Section Five: Moving In and Paying Rent
TENANT'S RIGHTS IF THE APARTMENT IS OCCUPIED
The tenant has a right to peaceably enter the leased premises at the beginning of the term of the lease. If the tenant is unable to move in when promised, for example if a former tenant has not moved out, then the tenant is not obligated to pay any rent until s/he is able to take possession. The tenant also has the option in this case of canceling the lease if s/he notifies the landlord in writing. If the tenant does terminate the lease, then all obligations to the landlord end, and the tenant is entitled to get back any money s/he has already paid to the landlord in the form of prepaid rent, security deposit or reservation fee.
Whether the tenant terminates the lease or not, the landlord must pay any damages actually realized by the tenant after s/he informed the landlord of the inability to enter the leased apartment. Such damage would include the cost of alternative housing for the tenant’s family for the period in which s/he was unable to live in the promised apartment. However, the tenant has a duty to keep damages to a minimum.
TENANT'S OBLIGATION TO PAY RENT
When an apartment is rented, the landlord and tenant make an agreement under which the landlord promises to let the tenant use the property and the tenant promises to pay rent. One of the most important obligations of the tenant is to pay the full amount of the agreed rent when it is due. If the tenant does not make timely rent payments, the landlord generally has an immediate right to sue for repossession of the premises and eviction of the tenant.
Some counties have passed ordinances that allow a short grace period beyond the due date. For instance, Prince George’s County permits a 5-day period beyond the due date before the landlord can take any action to evict and Montgomery County allows a 10-day grace period. But generally, the tenant should be prepared to pay in full by the due date.
Many times the landlord may allow a partial payment or delay if there are justifiable or unusual circumstances and if the tenant informs the landlord of the problem. Delays should be avoided or quickly communicated to the landlord so the tenant will not risk losing his/her home.
If the tenant simply does not have the money to pay the full rent, s/he should also try other sources such as an emergency grant from the local Department of Social Services (listed in Section 12). In Maryland, the landlord must give the tenant a receipt for the rent payment. (In Anne Arundel County, if the landlord does not do so s/he forfeits the rent due for the period). This law is not applicable where the tenant pays by check because the cancelled check is the tenant’s receipt. It also does not apply in business or commercial rentals. The tenant should keep receipts and rent books in a safe place.
Penalties for late payment of rent cannot exceed 5% of the amount due for the current rental period. (In Prince George’s County, the monthly late fee cannot exceed 5% of the monthly rent or $10; whichever is less). For weekly rentals, the penalty cannot be more that $5 per week or a maximum of $10 a month.
RENT INCREASES
Under a written lease for a specified period (usually a year), the landlord may not change the terms of the agreement by raising the rent or requiring the tenant to start paying utility bills until the end of the period. After the existing lease runs out, the landlord may properly negotiate a new lease with increased rent or different conditions.
Under an oral lease, the landlord similarly may not change the agreed rental rate until the end of the term. In this circumstance, however, the rental period is usually much shorter - a month or week, depending on how often rent is paid. The landlord can easily raise the rent under an oral lease, provided s/he gives proper written notice. Since a rent increase notice has the same effect as a notice to end the current lease, the time periods explained in Section 7 (Ending the Lease) also apply to rent increases. Normally, the landlord must give one month’s advance notice if rent is paid monthly or one week’s advance notice if rent is paid weekly (except in Baltimore City where longer periods apply).
Additional restrictions against rent increases exist in Montgomery County under the “Omnibus Tenant Protection Act." Under this county law, rent increases for holdover tenants (those who stay longer than the term - see Section 7) are limited to one increase per year. In addition no landlord in Montgomery County may charge an increase in rent to tenants with written leases unless notice is given to the affected tenants at least 60 days prior to the effective date of the increase.
RENT CONTROL
At this writing, there are no rent control laws in effect in Maryland. The statewide Rent Control Law expired in 1975, and similar rent control ordinances have expired in Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
Montgomery County does have a Voluntary Rent Guideline Law that is administered by the Office of Landlord Tenant Affairs (OLTA) and requires landlords to report rental increases. OLTA, however, currently has no authority to order rent rollbacks or to prevent landlords from increasing rent above the voluntary guidelines. Baltimore County has a similar Voluntary Rent Control Commission that simply monitors rent increases in excess of the inflation rate.
A tenant who wishes to report an excessive rent increase in Baltimore County should call the following member group of the Commission:
Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc.
2217 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
(410) 243-6007
(800) 487-6007
Tenants throughout the state now have no protection from unlimited rent increases; the only real restrictions on rent increases remain the time periods discussed above for notice to the tenant.
