Evictions – Court Action

Landlord:

• Provide the tenant a “ Notice of Intent to File a Complaint for Summary Ejectment” (PDF) and wait ten days
• File a Failure to Pay Rent action in the District Court of Maryland. The Failure to Pay Rent action must:
  • State the amount of rent due, including late fees and any court awarded costs.
  • Request a judgment for repossession of the property and/or payment of rent due.
  • Must certify that the property is currently registered with Maryland Department of the Environment’s Lead Rental Registry (for properties built prior to 1978) and give the certificate number.
  • Must also certify whether the tenant(s) is/are in active military service ( DOD website)
  • Must provide a current rental facility license number from DHCA

Service of Summons:

• The District Court clerk schedules a hearing and issues the tenant a summons to appear in court which is forwarded to the Sheriff’s Office for service.
• The Sheriff then mails one copy of the summons to the tenant by first class mail and attempts to serve the tenant in person. If the tenant is not available to be served, a copy of the summons is posted on the door of the rental property

Hearing:

• If the tenant appears in District Court, they have the right to present a defense;
• The landlord may request prior to trial, ALL rents due as of the hearing date, including any late fees and court awarded costs. This request must be made on the Failure to Pay Rent Summons.
• If the tenant fails to appear, the Court will likely award a default judgment for the landlord to repossess the rental property.
• If the landlord or agent fails to appear, the Court will likely dismiss the action;
• If either party disagrees, they have the right to appeal the judgment to the Circuit Court within four days of the judge’s ruling.

Important: If a landlord sues a tenant for Failure to Pay Rent and the tenant subsequently pays the rent, the landlord must notify the court immediately. It is illegal to knowingly obtain a judgment once the rent has been paid.

Warrant of Restitution:

• If no appeal is filed, the landlord files a Warrant of Restitution, which is signed by the judge and forwarded to the Sheriff’s Office;
• The Court Clerk mails a copy of the Warrant of Restitution to the tenant, the landlord, and the Sheriff’s Office by the Court clerk.
• If a tenant receives a Warrant of Restitution, they can call the Sheriff’s office (240-777-7130) to see whether an eviction has been scheduled.

Scheduling an Eviction:

• o On receipt of the Warrant of Restitution from the clerk, the landlord contacts the Sheriff to arrange a date and time for the eviction.
• o Once the eviction is scheduled, the Sheriff may post a red and white notice on the door of the rental property. However, even if such a notice is not posted, the Sheriff will still proceed with the eviction.

Sheriff: 

• The Sheriff must be present for an eviction

Landlord: 

• The Landlord or authorized representative must be present at the property at the scheduled time of the eviction and is responsible for removing the tenant’s possessions from the property and placing them in the closest public right of way. For more information on landlord’s responsibilities on the day eviction, see Montgomery County Sherriff’s Eviction instructions.

• A Tenant can prevent a Failure to Pay Rent eviction by paying the judgment before the Sheriff executes the eviction order (unless an Absolute Judgement with no right of Redemption has been ordered ).
• This payment must be made by cash, certified check or money order to the landlord or his agent (including all court awarded costs, with the exception of court awarded attorney’s fees).
• The tenant must obtain a receipt and confirm with the Sheriff’s Office that the landlord has canceled the eviction.
• Absolute Judgement with No Right of Redemption: If three judgments for unpaid rent have been entered against a tenant in 12 consecutive months, and the tenant has paid the debt and redeemed the property, on the fourth filing, the landlord can request a Judgment Absolute, With No Right of Redemption. This will prevent the Tenant from being allowed to pay to stay.