Free Maryland Lease Agreement Template

Last updated July 17, 2026

Download a free Maryland lease agreement template

A Maryland residential lease agreement records the deal between a landlord and tenant for a home in Maryland. It identifies the parties and premises, sets the rent and term, allocates utilities and maintenance responsibilities, and provides a written place for property rules. The free PDF and Word versions on this page are labeled for Maryland and are intended as a practical starting document—not a substitute for checking which statutes, disclosures, or local rules apply to a particular property.

The principal research authority for this page is Maryland Code, Real Property Article title 8 and Environment Article title 6. Research scope: Official Maryland General Assembly statutory text governing residential lease formation and terms, deposits and move-in charges, habitability, repair access, owner and lead disclosures, allocated utilities, termination, retaliation, execution, and county, municipal, and Baltimore City overlays. Because residential rules can depend on property type, tenancy length, location, and regulated-housing status, review the completed agreement and any required addenda before signing.

Maryland lease topics to review

The current research draft for Maryland identifies the following topics as relevant to residential lease preparation. Use them as a checklist, and verify each rule's scope, current text, and exceptions before adding a term to the lease.

• Maryland's residential landlord-tenant rules depend on the arrangement and property facts and operate alongside qualifying local law.
• A Maryland landlord offering five or more dwelling units must use a written lease with specified terms and disclosures and must provide a materially complete prospective form on qualifying request.
• Maryland generally caps residential security at one month's rent, counts advance last-month rent, and has a narrow conditional utility-payment exception.
• Maryland deems a continuing fitness-for-human-habitation warranty part of residential tenancies and identifies serious covered defects.
• Maryland requires current landlord or service-agent identity and contact information in the lease or a conspicuous posting.
• Maryland requires a prescribed 10-day prefiling notice for residential nonpayment cases and regulates how it is delivered.
• Maryland couples covered written-lease execution with required content and a separate acknowledgment for automatic renewal longer than one month.
• Maryland expressly preserves supplementary local landlord-tenant rights, and several state rules also contain location-specific or stricter-local branches.

The final lease should not waive protections that cannot lawfully be waived. If a selected term conflicts with a controlling statute, official form, court order, housing-program rule, or local ordinance, the controlling rule applies even when the parties signed different language.

What to include in a Maryland residential lease

• Landlord, tenant, and premises details — use the parties' full legal names, the complete Maryland property address, and a clear description of included parking, storage, furnishings, or shared spaces.
• Term and rent — state whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic, when it begins, when rent is due, accepted payment methods, and what happens at the end of the stated term.
• Deposits and charges — identify each deposit, prepaid amount, fee, and late-payment term separately so it can be compared with the current Maryland rule that applies to the property.
• Utilities, maintenance, and access — allocate day-to-day responsibilities without attempting to transfer a nonwaivable landlord or tenant duty.
• Rules and addenda — document pets, smoking, parking, guests, insurance, association rules, and any federal, state, local, or property-specific disclosure that applies.
• Notices and signatures — provide reliable notice addresses and retain a complete signed copy for every party.

State and local checks before signing

Maryland expressly preserves supplementary local landlord-tenant rights, and several state rules also contain location-specific or stricter-local branches. Confirm the property address and the current local text before signing.

Federal requirements can also apply. For example, most pre-1978 housing requires the federal lead-based-paint disclosure process. Manufactured housing, short-term occupancy, owner-occupied rooms, subsidized housing, and rent-regulated property may follow a different legal path from an ordinary residential lease.

Use the official source linked below to confirm the current statewide text. For a disputed tenancy, an eviction or termination, unusual fees, regulated housing, or a property in a city with additional renter protections, obtain advice about the specific facts before relying on a template.

How to use the free Maryland template

1. Download the Maryland PDF when you want a printable blank, or the Word file when you want to edit the text electronically.
2. Complete the parties, property, rent, term, deposit, utilities, maintenance, access, and notice fields.
3. Attach the disclosures and property-specific addenda that actually apply.
4. Compare the completed document with the current official source and local requirements.
5. Give every party the same final version to review before anyone signs, then retain the fully executed copy.

The guided builder is available when you prefer questions and a generated preview. Whether you use the free template or the builder, confirm the final agreement against the property and the parties' actual arrangement.