How can a lease be terminated in the State of Maryland?
Maryland law imposes certain conditions on lease contracts, but in those areas where the law does not impose limits, the landlord and tenant are free to negotiate their own agreement. This is true as to the early termination of a lease agreement. Many leases have no clause providing for the cancellation of the lease. If a tenant wants to break a lease that does not have a cancellation provision, he/she should be aware that Maryland law only permits early termination of a lease because of conditions so severe as to make the continuation of the tenancy untenable or because a person has been called to military duty, under certain circumstances.
The law does allow a person on active military duty who has received a temporary duty order for a period of more than three months or an order for permanent change of station to end a lease by providing written notice and proof of assignment. The tenant who provides the proper notice will be responsible for no more than 30 days rent and the cost of repairing any damage to the premises caused by the tenant.
Generally, either the landlord or the tenant must give the other party 30 days written notice to vacate for single family units and 60 days for multi-family units.
On what grounds can a landlord evict a tenant?
A landlord can evict a tenant for failure to pay the rent, breach of the lease, holding over at the end of the term, and concerns about safety to other tenants, the landlord and the property. As soon as a rent due date has passed and the tenant has failed to pay the rent, the landlord or his agent or attorney may file a written complaint, asking for repossession of the premises, the amount of rent due, and court costs. The landlord must specify on the complaint: (a) the amount of rent due for each rental period under the lease; (b) the day the rent is due for each rental period; and (c) any late fees for overdue rent payments. The tenant will be ordered to appear in court for a hearing. If the landlord wins, the court will order the tenant to leave the premises within 4 days after the trial.
If a tenant has 3 judgments for possession entered against him/her in a 12-month period, if a landlord is successful in obtaining a 4th judgment, the tenant will be evicted, whether or not he/she has paid the past due rent.
If a lease provides that a tenant may be evicted for breach of the lease, and if the landlord should subsequently want to ask the help of the court to evict the tenant, the landlord must have given the tenant 1 month's written notice that the tenant has violated the lease and the landlord wishes to repossess the premises. If however, the landlord feels that the tenant posed a danger to either themselves, other tenants, the landlord or the landlord's property, 14 days is sufficient notice. Unless the tenant voluntarily vacates, the landlord must obtain a court order to repossess the rental unit.
A landlord cannot terminate a tenancy, decrease any services provided for in the lease or increase the rent, merely because a tenant exercises rights protected by law, including filing a complaint with DHCA or organizing or joining a tenants' association. A landlord cannot issue a tenant a notice to vacate based on the tenant's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, presence of children, ancestry, source of income, sexual orientation or age.
A landlord may not take possession of the premises or tenant's property without legal process, unless the lease has been terminated by the parties or by action of law, and the tenant has abandoned his property. Forcible entry cannot be done without a court order.
The foregoing summary is provided for information purposes only and is not to be considered legal or business advice. The information may not be complete, accurate or applicable for any particular situation and should not be relied upon.
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