Baltimore City landlords will be held more accountable for the health and safety standards in their rental housing thanks to a bill signed into law by Mayor Brandon Scott on Thursday.
The act also promotes the licensing of more rental units.
The Rental Dwelling and Safety Enforcement Act, Council Bill 25-0141, holds landlords accountable for ensuring all health and safety standards are met in their rental units and promotes the licensing of those units. The law also addresses fraud in the licensing process and creates a new enforcement mechanism.
Councilwoman Odette Ramos represents District 14 and is the lead sponsor of the bill Scott signed into law today.
“This bill aims to address two main issues related to our rental properties,” Ramos said. “Less than 50% of rental properties in our city are licensed, and some of them should not have a license at all because they don’t meet health and safety standards.”
Ramos noted the collaborative effort with the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the Mayor’s Office, tenant advocacy organizations, and industry practitioners to reverse those trends.
Although some landlords legitimately run into problems obtaining licenses, too many intentionally avoid getting one for their rental property. Ramos decried the practice of having a rental license requirement that works with third-party inspectors hired by the property manager or landlord, which primes the process for fraud.
Ramos cited the September 2026 instance of six children aged nine and under found alone and neglected in a rental property with broken glass and dog feces scattered on the floor, no food, and not enough clothing. The rental property did have an active rental license when the news broke. Neighbors fed the children and the children were transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital in an ambulance for care. She said this bill aims to reduce the fraud in cases where licenses should never have been issued.
Samantha Gowing is an attorney with the Public Justice Center, a member organization of the Safe Homes Now coalition that has been advocating for the bill.
“Baltimore City needs strong tools to stop bad actors from renting out dangerous properties,” Gowing said. “This is a comprehensive bill that closes loopholes in the rental licensing system to ensure everyone in Baltimore City can live in a safe home.”
The new law builds on builds on the Strengthening Renters Safety Act passed by the City Council last term and is comprehensive. Several provisions will take effect immediately, while others will be enacted on December 31, 2027.
Enacted Immediately Upon the Mayor’s Signature:
- Applies to all rental properties, not just those with more than 20 units.
- Establishes Rental Licensing Receivership, allowing DHCD to take the most egregious violators of our housing code and rental laws to court, and the court could assign a receiver to bring the property up to code and sell it to a new owner.
- Provides a ramp off for a property to be removed from the Priority Dwelling designation. If all violations are abated within 90 days of designation, and a management and maintenance plan is submitted, along with any other conditions imposed by DHCD, then the building can be removed from the Priority Dwelling designation and removes the five-year Priority Dwelling designation.
- Ensures that a license can be revoked if the landlord uses intimidation tactics or extortion.
- Adds a tenant complaint process beyond the 311 process for cases where the license may have been obtained fraudulently and requires the Commissioner to respond in writing to those complaints.
- Changes the appeal process to allow for an administrative appeal first, then the complainant could file a judicial appeal.
Enactment on December 31, 2027:
- Requires DHCD to provide property owners with reminder notices for their licensees prior to renewal.
- Requires DHCD to notify property owners of non-owner-occupied properties of the obligation to register and to license the property if it is a rental dwelling.
- Requires DHCD to audit more than 100 current rental dwelling licensees to ensure compliance and reduce fraudulent document filings.
- Requires the property manager or building owner to disclose more information about the ownership of the property.
- Prevents rental dwelling licenses from being renewed or issued if the water bill is not paid.
- Changes how landlords select rental inspectors to avoid conflict of interest – landlords cannot use the same third-party rental inspector each time they renew a property for four renewal periods.
- For buildings with more than 20 units that are specifically for older adult living, DHCD will establish customer service training for all staff of the management company, which must be taken as a condition of their rental license.
- Requires inspectors to upload photos to prove that inspections of the correct property occurred.
- Creates a Rental Inspector Licensing Process, where all rental inspectors must have a license to inspect in Baltimore City, and the rental dwelling license will not be valid if an unlicensed inspector conducts an inspection.
