Rent

The Voluntary Rent Guidelines are updated annually by the County Executive. These guidelines are based on the rental component of the Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Metropolitan Area. To view the County Executive's Voluntary Rent Guideline per year, click here. 

DHCA strongly encourages landlords to adhere to the County Executive’s recommended voluntary guideline for annual rent increases and encourages landlords to hold rent increases at the lowest level possible.

A notice of rent increase must be in writing and delivered to a tenant at least 90 days prior to the effective date of the rent increase.

In addition:

• A notice of rent increase for a 2-year renewal of the lease must contain information on the rent for both years in that notice;
• The notice must correspond with the rent payment cycle; for example, a 90-day notice of rent increase given by a landlord on March 29 (before the rent due date of April 1) would take effect on July 1. Similarly, a 90-day notice given by a landlord on April 2 (after the rent due date) would not take effect until August 1;
• A tenant may receive only one rent increase in a 12-month period; and,
• Although there is no rent control in Montgomery County, with the exception of the City of Takoma Park, the DHCA strongly encourages landlords to adhere to the County Executive’s recommended voluntary guideline for annual rent increases.

The notice of rent increase must contain the following information:

1. The current rent amount; the proposed new rent amount; and, the percentage increase in monthly rent;
2. The effective date of the proposed increase; 
3. The applicable voluntary rent guideline (e.g., 0.4% on or after Feb. 4, 2022); and, 
4. A statement that the tenant may ask the DHCA to review any rent increases that the tenant considers excessive. 

The landlord should also advise the tenant that if they do not wish to renew the lease or pay the rent increase, they must give a 60-day written notice to vacate.

A model rent increase notice is available.

Requirements to impose late rental penalties are:

• The rent must be more than 10 days late before the landlord can impose a late penalty; and,
• The late rent penalty cannot exceed 5% of the monthly rent and can only be assessed if the rent is more than 10 days late.

Tenants must pay their rent in a timely manner. Only under very limited circumstances (See Rent Escrow), may rent be legally withheld. If rent is not paid, the landlord has the right to file suit in District Court for non-payment of rent.

Prior to filing a complaint in District Court, the landlord must provide a Notice of Intent to File a Complaint for Summary Ejectment (Failure to Pay Rent). This notice must be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing; or affixed to the door of the premises; or if elected by the tenant, sent by electronic delivery (email, text message, or electronic tenant portal). If the tenant does not pay the money owed within 10 days of receiving the landlord's written notice, then the landlord can file a Failure to Pay Rent Complaint in District Court. (See: Eviction – Court Process).

No eviction can occur until a court issues a court order and the eviction is scheduled by the Sheriff’s Office. That means that a landlord can never change the locks, cut utilities, or remove a tenant’s belongings without a court order and a Sheriff present.

Rent Escrow is a legal remedy that allows a tenant to pay his or her rent to the District Court when a landlord fails to correct conditions in a rental property which present a threat to life, health, or safety. It also allows the Court to terminate the lease, order that the amount of the rent due be reduced or order the landlord to correct the conditions. 

Any tenant who lives in rental property where serious or life-threatening conditions exist must put the landlord on notice of the conditions and immediately contact DHCA at 240-777-0311 to arrange for an inspection by County Housing Code Enforcement staff. Under very specific circumstances, which closely mirror the Rent Escrow requirements, a tenant can make repairs with the written approval 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 within a required time frame.

Serious defects and conditions are defined as follows: conditions and defects that constitute or, if not promptly corrected, will constitute, a fire hazard or a serious and substantial threat to the life, health, or safety of occupants, including but not limited to:

• Lack of heat, light, electricity, or hot and cold running water, except where the tenant is responsible for the payment of these utilities and the lack thereof is the direct result of the tenant’s failure to pay the charges;
• Lack of adequate sewage disposal facilities;
• Infestation of rodents in two or more rental properties;
• The existence of paint containing lead pigment on surfaces within the rental property;
• The existence of any structural defect which presents a serious and substantial threat to the physical safety of the occupants; or,
• The existence of any condition that presents a health or fire hazard to the rental property;

If the landlord is put on notice and fails to correct the violations within a reasonable time, the tenant may file a Rent Escrow action in the District Court and/or file a complaint with Landlord-Tenant Affairs Office. The meaning of reasonable time varies with the seriousness and severity of the problem. Most problems that are considered a threat to health and/or safety should be corrected in a very short time frame.

Landlords who have questions or want help can contact the Montgomery County DHCA Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs 311 (240-777-0311) or email [email protected]