Housing & Tenant · Eviction Notice

Eviction Notice in Maryland

How many days of written notice a landlord must give before filing an eviction in Maryland, broken down by reason, and what you can do about it, cited to the statute.

Confirmedagainst §8-401; §8-402 · checked against a mirror of the official code (Cornell LII / Justia)Reviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026

Notice before an eviction can be filed · Maryland

10 days to pay before the case can be filed

Pay or quit

Maryland requires a written notice of intent to file, giving the renter 10 days to cure, before a failure-to-pay-rent case can be brought under Md. Code, Real Prop. 8-401.

Nonpayment of rent10 days

Curable lease violationVaries

No-cause (month-to-month)60 days

Statute§8-401; §8-402

Every notice period in Maryland

The written notice for each reason a landlord can end a tenancy, and what each one means.

Reason for the notice	Notice in Maryland	What it means
Nonpayment of rent	Can fix and stay10 days	A written notice of the landlord intent to file a District Court claim if the tenant does not cure within 10 days (Md. Real Prop. 8-401). The complaint itself must state and affirm the date the notice was provided. Notice may go by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, be affixed to the door, or be delivered electronically where the tenant elected that.
No cause, month-to-month or a lease longer than a week	60 days	A no-cause end of a month-to-month tenancy, or of a written lease longer than a week, takes 60 days before the tenancy expires (Md. Real Prop. 8-402).
No cause, week-to-week	7 or 21 days	A week-to-week tenancy takes 7 days with a written lease, or 21 days without one (Md. Real Prop. 8-402).
No cause, year-to-year	90 days	A year-to-year tenancy takes 90 days, and certain farm tenancies take 180 days (Md. Real Prop. 8-402).
Local ordinance	Varies	Maryland writes local carve-outs into the statute by name. Md. Real Prop. 8-402 treats Baltimore City and Montgomery County differently in parts of the notice scheme, including a shortened rule for certain tenancies and a paragraph that does not apply in Baltimore City. The county genuinely changes the answer here.
After the notice	Court	The 10-day notice is a precondition to filing, and the complaint has to affirm the date it was given. After that, the landlord files a failure-to-pay-rent case in District Court. Only a court can order a tenant removed.
Statute	Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §8-401; §8-402	The controlling statute for these notice periods. Read the full text through the source link below.

Recent or pending change

The 10-day pre-filing notice is a relatively recent addition. Maryland previously let a failure-to-pay-rent case be filed with no advance notice at all, so older guides and pages contradict this. Confirm the current text and its effective date before relying on it.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps if you have received an eviction notice in Maryland. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Check the 10-day notice was actually sent
Maryland now requires a written 10-day notice of intent to file before a nonpayment case, and the landlord must affirm in the complaint the date it was given. If no notice was sent, that is a defense worth raising in court.
Pay or cure within the 10 days
Paying the overdue rent within the 10 days heads off the filing. Note that the notice can arrive by mail, be posted on your door, or come electronically if you agreed to that, so check all your channels. Keep proof of payment.
Know your county rules
Baltimore City and Montgomery County are named directly in the statute and handled differently. If you rent in either, confirm which notice rule applies to you before assuming the statewide figure governs.
Get local legal help
A local Maryland legal aid office can confirm the current notice rule, which changed recently, and any county-specific difference. Search for legal aid in your county and act before the court date.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change the notice that applies to your home.

What Maryland renters get wrong

Maryland used to be the state where a landlord could file for unpaid rent the day after it was due, with no warning letter at all. That changed. There is now a written notice of intent to file that gives the tenant 10 days to cure, and the landlord has to send it and then affirm in the complaint the date it was provided (Md. Real Prop. 8-401). Because the change is recent, older guides and pages still describe the no-notice system, so the effective date is worth confirming. Maryland is also one of the few states whose code names specific jurisdictions: Md. Real Prop. 8-402 treats Baltimore City and Montgomery County differently in parts of the notice scheme, so the answer genuinely depends on which jurisdiction the property is in. The no-cause periods run long, 60 days for a month-to-month tenancy and 90 days for a year-to-year one. Maryland is also one of the few states that expressly allows the notice to arrive electronically, including by text message, where the tenant elected that method. After the 10-day notice, the landlord files in District Court, and only a court can order a tenant out.

Common questions

Can a Maryland eviction notice be sent by text message?

Yes, where you elected electronic delivery. Md. Real Prop. 8-401 allows the 10-day notice to be sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, affixed to the door, or delivered electronically such as by email, text message, or a tenant portal, if the tenant chose that method.

Do Baltimore City renters get different notice in Maryland?

They can. Md. Real Prop. 8-402 names Baltimore City and Montgomery County directly and treats parts of the notice scheme differently there, including a paragraph that does not apply in Baltimore City. Confirm the specific rule for your jurisdiction.

What happens if the Maryland landlord files without sending the 10-day notice?

The notice is a precondition to filing, and the complaint must affirm the date it was given. If the landlord did not send the 10-day notice, that is a defense you can raise, because the case should not proceed without it.

Why is the Maryland no-cause notice 60 days?

Because Maryland gives longer no-cause periods than most states. Md. Real Prop. 8-402 requires 60 days to end a month-to-month tenancy or a lease longer than a week, and 90 days for a year-to-year tenancy. Week-to-week is shorter, at 7 days with a written lease or 21 without one.

Primary source

→ Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §8-401; §8-402

Maryland Code, Real Property (§8-401, via FindLaw mirror) · mgaleg.maryland.gov

Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

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