Effective July 1, 2025, state law requires landlords to provide the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights in all lease agreements. Here’s what you need to know.
The Renters’ Rights & Stabilization Act of 2024 brought about quite a few changes for how landlords do business in Maryland. Many of the changes took effect on October 1, 2024. However, one of the changes just took effect July 1, 2025.
The Act requires that landlords provide tenants with the Tenants’ Bill of Rights as an addendum to all residential leases. However, the document was not written or made available at the time the Act went into effect. It was finally published in June of 2025, and landlords were required to include it in leases effective July 1, 2025.
The intent of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights was to summarize the primary rights and protections of tenants based on federal and state laws. The State wants tenants to have an easily accessible resource that explains in simple terms what they should expect from their landlord. However, some of the language in the current version of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights is vague and even just wrong. Thankfully, the State has acknowledged that they need to make updates to the document. We expect a new version by September 1, 2025, which will be effective on October 1, 2025.
In the meantime, the law still requires landlords to provide the Tenants’ Bill of Rights to all tenants as part of their lease agreement. Landlords must still follow the law. The Tenants’ Bill of Rights does not override or change any laws that are in place. It is simply a summary provided to tenants.
Learn More About the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights
Do you have questions about the Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights? You can contact the Department of Housing and Community Development at otla.dhcd@maryland.gov.
The Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights is available for download at https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Tenant-Landlord-Affairs/Pages/Tenants-Bill-of-Rights.aspx
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