Summary of Tenant Rights
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YOU have the right to:

  • Receive at least 24 hours-notice prior to a landlord/agent/contractor entering the premises, except in cases of emergency;
  • Receive 72 hours-notice prior to annual/biannual or triennial inspections from County Code Enforcement;
  • Sublet with written permission from the landlord if it is not prohibited by the home-owner’s association;
  • Review your proposed lease at any location of your choosing, prior to signing said lease;
  • Make repairs with permission of the DHCA Director and deduct the cost from the rent (up to one month’s rent) if the landlord fails to make required repairs as ordered by DHCA in the required timeframe**;
  • A copy of the current Landlord-Tenant Handbook at move-in unless you decline a copy and accept referral to a copy on the County website;
  • Tenants paying gas and/or electric in a building built prior to 1978 must be given all information required under the Public Utilities Article of the Maryland Code and applicable COMAR provisions governing electric and gas sub-meters and energy allocation systems;
  • Receive at least 90 days-notice of any proposed rent increase;
  • Form, join, meet, or assist one another within or without tenant organizations; to meet and confer with the landlord through representatives that they choose;
  • Have access to meeting rooms and other areas suitable for meetings within the property during reasonable hours and notice to the landlord to hold tenant organization meetings;
  • Have the first tenant organization meeting of each month free of any room reservation fees; any meeting after that are subject to the regular fee charged for reserving this area by the property;
  • Distribute freely and post in central locations of the property, literature concerning Landlord-Tenant issues, if the origin of the literature is properly identified;
  • Call the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs via Montgomery County's MC311 service, 311 or (240) 777-0311, should they have any questions regarding Landlord-Tenant law; and
  • File complaints with the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs via Montgomery County's MC311 service, 311 or (240) 777-0311, individually or as a group.

 

 

**This pertains to violations that are a threat to health and safety