Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

The $25 figure is a refund threshold, not a hard cap

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213 does not simply say that a landlord may charge no more than $25. For a covered landlord, if fees other than a security deposit exceed $25, the landlord may retain only the amount actually spent for a credit check or other expenses arising from the application. The landlord must return the unspent portion within the statutory 15-day period.

That means actual application expenses can support retention of more than $25. Conversely, § 8-213 does not impose its accounting-and-refund process on a fee of $25 or less. Calling $25 a universal maximum loses both parts of the rule.

Application disclosure and refund timing

Under Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(a), the lease application must explain the liabilities the applicant incurs by signing and must explain subsections (b) and (c), including the fee-refund rule and the coverage exclusions.

When the covered non-security-deposit fees exceed $25, the landlord must return the unspent portion no later than 15 days after either:

• the applicant occupies the dwelling; or
• either party gives the other written communication that no tenancy will occur.

Failure to make the required return creates liability for twice the amount of the fees. Section 8-213 does not apply to a landlord offering four or fewer dwelling units on one parcel or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals.

Reusable tenant screening reports

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 requires every landlord to notify prospective tenants whether the landlord accepts reusable tenant screening reports. The statute permits written notice or conspicuous posting in a rental listing, on a website homepage, on the online application page, or by another method reasonably calculated to give notice.

Acceptance is optional. If the landlord accepts reusable reports and the applicant supplies a qualifying one, however, the landlord may charge neither a fee to access the report nor an application fee.

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218(a)-(b) provides that a qualifying report must:

• have been prepared within the previous 30 days;
• have been requested and paid for by the prospective tenant;
• be made directly available by a consumer reporting agency to the prospective landlord at no charge;
• include a credit report;
• include seven years of federal, state, and local criminal charges and convictions for each indicated prior-residence jurisdiction;
• include seven years of state and local eviction history;
• verify employment and income; and
• include current address and rental history.

Under Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218(c)-(f), an accepting landlord may require the applicant to certify that there has been no material change in name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history, or eviction history since generation. Before a lease is signed, the landlord may reject the application if the applicant made a material change to the report.

What the current statutes do not require

Sections 8-213 and 8-218 do not require a special application-fee receipt or a copy of a screening report the landlord independently obtains. They also do not create first-in-order or first-qualified processing, a vacancy condition, or a general Maryland denial-notice procedure. Separate federal consumer-reporting law may require adverse-action disclosures.

The 2026 General Assembly considered HB 313, which would have added many of those procedures, but the bill passed only the House and died in the Senate after a committee hearing.

Common questions

Can a covered landlord charge $50? Potentially, but the landlord may retain only actual credit-check and other application expenses and must return the unspent portion on time.

Is a reusable screening report mandatory for the landlord to accept? No. The landlord must disclose whether it accepts one. The no-fee rule applies only when an accepting landlord receives a qualifying report.

Must the landlord give an application-fee receipt? Sections 8-213 and 8-218 state no special receipt duty for that fee.

Does the § 8-213 exemption also appear in § 8-218? No. Section 8-218 states no parallel small-landlord, seasonal-rental, or condominium-rental exemption.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(a) — lease-application statement.

  An application for a lease shall contain a statement which explains ... [t]he liabilities which the tenant incurs upon signing the application ...

Official source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-213 (accessed 2026-07-21) - Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(b)-(c) — over-$25 accounting, 15-day refund, double-fee damages, and exclusions.

The landlord may retain only that portion of the fees actually expended for a credit check or other expenses arising out of the application ...

Official source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-213 (accessed 2026-07-21) - Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218 — reusable-report definition, notice, no-fee consequence, certification, and material-change rejection.

If a prospective tenant provides a reusable tenant screening report to a landlord that accepts reusable tenant screening reports, the landlord may not charge ... an application fee.

Official source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp&section=8-218 (accessed 2026-07-21)