Loading...
(a) A landlord, the governing body of a common ownership community, or the owner or operator of a non-residential property that rents parking spaces for motor vehicles and bicycles must not charge rent or any other fee for parking a bicycle that exceeds the following fraction of any rent or fee charged for parking a motor vehicle:
(1) one-sixth, for a secure, fully enclosed bicycle locker; or
(2) one-tenth, for any other bicycle parking space.
(b) This Section does not require a landlord, a governing body, the owner or operator of a non-residential property, or any other person to charge rent or fees for bicycle parking. (2003 L.M.C., ch. 19, § 1; 2003 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1.)
(a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
Permanently displaced tenant means a tenant that is required to vacate rental housing for 30 days or more because the rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation under Section 26-13.
Temporarily displaced tenant means a tenant that is required to vacate rental housing for less than 30 days because the rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation under Section 26-13.
(b) Relocation payment required. Except as provided in subsection (f), a landlord must pay a relocation payment to a permanently or temporarily displaced tenant.
(c) Relocation amount.
(1) Permanently displaced tenants. For a permanently displaced tenant, the landlord must, within 72 hours of the posting of the condemnation:
(A) return to the permanently displaced tenant the tenant’s security deposit with required interest;
(B) pay to the permanently displaced tenant any pro rata rent for the remainder of the month; and
(C) pay to the permanently displaced tenant the greater of:
(i) 3 months’ fair market value rent for a unit of comparable size, as established by the most current Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development schedule of fair market rents for the zip code of the rental housing being vacated; or
(ii) 3 months’ of the tenant’s rent under the lease at the time of relocation.
(2) Temporarily displaced tenants.
(A) For a temporarily displaced tenant, the landlord must, within 24 hours of the posting of the condemnation:
(i) provide alternative, safe, legal, comparable housing, as determined by the Department, for the temporarily displaced tenant and the tenant’s belongings for the displacement period; and
(ii) pay for the costs of the immediate relocation of the temporarily displaced tenant and the tenant’s belongings.
(B) At the end of the displacement period, the landlord must pay the costs to move the tenant and the tenant’s belongings back to the tenant’s original rental housing.
(C) If the replacement housing provided under subsection (c)(2)(A) is not comparable, the landlord must pay an approved allowance determined by regulation.
(D) A landlord must ensure that the lease in effect at the time of a temporarily displaced tenant’s return to the tenant’s original rental housing contains lease provisions substantially similar to the lease in effect at the time of displacement, including provisions regarding the length of the lease term and the amount of rent due.
(3) Alternative payment.
(A) Notwithstanding the relocation payment required under this Section, a landlord and tenant may agree to an alternative arrangement if the alternative arrangement:
(i) is of equal benefit to the tenant; and
(ii) is evidenced by a written agreement between the tenant and the landlord that meets the criteria in subsection (c)(3)(B).
(B) A written agreement detailing the alternative arrangement must contain:
(i) the names of the current occupants of the condemned rental housing;
(ii) the address of the condemned rental housing;
(iii) a statement indicating the amount of the relocation payment to which the tenant is entitled under subsection (c)(1) or (c)(2);
(iv) a statement that the tenant has waived the right to the relocation payment;
(v) a description of the alternative arrangement; and
(vi) the address, if known, of the location to which the tenant plans to move.
(d) Proof of compliance. Within 5 days after the displaced tenant vacates the rental housing, a landlord must provide the Department with a copy of the check or money order provided to the displaced tenant and a receipt signed by the tenant.
(e) First right to reoccupy.
(1) A landlord must provide a permanently displaced tenant with the first right to reoccupy rental housing on the site once the rental housing becomes habitable.
(2) The landlord must provide the permanently displaced tenant with written notice of the tenant’s first right to reoccupy. The notice must include the landlord’s current address and telephone number which the tenant can use to contact the landlord.
(3) It is the tenant’s responsibility to provide the landlord with the tenant’s current address and/or telephone number to be used for future notification.
(4) When the rental housing becomes habitable, the landlord must give written notice by certified mail to the tenant informing the tenant that the housing is ready for occupancy.
(5) If the landlord cannot locate a previous tenant after 2 attempts over a 2-week period, the landlord is deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this Section and the tenant’s right to reoccupy is forfeited.
(6) A permanently displaced tenant must notify a landlord of the tenant’s intent to reoccupy the rental housing within 15 days after the landlord notifies the tenant that the rental housing is ready to be occupied. A permanently displaced tenant must reoccupy the rental housing within 20 days after the tenant notifies a landlord of the tenant’s intent to reoccupy the rental housing.
(7) A permanently displaced tenant may waive the right to reoccupy the rental housing at any time after displacement.
(f) Exception. A landlord is not required to provide a relocation payment or first right to reoccupy rental housing if the Director determines the rental housing is condemned due to events that are beyond the control of the landlord. (2020 L.M.C., ch. 1, §1.)
(a) Definition. For purposes of this section, an indoor mercury service regulator means equipment that:
(1) is installed and owned by a gas utility company to regulate the supply of natural gas to a structure;
(2) contains mercury; and
(3) is located inside a structure.
(b) Applicability.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section applies to a landlord of a multifamily dwelling in a structure built before 1968.
(2) This section does not apply to a landlord of a dwelling unit in a common ownership community.
(c) Required landlord efforts. A landlord must make reasonable efforts to:
(1) take a photograph of any meter that could be an indoor gas service regulator located on any rental property leased by the landlord;
(2) provide a copy of the photograph to the gas utility company; and
(3) cooperate with the gas utility company to schedule the replacement of any indoor mercury service regulator.
(d) Notification.
(1) The landlord must notify the tenant in writing within 30 days after the gas utility company informs the landlord that the indoor mercury service regulator is replaced.
(2) The landlord must provide a copy of the notice to the Department.
(e) Enforcement.
(1) The Department must enforce this section under Section 29-8.
(2) A violation of this section is a Class A violation.
(f) Database. The Department must maintain data, in a searchable form available to the public, regarding notifications received by the Department under subsection (d). (2021 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2021 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 3, states: Sec. 3. Transition. A landlord must comply with the requirements of Section 1, 29-35C(c) of this Act within 90 days after the effective date of the Act.
(a) Applicability.
(1) This section applies to any multifamily dwelling unit.
(2) This section does not apply:
(A) to a ground-floor or basement window;
(B) to a window containing an air-conditioning unit, if the unit is bolted to the window opening and not surrounded by an open space exceeding 4 inches;
(C) to a window that is not designed to open; or
(D) to the extent that a window guard would cause a violation of a fire safety requirement, or an egress requirement, under Chapter 26, Chapter 8, or Chapter 22.
(b) Window guards required.
(1) For purposes of this section, a window guard means a physical barrier or limiting device attached to a window to prevent occupants from falling out of the window.
(2) The landlord of a multifamily dwelling must install and maintain a window guard in each window of a habitable room if:
(A) a child of age 10 or younger occupies the dwelling unit; or
(B) a tenant of the dwelling unit requests in writing the installation of window guards.
(3) A window guard installed under paragraph (2) must meet minimum safety standards prescribed by the Director.
(4) The Executive may adopt method (2) regulations to implement the requirements of this section. The regulations may include procedures for the Director to approve a landlord’s request for a variance, to use a safe alternative to a window guard in a particular window, if a window guard meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) is infeasible in the window.
(5) The Director must conduct outreach and educate landlords and tenants of multifamily dwelling units about the requirements of this section, including through:
(A) the Department’s website;
(B) sample notification and lease language; and
(C) the Landlord-Tenant Handbook.
(c) Responsibility of tenants and other persons. A person must not:
(1) obstruct or interfere with the installation of a window guard required under this section; or
(2) remove or disable a window guard required under this section.
(d) Notification to tenants; lease requirements.
(1) Notice required. The landlord of a multifamily dwelling unit must, at the time of a lease signing, a lease renewal, or a notification of a rent increase, notify the tenant of the unit about the requirements under this section.
(2) Notification requirements at the time of a rent increase or a lease renewal. At the time of a notification of a rent increase or of a lease renewal, the notification under paragraph (1) must:
(A) be in writing;
(B) be provided to the tenant in the form and manner prescribed by the Director; and
(C) include, at a minimum, a checklist, to be signed and dated by the tenant, that indicates:
(i) whether a child of age 10 or younger occupies or will occupy the dwelling unit;
(ii) if no child of age 10 or younger occupies or will occupy the dwelling unit, whether the tenant requests a window guard; and
(iii) whether an existing window guard requires repair or maintenance.
(3) Follow-up notifications. If a landlord does not receive a signed notification from the tenant within 30 days after providing the notification to the tenant under paragraph (2), and does not otherwise have actual knowledge of the need or desire for window guards, then the landlord must provide a second notification to the tenant under paragraph (2).
(4) Leasing requirements. The landlord:
(A) must include in the lease, or an addendum to the lease, the requirements of this section; and
(B) must not charge the tenant for the installation or maintenance of a window guard under this section.
(5) The lease or addendum under paragraph (4) must include a statement, signed and dated by the tenant, that indicates:
(A) whether a child of age 10 or younger occupies or will occupy the dwelling; and
(B) if no child of age 10 or younger occupies or will occupy the dwelling unit, whether the tenant requests a window guard. (2021 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
(a) Definitions. In this Section, the following terms have the meanings indicated:
Action Level means the level of radon in a building, which if, equal to or above the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recommended action level, triggers mitigation.
Mitigation means measures designed to permanently reduce indoor radon concentrations.
Multifamily dwelling has the same meaning as in Section 29-1.
Radon has the same meaning as stated in Section 40-13C(a).
Radon test has the same meaning as in Section 40-13C(a).
Radon hazard means exposure to indoor radon concentrations at or in excess of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended radon action level.
Single-family home means a single-family detached or attached residential building. A single-family home does not include a residential unit in a condominium or a cooperative housing corporation.
Tenant has the same meaning stated in Section 29-1.
(b) Applicability. This Section applies to all ground-contact or basement unit(s) of a residential rental in:
(1) a single-family home; or
(2) a multifamily dwelling building.
(c) Radon testing - required. A landlord of a single-family home or multifamily dwelling building must conduct a radon test before leasing a unit to a prospective tenant. Test results must be within three (3) years before the date of the lease.
(d) Lease requirements. At the time of lease signing, the landlord must provide to the tenant and certify in the lease, or an addendum to the lease, the following:
(1) a copy of radon test results that indicates any concentration of radon is below the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L);
(2) the radon test was performed less than three (3) years before the date of the lease; and
(3) a copy of the Environmental Protection Agency’s pamphlet on radon guide for tenants or an equivalent pamphlet approved for use by the Department of Environmental Protection. The copy of the pamphlet may be an electronic link to the applicable website, or if requested by the tenant, a hard copy.
(e) Testing and notification by existing tenants. An existing tenant may conduct a radon test or hire a radon professional to test a dwelling unit covered by this Section. If the test results indicate that radon hazard is present at a level of 4 pCi/L or higher, the tenant must:
(1) in writing; and
(2) within 14 days after the test results, notify the landlord and provide the landlord with a copy of the test results.
(f) Mitigation of radon. A landlord who receives notice under subsection (e), must:
(1) within 14 days after notice, initiate a follow-up radon test, in accordance with EPA-recommended standards for testing, to confirm any presence of radon hazard; and
(2) within 90 days after confirmed results:
(A) mitigate the premises to reduce radon below the action level of 4 pCi/L; and
(B) provide the tenant with a final copy of test results performed by a radon professional that indicates radon has been reduced below the action level.
(g) Cost of testing. The landlord is responsible for the cost of any follow-up, confirmation, or retesting of radon in a dwelling unit.
(h) Dispute of testing results. If there is a case of conflicting test results, where the test result provided by a tenant is at or above the action level and a test result by a landlord is below the action level, the following applies to determine the prevailing test results:
(1) testing performed in compliance with the EPA-recommended standard, by a radon professional (for hire) must supersede tests not performed by a radon professional;
(2) if both tests are performed by radon professionals, long-term testing results must supersede short-term test results; or
(3) if both tests are equally valid, as specified in subsections (1) and (2), and the dispute remains, then a mutually agreed upon third-party radon professional must retest in accordance with EPA-recommended standards.
(i) Disclosure of radon. A landlord must disclose in writing to each tenant in a residential rental building, within 14 days after a confirmed radon test, any elevated radon concentrations (above EPA’s recommended radon action level) that are known to be present within the dwelling.
(j) Termination of lease. A tenant has the right to terminate a lease, if the landlord fails to mitigate under subsection (f), without loss of security deposit or any other financial penalty. A tenant must provide, in writing, to the landlord a notice of the intent to terminate and vacate the premises. The notice may be effective either immediately upon receipt by the landlord, or as agreed upon by both parties, to allow the tenant to find alternative housing. (2022 L.M.C., ch. 34, §1.)
Editor’s note—2022 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 2, states: Sec. 2. Effective date. The amendments in Section 1 take effect on July 1, 2023.
(a) If any affected tenant has reason to believe that a defective tenancy exists, has given the landlord notice of the tenant's complaint alleging a defective tenancy, and the landlord does not make a bona fide effort to rectify the defective condition within one week after the notice has been given, the affected tenant may file with the Director a complaint in writing. The complaint must state the name and address of the landlord, the premises in question, and the particulars of the alleged defective tenancy.
(b) If any prospective tenant believes that a landlord has violated Sections 29-27 or 29-28, the prospective tenant may file a written complaint with the Director stating the name and address of the landlord, the premises in question, and the details of the alleged violation. (1972 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 1978 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 2; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 2; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)
Editor’s note—Section 29-36 is cited in Joseph v. Bozzuto Management Company, 173 Md. App. 305, 918 A.2d 1230 (2007).
Section 29-36, formerly § 29-31, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.
Loading...