Montgomery County, Maryland: Rent Stabilization

The cap is the lesser of inflation (CPI-U) plus 3% or 6%; from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the maximum allowed increase is 5.2%, and no single increase may ever exceed 10% of base rent even with banked amounts. Newly built units are exempt for their first 23 years, and other exemptions include accessory dwellings, income-restricted units, and landlords who own two or fewer rental units in the county. The law does not apply inside Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, or Laytonsville.

Current published figures

These figures change on a published cycle; each row states the window it applies to and links the source that published it. Confirm the current figure at the source before acting on it.

What is in force

In force today. Enacted as Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023), approved July 2023, and applicable since July 23, 2024, when the Council approved the implementing Executive Regulation 2-24. The codified sections are Montgomery County Code §§ 29-56 through 29-62. A 2025 technical-corrections law (2025 L.M.C. ch. 10, from Expedited Bill 9-25E, effective April 14, 2025) reworded a cross-reference in § 29-56 and the vacant-unit clause in § 29-58 without changing any figure or requirement.

The rent increase limit

The annual rent increase allowance is the lesser of the change in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U) plus 3%, or 6%. At a lease renewal or new lease the rent may not exceed the base rent plus the allowance plus any banked amount, and the total increase may not exceed 10% of the base rent. Only one increase is allowed per 12 months, and 90 days' notice is required for any increase. Landlords may petition for capital-improvement surcharges (building-wide: spread over at least 96 months, at most 20% of base rent; unit-specific: at least 60 months, at most 15%) or for a fair-return increase.

What housing is covered

County-licensed residential rental units at least 23 years old — a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after its state-assessment 'Year Built,' so units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026. The municipalities of Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, and Laytonsville are not subject to the county law. Exemptions include newly constructed units offered for rent less than 23 years (a rolling window), accessory dwelling units, owner-occupied two-unit buildings, units under government affordability agreements, substantially renovated buildings (renovation of at least 40% of the building's assessed value), licensed care facilities, religious and transient facilities, dormitories, and small landlords — a natural person, or a decedent's trust or estate, owning two or fewer rental units in the county. An exemption ends when its conditions cease.

What happens on vacancy

There is no general vacancy decontrol: after the regulations took effect, a vacancy does not reset a regulated unit's base-rent trajectory. A unit that returns to the market after being vacant more than 12 months with no active lease re-prices under a determination by the housing department's director, and units in properties designated troubled or at-risk face a stricter director-set limit.

Eviction and termination rules

The rent stabilization law itself imposes no eviction restrictions. A separate 2025 county law (Bill 31-25E, effective December 15, 2025) added pre-eviction notice duties for landlords in county code § 29-31A.

Registration and filings

The regime rides on the county's existing rental licensing (roughly 114,000 licensed units) and annual survey; landlords report rent data through those channels.

Other requirements

Fee increases on regulated units are tied to CPI-U alone. The county's long-standing Voluntary Rent Guideline continues to be published alongside the binding allowance. The county's Office of Rent Stabilization enforces the law with notices of violation, citations, and fines.

Notes and caveats

• The 23-year window rolls — coverage is not fixed at a construction year: a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after the year the state assessment records say it was built. Units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026, and later-built units join year by year.
• Applicability date differs from the bill's effective date — Bill 15-23's own effective date was October 23, 2023, but the bill barred application until its implementing regulations took effect, which happened July 23, 2024 with Executive Regulation 2-24. The county Office of Rent Stabilization states the law became effective on that date.
• County ban on rent-setting algorithms: enacted, not yet in effect — The County Council enacted Bill 8-26 on October 20, 2026, by an 11-0 vote. It adds section 29-53A to the County Code. Once it takes effect, a landlord must not use an algorithmic device, or engage in price coordination, regarding the rent, fees or any other rental term for a rental unit in the County; must not agree with any other person not to compete on those terms; and must not subscribe to or pay for an algorithmic device or price coordination services. An algorithmic device is a product or service that performs calculations on non-public competitor data from 2 or more landlords and recommends rents, fees, rental terms or occupancy levels. Non-public competitor data is information not available to the general public about a property the landlord does not own or manage, when the data is less than 90 days old. A monthly report of aggregated, anonymous rental data that recommends nothing, data used to set rent or income limits for a County, state or federal affordable housing program, and a natural person who is the landlord of only one rental unit are outside the ban. Each violation, and each day a violation continues, is a Class A violation, enforceable under Section 29-8 and Article V of Chapter 29. The bill sets no effective date of its own; the County Executive's action on it, its Laws of Montgomery County chapter number and its effective date have not yet been published.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Montgomery County, Maryland: Rent Stabilization (verified August 13, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/maryland/montgomery-county/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (August 13, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

• Updated, October 23, 2026 — Montgomery County: the County Council enacted Bill 8-26 on October 20, 2026 by an 11-0 vote, adding section 29-53A to the County Code. Once it takes effect, a landlord must not use an algorithmic device that performs calculations on non-public competitor data from two or more landlords to recommend rents, fees, rental terms or occupancy levels, must not engage in price coordination, and must not subscribe to or pay for such a device or service; each day of violation is a Class A violation. The bill sets no effective date of its own, and the County Executive's action and the effective date have not yet been published; the county page says so and will state the date when the signed bill posts.

Citations

• Montgomery County Code § 29-57 (annual rent increase allowance) · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-57 (annual rent increase allowance): Bill 15-23 as signed · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-58 (rent increases; vacant units; capital-improvement surcharges) · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-58 (rent increases; vacant units; capital-improvement surcharges): Bill 15-23 as signed · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-60 (exempt rental units) · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Code § 29-60 (exempt rental units): Bill 15-23 as signed, section 29-60 as enacted · (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023) — certified enrolled text (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County DHCA — current allowance (verified 2026) Official source
• Montgomery County Bill 8-26 (adds County Code § 29-53A, price coordination and algorithmic devices prohibited): text as enacted by the County Council on October 20, 2026 · Sec. 1, § 29-53A(a)-(c) (verified 2026) Official source

This page records local law. Statewide laws — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the Maryland hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.