Montgomery County Eviction Guide: Rent Court, the 14-Day Notice Rule, and What Landlords Must Know in 2026

Montgomery County is Maryland's most tenant-protective large jurisdiction outside Baltimore City, and it earns that reputation through layers: a 14-day eviction-date notice adopted in December 2025, a rent stabilization law that caps annual increases, a county landlord-tenant office with a quasi-judicial commission behind it, and two District Court locations splitting the docket between Rockville and Silver Spring.

None of that changes the underlying eviction statute. It changes the calendar, the paperwork, and the number of places a landlord can slip. This guide walks the whole county layer.

In Montgomery County the statute is the same as everywhere else in Maryland. The calendar is not. The county's 14-day notice and layered local rules reward landlords who run the process by the numbers and punish the ones who improvise.

The statewide backbone is Md. Code, Real Property § 8-401: 10-day Notice of Intent (DC-CV-115), DC-CV-082 complaint, judgment, DC-CV-081 warrant of restitution, sheriff execution. If any of that is unfamiliar, start with The Maryland FTPR Process, Step by Step and come back. Everything below is the Montgomery County layer.

Where to File: Rockville or Silver Spring

The District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County (District 6) hears landlord-tenant cases at two locations:

• Rockville: 191 East Jefferson Street, Rockville, MD 20850
• Silver Spring: 8552 Second Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Which courthouse takes your case depends on where the property sits; the court assigns filings by property location, commonly described by zip code. Call the court at 301-563-8800 with the property address before filing, and put the correct location on the DC-CV-082. Getting the county right is jurisdictional; getting the location right saves you a bounced filing and a wasted week.

What Filing Costs

Under the current District Court cost schedule (DCA-109, Rev. 03/2026):

• $50 filing fee for a summary ejectment (Failure to Pay Rent) case, the standard fee for every Maryland county outside Baltimore City
• $5 service fee per tenant of record

Fees are paid at the clerk's window at filing and are non-refundable, including on dismissal. Filing a case with a defective notice or an over-claimed amount costs the fee twice plus weeks of docket time, so validate before you file. The field-by-field DC-CV-082 checklist is here: How to Fill Out DC-CV-082.

The 14-Day Eviction-Date Notice (Bill 31-25)

This is the biggest Montgomery County-specific change in years.

Maryland's statewide rule (Real Property § 8-407, effective October 1, 2025) requires landlords to give tenants written notice of the scheduled eviction date at least 6 days in advance, by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing plus posting on the property with a dated, timestamped photo, using court form CC-DC-CV-123. The statute lets counties set their own period between 4 and 14 days.

Montgomery County went to the maximum. The County Council passed Expedited Bill 31-25 unanimously on December 8, 2025, and it was signed the next day. The county requirement:

• At least 14 days' notice of the scheduled eviction date and time to the tenant
• Notice to the county DHCA (Department of Housing and Community Affairs) of the scheduled date and time, which the county uses to run tenant outreach before eviction day
• County eviction-resource information included with the tenant notice, including a link to the county's eviction resources page

Note for City of Rockville properties: Rockville separately adopted its own 14-day requirement effective November 10, 2025, so the 14-day period applies there under city law as well.

Practical effect: every Montgomery County eviction timeline gets roughly two extra weeks between warrant and eviction day compared to a 6-day-default county. Build it into your arrears math. For how the county day counts fit into the statewide picture, see Maryland Eviction Notice Requirements by County.

The County Landlord-Tenant Office: OLTA and COLTA

Montgomery County runs an administrative enforcement track parallel to rent court:

• The Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs (OLTA), inside DHCA, educates both sides, answers questions, investigates complaints, and mediates disputes at no charge (240-777-0311). Landlords can bring complaints there too; it is not a tenant-only forum.
• The Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs (COLTA) is the quasi-judicial body behind OLTA. Complaints investigators cannot resolve get referred to COLTA, which holds hearings and issues decisions and orders that carry the force of law.

For landlords the practical rule is simple: respond to OLTA inquiries promptly and in writing. An unresolved habitability or security-deposit complaint that lands in front of COLTA while your FTPR case is pending is leverage for the tenant's side of the courtroom.

Rent Stabilization: The Cap That Feeds Into Your Rent Claim

Montgomery County's rent stabilization law (Bill 15-23) took effect July 23, 2024. The core rule: annual rent increases on covered units are capped at the lesser of the local CPI-U plus 3 percent, or 6 percent. The county publishes the allowance each year; the announced allowance effective July 1, 2025 was 5.7 percent.

Key contours, verified against county publications:

• Coverage runs to county-licensed residential rental units at least 23 years old; newer construction is exempt until it has been offered for rent for 23 years.
• Other exemptions include licensed assisted living and nursing facilities and certain religious-facility housing.
• Landlords can petition for increases above the cap tied to capital improvements or financial hardship.

Why it matters in an eviction guide: your FTPR claim is only as strong as the rent it is based on. A rent increase that exceeded the county allowance invites a defense that part of the claimed rent is not lawfully due. Check the current year's allowance with DHCA before any increase, and keep the notice trail. Statewide rules still apply on top: 90 days' notice for rent increases under RP § 8-209, and late fees capped at 5 percent of monthly rent.

Montgomery County also licenses rental housing through DHCA, so keep the property's county rental license current; verify your specific licensing obligations with DHCA, since requirements vary by property type and municipality.

The Montgomery County Timeline, End to End

Stack the steps sequentially for an uncontested FTPR case:

1. 10-day Notice of Intent (DC-CV-115). The full 10 days must run before filing.
2. File DC-CV-082 at Rockville or Silver Spring. $50 plus $5 per tenant.
3. Hearing. Several weeks out depending on the docket; confirm the current setting pace with the clerk.
4. Judgment for possession, then the 4-day appeal window. A tenant appeal stays the warrant only with a bond.
5. Warrant of restitution after the 7-business-day statutory wait (9 to 11 calendar days in practice). Request it within 60 days of judgment; once issued it must be executed within 60 days.
6. Sheriff scheduling, then the county's 14-day eviction-date notice to the tenant and DHCA.
7. Eviction day. The tenant can redeem by paying the full judgment plus costs before the eviction completes, unless the court granted No Right of Redemption (3 prior FTPR judgments in 12 months, statewide rule).

Maryland's typical uncontested range is 45 to 75 days from notice to eviction; Montgomery County cases realistically sit at the long end of that range or past it once the 14-day notice is counted. For the statewide baseline, see How Long Does an Eviction Take in Maryland?.

How EvictPro Handles Montgomery County Cases

Whether you rent out one Silver Spring condo or manage a thousand-unit portfolio across the county, the pipeline is the same:

• Free Notice of Intent at evictpro.us/notice-of-intent: a compliant DC-CV-115 in minutes, $0, no account required.
• Filing with Court: $99, base court filing fee included, $5-per-tenant service fee at cost, routed to the correct District Court location for the property.
• Court Hearing representation: $249 when you want an experienced Maryland agent handling the docket call.
• Warrant of Restitution: $199 with the court fee included, and every deadline (appeal window, warrant wait, both 60-day clocks, the county's 14-day notice) tracked on one case timeline.
• Sheriff Scheduling ($49) and Eviction Day ($225) complete the process.

Free to start, $99 total if the tenant cures after filing, and every notice, receipt, and proof of service in one auditable case file when the hearing gets contested.

Related reading:

• Maryland Eviction Notice Requirements by County
• The Maryland FTPR Process, Step by Step
• How Long Does an Eviction Take in Maryland?
• How to Fill Out DC-CV-082: Field-by-Field Guide
• Maryland's 90-Day Rent Increase Notice

Every Montgomery County FTPR case starts the same way, and the first step is free: