Security deposit disputes are one of the most common reasons Marylanders end up in small claims court. Maryland's rules — found in Real Property §8-203 — are actually among the stricter in the country, with real penalties for getting them wrong. Here's what the law says, and how to make sure your side of a dispute is provable.
How much can a landlord charge?
For leases signed on or after October 1, 2024, a Maryland landlord may not charge more than one month's rent as a security deposit, per dwelling unit, regardless of the number of tenants. Leases signed before that date fall under the old two-month cap. There's one narrow exception allowing up to two months: tenants who qualify for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services, pay utilities directly to the landlord, and agree to the higher amount in writing.
This cap covers more than the line item labeled “security deposit” — money collected as “last month's rent in advance,” pet deposits, or similar payments meant to secure the lease count toward it. A landlord who overcharges can be liable for up to three times the excess, plus attorney's fees, and the tenant can sue any time during the tenancy or within two years after it ends.
The receipt, the interest, and where the money sits
The landlord must give a written receipt for the deposit (it can be part of the lease) — failing to is a $25 penalty. Deposits of $50 or more must be held in a Maryland banking institution and earn simple interest at the greater of 1.5% per year or the U.S. Treasury yield curve rate, accruing monthly, payable when the deposit is returned (deposits held under six months accrue none). The state's Department of Housing and Community Development publishes a calculator landlords are entitled to rely on.
Your inspection rights — the part almost everyone misses
Maryland gives tenants two inspection rights with strict certified-mail deadlines:
At move-in: you have the right to have the unit inspected with the landlord present to list existing damage — but you must request it by certified mail within 15 days of occupancy.
At move-out: you have the right to be present when the landlord inspects for damage — request it by certified mail at least 15 days before your move-out date, including your new address. The landlord must then notify you of the inspection time.
Miss those windows and you haven't lost your deposit — but you've lost a procedural advantage, which makes your own documentation matter even more.
When the deposit must come back
The landlord has 45 days after the tenancy ends to return the deposit plus accrued interest, minus lawful deductions. If anything is withheld, the landlord must send an itemized list of damages and costs by first-class mail within those same 45 days. Miss either requirement without right, and the landlord forfeits the ability to withhold anything — and a tenant can recover up to three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus reasonable attorney's fees.
What can lawfully be deducted
Three categories: unpaid rent, losses from breach of lease, and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear — to the unit, common areas, appliances, or landlord-owned furnishings, caused by the tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or invitees. The entire fight, in practice, is over that phrase: worn carpet paths and faded paint are wear and tear; a burn mark or a hole in the door isn't. Which is a question of evidence about condition — at move-in versus move-out.
Why deposit disputes are really documentation disputes
Look at the structure of the law: deductions turn on damage “beyond ordinary wear and tear,” which means every dispute reduces to what condition was the unit in on day one, and what condition on the last day? Whoever can prove condition wins. Photos from a camera roll help — but their timestamps are just editable metadata, and the other side knows it.
That's the gap SealMove closes. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed on your phone the moment it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident record — verifiable by anyone, years later, even without us. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed move-in baseline, and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.