Maryland: Late Rent Fee Limits

Requirements one by one

Five percent of what remains unpaid

Md. Real Property Code § 8-208(d)(3)(i) prohibits a lease provision imposing a
late-payment penalty above 5% of the unpaid rent due for the rental period in
question. If $1,500 was due and the tenant paid $1,000 before the fee was
calculated, the remaining unpaid rent is $500 and the statutory ceiling is $25.

That unpaid-balance language took effect October 1, 2025 under 2025 Maryland
Laws chapter 580. The prior wording used the amount of rent due; current law now
expressly uses the amount of unpaid rent due.

No fee-specific grace period

Section 8-208 does not state a number of days that must pass before the capped
penalty may attach. Md. Real Property Code § 8-401(c)(1) separately requires a
10-day written notice and opportunity to cure before a landlord files a
residential nonpayment-possession complaint. That is an eviction-filing clock,
not a 10-day late-fee grace period.

Weekly-rent wording needs care

For leases paid in weekly installments, § 8-208(d)(3)(ii) says a lease may not
provide for a late penalty "of more than $3 per week or a total of no more than
$12 per month." The phrase "no more than $12" is internally inconsistent when
placed inside a list of provisions the landlord may not use. The current
compiled statute and the 2025 enacted chapter both print that same wording, so
this page does not silently rewrite it. The $3-per-week limit is clear; obtain
state-specific advice before relying on the monthly-total phrase in a dispute.

The remedy is written into the same section

Under § 8-208(g), a prohibited lease provision is unenforceable. If a landlord
includes and tenders the provision, tries to enforce it, or makes known an intent
to enforce it, the tenant may recover actual damages caused by the violation,
including reasonable attorney's fees.

What trips people up

The cap changed its calculation base in 2025. It is now 5% of unpaid rent,
not automatically 5% of the full periodic installment.

The 10-day nonpayment notice is not a grace period. It controls when the
landlord may file for possession. Section 8-208 itself states no fee waiting
period.

Local law can add protection. Section 8-208(f) preserves supplementary
rights under local law but says local law cannot diminish the section's rights
or remedies.

Common questions

My monthly rent is $2,000 and $600 remains unpaid. What is the state cap?
Five percent of $600 is $30.

Can the lease charge the fee on day two? Section 8-208 gives no statewide
fee-specific grace period. A lease or local law may still affect timing.

What if the lease says 10%? The portion above the statutory ceiling is in a
prohibited provision. Section 8-208(g) makes a prohibited provision
unenforceable and supplies the actual-damages and attorney-fee remedy described
above.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Real Property Code § 8-208(a), (d)(3), (f), (g) — written-lease rule
  for landlords offering five or more units, late-fee cap, local-rights floor,
  and tenant remedies.

  A landlord may not use a lease or form of lease containing any provision
  that ... [p]rovides for a penalty for the late payment of rent in excess of
  5% of the amount of unpaid rent due for the rental period for which the
  payment was delinquent. ... Any lease provision which is prohibited by terms
  of this section shall be unenforceable by the landlord. ... [T]he tenant may
  recover any actual damages incurred as a reason thereof, including reasonable
  attorney's fees.

Official source:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-208
(accessed 2026-07-20)

• 2025 Md. Laws ch. 580, §§ 1-2 — adds "unpaid" to the calculation base and
  makes the change effective October 1, 2025.

  Provides for a penalty ... in excess of 5% of the amount of UNPAID rent due
  for the rental period for which the payment was delinquent. ... This Act
  shall take effect October 1, 2025.

Official source:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/chapters_noln/Ch_580_hb0273T.pdf (accessed
2026-07-20)

• Md. Real Property Code § 8-401(c)(1) — 10-day prefiling nonpayment notice,
  not a fee grace period.

  Before a landlord may file a complaint under this section, the landlord
  shall provide to the tenant a written notice of the landlord's intent to file
  a claim in the District Court against the tenant to recover possession of the
  residential premises if the tenant does not cure within 10 days after the
  written notice is provided to the tenant.

Official source:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-401
(accessed 2026-07-20)