MPDU Rentals
Montgomery County's Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) Program offers affordable rental MPDU units in apartment communities located throughout the County.
Tenants interested in an MPDU rental unit must apply directly to one or more of the MPDU apartment communities. The management company at the apartment community will give you an application, verify your income and credit history, and determine eligibility or ineligibility to rent an MPDU apartment. They will also inform you about the current availability of MPDU units. DHCA does not maintain a list of current vacancies.
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Interested Tenants – MPDU Eligibility Requirements
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Income
Your household income, before taxes (gross household income), must be between the minimum and maximum amounts allowed:
New MPDU Tenants:
- Minimum annual household income: This varies from property to property. Please call the property directly.
- Maximum annual household income: This is based on household size and type of development. Maximum income for a garden apartment is set at 65% AMI (Area Median Income); maximum income for a high-rise apartment is set at 70% AMI. See the table below.
Renewing MPDU Tenants:
- When renewing a lease, the maximum annual household income is 130% of the amount for new tenants.
MPDU Income Eligibility Table (effective April 5, 2024) Household
SizeGarden Apartments High Rise Apartments
(5 stories or more)New Tenants Renewing Tenants New Tenants Renewing Tenants Maximum Household Income* 130% of Maximum Household Income** Maximum Household Income* 130% of Maximum Household Income** 1 $70,500 $91,650 $76,000 $98,800 2 $80,500 $104,650 $86,500 $112,450 3 $90,500 $117,650 $97,500 $126,750 4 $100,500 $130,650 $108,500 $141,050 5 $108,500 $141,050 $117,000 $152,100 6 $116,500 $151,450 $125,500 $163,150 * Gross annual income from all current sources for all wage earners in the household
** For existing, previously income qualified tenants whose incomes have increased 
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Number of Bedrooms
The number of people in your household determines what type of apartment (number of bedrooms) you are eligible to rent. See the chart, below:
MPDU Income Eligibility Table For Rental MPDUsNumber of Persons in HouseholdEligible Number of Bedroom(s)1 1 2 1 or 2 3 2 or 3 4 2 or 3 5 3 or above -
Credit History
Your credit rating must be acceptable to the apartment community management.
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Rent Payment
Your income must be sufficient to meet monthly rent payments for the MPDU rental property, according to the apartment community management. Unemployed participants will not qualify for a rental property unless they have other means of support such as child support, an HOC voucher, retirement benefits, interest from assets, etc. The MPDU program does not provide rental subsidies, but other forms of rental assistance offered by the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) or the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) may be used to help pay the MPDU rent. Only one subsidy may be used.
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No Residential Property Ownership
You, and the other members of your household, have not owned any residential property during the previous five (5) years and have never owned an MPDU.
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MPDU Occupancy
Your rented MPDU unit must be your primary residence and you must not sublet the MPDU.
Interested Tenants – MPDU Rents and Fees
- Rent: MPDU rents are set by Executive Regulation and recalculated annually. Lease agreements are negotiated between MPDU participants and the private landlord or property manager.
- Rent Increases: MPDU rent can be increased only once during a 12-month period and the increase cannot be more than the amount of the Voluntary Rent Guideline issued by the County Executive.
- Application Fee: An apartment community reviewing an application from an MPDU applicant can charge an application fee as well as a security deposit. The Application Fee should be $25; if the community charges more than that and the applicant does not move in, the amount greater than $25 must be returned to the applicant.
- Amenities Fee: An apartment community cannot charge an MPDU tenant an “amenities fee” for the use of facilities offered.
- Sources of Income: An MPDU applicant is permitted to use a gift from a family member to cover the security deposit. Further, an applicant with a Housing Choice Voucher may use it with their MPDU rental.
- Parking Fees: An apartment community cannot charge an MPDU tenant parking fees for non-structured (surface) parking unless market rate tenants are also charged for it. Structured parking, garage or other enclosed spaces may be offered as an option to the MPDU tenants at the monthly rate normally charged by the development.
- Other Fees: An apartment community can charge the monthly rate normally charged by the landlord for storage and pet fees, if applicable.
Interested Tenants – MPDU Application Process and Apartments
The MPDU office does not provide applications, does not accept applications, and does not issue Certificates of Eligibility for MPDU rentals.
Persons interested in the MPDU rental program must apply directly to the MPDU apartment community of their choice. The management company at each apartment community will provide an application form, verify income and credit history, and determine your eligibility or non-eligibility to rent an MPDU apartment.
Steps to apply to rent an MPDU:
- Review the list of apartment communities with MPDU units.
- Identify apartment community properties that interest you.
- Contact one or more apartment communities to apply for an MPDU unit
To receive announcements regarding MPDU rental opportunities, create an eSubscription account. Go to: " Create an eSubscription" and select "DHCA" to receive announcements by email or text message; like our Facebook page, and follow DHCA on Twitter. Recent announcements of available units can be found at this page: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Announcement_List.aspx?id=38
Other Affordable Housing Options
There are additional ways to look for an apartment, house or room to rent. For example, you can look online, talk with friends and acquaintances, and visit apartment communities directly.
Important: If you are at imminent threat of losing your housing (eviction judgment received) please reach out to Montgomery County Housing Stabilization Services by calling 311 (240-777-0311) to explore options to assist with eviction prevention or relocation assistance.
- The Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) has a limited amount of rental assistance available.
Find information online: Housing Opportunities Commission or call: (240) 627-9400.
- Rental Marketplace
You can view rental property information the County collects annually from apartment building managers. Visit Rental Marketplace to search and view information about location, property-level rent levels and unit sizes. You can search for options within a range of rents, geography and type (e.g., senior housing, income-restricted, number of bedrooms). Some apartment buildings in Montgomery County include units that are priced affordably based on a resident’s income (these include MPDUs as well as other types of affordable units). Units priced affordably are intended for residents with incomes up to 30%, 50% or 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is based on family size and adjusted annually. Tenants can contact individual rental properties to learn about current availability of units and rents.
Tenant-Landlord Disputes
Renting an MPDU apartment is a private transaction between the apartment complex and the household seeking an MPDU. The DHCA MPDU office does not act as an intermediary or involve itself except in rare disputes between the two parties. Renting of MPDUs is on a “first come, first serve” basis; DHCA does not maintain a waiting or priority list of potential renters. A landlord may, but is not required to, keep a waiting list for MPDUs. DHCA does not provide rental assistance to MPDU renters. Each MPDU renter must meet the same credit checks and income tests as other rental applicants and must have the resources (which may include rental assistance from third parties, such as the Housing Opportunities Commission) to pay the monthly rent.
Complaints
Tenants of MPDU Rental Units may file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs under the office where the complaint falls, as per the county regulation, regardless of whether the unit is a market unit or an MPDU. Please refer below to each DHCA office division to review the list of topics and the applicability of county law.
Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs (OLTA)
The Montgomery County Landlord Tenant law covers multi-family properties, including apartments, condominiums, and accessory apartments, as well as single-family properties, including single-family houses and townhouses. The law does not cover room rentals, commercial rental property, or transient housing, such as a guest room in an apartment, hotel, boarding house, tourist home, inn, motel, school dormitory, hospital, or medical facility.
•Money (Ratio Utility Billing System or RUBS, escrow, or charges)
•Rights (entering the unit, accommodations issues)
•Lease clarification
•Ledger disputes
•Breach of lease/Lease termination
•Notice to vacate
•Security deposit
Office of Rent Stabilization (ORS)
The Office of Rent Stabilization (ORS) is now operational as the Rent Stabilization Regulation went into effect on July 23, 2024.
•Allowable rent increase amount
•Rent increase notices for regulated and non-regulated units
•Rental fees (application fees; late fees; pet fees and deposits; lost key fees; lockout fees; internet/cable fees; and parking fees)
To file a complaint, call 240-777-0311 if you have rent stabilization inquiries or concerns. Online customers may submit a request to be contacted by the Office of Rent Stabilization Investigator by clicking here.
Housing Code Enforcement
DHCA Housing Code Enforcement handles complaints regarding the maintenance and condition of single-family and multi-family residential rental property; exterior maintenance; conditions of commercial property; exterior and common areas of residential condominiums and vacant properties/unimproved lots.
•Maintenance issues (health and safety maintenance code violations)
•Money spent on expenses related to maintenance issues
•Maximum occupancy for House or Apartment
•Maximum occupancy for Bedroom
•Inspections (search warrants, right of entry, and notices of violations)
MPDU Rentals Program Compliance Unit
DHCA's Role: DHCA sets the initial rents, notifies complexes of the permissible annual rent increases, provides training for property managers and leasing agents, and monitors continued compliance with the MPDU program rules.
The Leasing Agent's Role: Through the normal rental application process, a landlord considering your application may check your minimum income (this varies from property to property) and your credit history. The leasing agent with MPDU units also: 1) verifies a household’s annual income and determines whether it is below the maximum permitted under the program and that a household has at least as many members as the number of bedrooms in the MPDU, 2) verifies prospective tenants that they do not currently own or have not owned residential property within the past 5 years, 3) requires that the MPDU apartment is the household’s primary residence and 4) recertifies the household as eligible to live in the MPDU in subsequent years.
The MPDU rental compliance unit investigates the following complaints:
•The MPDU unit not being the tenant’s principal residence or subletting the unit
•The MPDU tenant's current or previous homeownership
•The MPDU tenant being above the maximum income per unit’s household size
•The landlord's failure to provide the required certification forms to prospective MPDU tenants or maintain records of their tenancy
•The landlord's failure to recertify the MPDU renewing tenants on time
•The landlord’s failure to notify the MPDU prospective and renewing tenants of the reason for the denial of an application