Rules Already in Effect That Landlords Still Miss October 1, 2026 is also the first anniversary of a rule set that is still generating dismissals and cancelled evictions. Treat this as the back half of your compliance checklist. ### The 6-day eviction-date notice (HB 767, October 2025) Since October 1, 2025, [HB 767 (2025)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0767?ys=2025RS), codified at Real Property § 8-407, requires the landlord to give the tenant written notice of the scheduled eviction date: **at least 6 days statewide**, with counties free to set 4 to 14 days. Baltimore City requires 14 days by mail plus a 7-day posting; Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties are at 14 days. Miss it and the sheriff does not proceed. The county-by-county day counts are in the [Maryland eviction notice requirements guide](/blog/maryland-eviction-notice-requirements-by-county). ### The Tenants' Bill of Rights (HB 693, effective October 2025) The statewide Tenants' Bill of Rights is now a routine defense at FTPR hearings: the **5% late fee cap**, the lease attachment and acknowledgment requirement, and the 24-hour entry notice rule. The full operational checklist is in the [Tenants' Bill of Rights landlord compliance guide](/blog/maryland-tenants-bill-of-rights-landlord), and the late fee math specifically in the [5% late fee explainer](/blog/maryland-late-fee-5-percent). ### The 90-day rent increase notice Rent increases require **90 days' written notice**. An increase served short is unenforceable, and an unenforceable increase claimed on a DC-CV-082 becomes an over-claim that can sink the whole complaint. See the [90-day rent increase notice guide](/blog/maryland-90-day-rent-increase-notice). ### The 10-day Notice of Intent Still the single most common dismissal cause in nonpayment cases: a defective or prematurely filed 10-day NOI under Real Property § 8-401(c). EvictPro generates a compliant DC-CV-115 free at [/notice-of-intent](/notice-of-intent). ## What Did Not Change Just as important as the new list is what the 2026 session left alone. The core eviction machinery is unchanged going into October 2026: - **The 10-day Notice of Intent** under Real Property § 8-401(c) remains the mandatory predicate to every Failure to Pay Rent filing, with the full period required to run before the complaint. - **The 4-day appeal window** after an FTPR judgment is unchanged, and a tenant appeal still stays the warrant only when it is bonded. - **The warrant's two 60-day clocks** stand: request within 60 days of judgment, execute within 60 days of issuance, with extensions available on petition. - **The No Right of Redemption thresholds** are unchanged: 3 prior FTPR judgments in the prior 12 months statewide, 4 in Baltimore City. - **Baltimore City's filing prerequisites** still apply: a current rental license and, for pre-1978 properties, a current lead paint certificate, checked at the bench. If your eviction playbook was compliant in September, the October laws change your operations and your leases, not your court sequence. The step-by-step process is laid out in the [FTPR process guide](/blog/ftpr-maryland-process-step-by-step), and the overall pacing in [how long a Maryland eviction takes](/blog/how-long-does-eviction-take-in-maryland). ## The October 1 Compliance Checklist 1. **10+ unit buildings**: renovation scopes touching electrical or heating now include cooling capability (SB 12). 2. **Screening**: no subsidy-based refusals anywhere in listings, criteria, or practice (SB 335). 3. **Paperwork**: positive rent-reporting offer added to onboarding and renewals, elections kept on file (SB 335). 4. **Submetered properties**: billing, fee caps, records, and pre-lease disclosures aligned with SB 130/HB 220. 5. **Short-term units**: statutory safety equipment installed (HB 1221/SB 624). 6. **Still in force from 2025**: 6-day-plus eviction-date notice, 5% late fee cap, lease attachment, 90-day rent increase notice, 10-day NOI. **What October 1, 2026 actually changes:** Four verified laws land: air conditioning for renovated units in larger buildings, a subsidy discrimination ban paired with opt-in positive rent reporting, a statewide water submetering framework, and short-term rental safety equipment. None of them changes the eviction process itself, but every one of them can surface as a defense or a counterclaim once a case starts. The landlords who lose in 2027 will mostly be losing on 2025 and 2026 compliance. **Not legal advice**: This article is general educational information about Maryland landlord-tenant law and procedure. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, court fees, and local rules change over time. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed Maryland attorney or a qualified housing counselor. **Related reading:** - [Maryland Eviction Notice Requirements by County](/blog/maryland-eviction-notice-requirements-by-county) - [Maryland's Tenants' Bill of Rights: Landlord Compliance Guide](/blog/maryland-tenants-bill-of-rights-landlord) - [Maryland's 90-Day Rent Increase Notice](/blog/maryland-90-day-rent-increase-notice) - [Maryland's 5% Late Fee Cap](/blog/maryland-late-fee-5-percent) - [Section 8 Evictions in Maryland](/blog/section-8-eviction-maryland) Compliance is cumulative, and so is the paper trail. EvictPro keeps both in one place, from the first notice to the last court date: **Start every case compliant**: https://www.evictpro.us/notice-of-intent ## Frequently asked questions ### What new Maryland landlord-tenant laws take effect October 1, 2026? Four enacted laws from the 2026 General Assembly session carry October 1, 2026 effective dates for rental housing: SB 12 (Chapter 664) extends the air-conditioning requirement to renovated units in 10-plus-unit buildings, SB 335 (Chapter 773) bars refusing tenants over income-based housing subsidies and requires offering positive rent-payment reporting, SB 130/HB 220 create the statewide water submetering framework, and HB 1221/SB 624 (Chapters 9 and 10) impose safety equipment rules on short-term rentals. ### Do Maryland landlords have to provide air conditioning in 2026? Landlords of apartment buildings with 10 or more dwelling units do, under SB 12 (Chapter 664, 2026). During the cooling season, June 1 through September 30, covered units must be kept at or below 80 degrees Fahrenheit or have a tenant-controlled system capable of it. New construction and units already equipped with air conditioning were covered starting June 1, 2026; units undergoing renovations that replace or substantially upgrade electrical or heating systems are covered starting October 1, 2026. ### Can a Maryland landlord refuse a tenant who pays with a housing voucher? As of October 1, 2026, refusing to rent because a prospective tenant uses an income-based housing subsidy is a discriminatory housing practice under SB 335 (Chapter 773, 2026), enforceable by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Screening should evaluate the tenant on neutral criteria applied to all applicants, not on the source of the rent payment. ### What is positive rental payment history reporting? SB 335 (2026) requires Maryland landlords to offer tenants the option of having their on-time rent payments reported to consumer reporting agencies, so tenants can build credit from rent. It is the tenant's choice to opt in. Landlords should have an offer-and-election process documented in their onboarding and renewal paperwork by October 1, 2026. ### What are Maryland's new water submetering rules? SB 130 and its cross-file HB 220, signed in April 2026 and effective October 1, 2026, create the first statewide framework for water submetering in multifamily housing. Owners may bill tenants for actual submetered usage, but administrative fees are capped, tenants cannot be billed for common-area usage or owner-caused leaks, records must be kept and made available to tenants, and prospective tenants get historical cost information before signing. ### Did Maryland pass a rental fee disclosure law in 2026? HB 80, which would require landlords with four or more units to give prospective tenants a written itemized list of all mandatory and optional fees, passed the House 94-35 in March 2026, but its final Senate disposition could not be verified at publication. Check the bill's status page on mgaleg.maryland.gov before treating it as law. Disclosing fees up front is sound practice regardless of the bill's fate. ### Which older Maryland rules still catch landlords in 2026? Three big ones: the scheduled-eviction-date notice under HB 767 (Real Property § 8-407, effective October 2025), which requires at least 6 days' notice statewide and up to 14 in some counties; the Tenants' Bill of Rights (HB 693, 2024), with its 5% late fee cap and lease attachment requirement; and the 90-day rent increase notice. Judges treat these as pre-filing compliance, so misses surface as dismissed cases.