Apply for Rent Relief

Montgomery County's  COVID-19: Rent Relief Program - Phase 3 is open for applications. We invite all Montgomery residents who need rental assistance to visit COVID Rent Relief Program - Phase 3 to review the requirements and apply for assistance. 

Contact one of these organizations for help in submitting application for available rent relief: Support Organizations .

In the meantime, tenants are encouraged to pay what they can for rent, as the rent is still due.

1.   Call Legal Aid for help (240-314-0373) or contact one of the support organizations.
They can help you prepare for Court.

2.   Call 311 (240-777-0311) and ask for Housing Stabilization Services as they may be able to help.

3. Come to Court! Protections are only available if you show up!

• You must appear in Court to present evidence for failure-to-pay-rent protection.

• Bring copies of documents (proof of lost income due to COVID or lost work hours to care for school-age child and/or proof you gave CDC declaration to your landlord).

• When you arrive at Court, ask to be directed to Legal Aid.

Review the federal (CDC) eviction protections:

• Learn whether you are eligible and understand the paperwork. See our  Fact Sheet and  Frequently Asked Questions;

• Sign the CDC-provided Declaration form (PDF) , if you believe you are eligible for eviction protection as all five conditions are true and correct; and,

• Give a copy of your declaration to your landlord and keep proof of that.

Review the state (Governor) eviction protections:

• If the Governor’s April 3, 2020 Executive Order that temporarily prohibits evictions of tenants experiencing substantial loss of income is still in place, bring proof of substantial loss of income due to COVID-19 as a defense against eviction.

• Depending on your type of income, you might provide such proof using documents such as

  • an email from your employer notifying you of reduced hours or layoff;

  • a series of wage statements showing a drop in income;

  • a series of monthly bank statements showing reduced pay deposit amounts;

  • and/or other accounting records.

The Federal (CDC) Eviction Protection Order was established as a way to temporarily suspend evictions; it has been extended through June 30, 2021.   

While some call the CDC Order a “moratorium,” it is not automatic. Tenants must give their landlord a Declaration of eligibility for CDC protection and, if called to Court, tenants must attend Court and present evidence that they have provided that declaration to the landlord.

This option offers a way for the tenant to inform the landlord that they can, when they are able, pay their rent - but in the meantime, maintain their place to stay. It is a means to stop eviction until the CDC order expires. It does not take away the duty to pay rent.

This Order suspends eviction (such as for failure to pay rent) for tenants who sign and deliver a statement to their landlord that they meet eligibility requirements. ( Helpful video)

To consider whether you can access this federal protection against eviction:

1. Learn whether you are eligible and understand the paperwork. See our  Fact Sheet and  Frequently Asked Questions.
2. Sign the  CDC-provided Declaration form (PDF) , if you believe you are eligible for eviction protection, as all five conditions are true and correct; and,
3. Give a copy of your declaration to your landlord and keep proof of that.

Contact these local organizations for help in preparing for Court: Support Organizations

Contact Maryland Legal Aid at 240-314-0373 if you receive a Court Summons. Be sure to attend your Court date.

If you can demonstrate loss of income related to the COVID emergency, the Governor’s April 3, 2020 Executive Order temporarily prohibits evictions of tenants who have court hearings for failure to pay rent. You need to document a substantial loss of income due to COVID-19 or the related state of emergency and catastrophic health emergency, including job loss; reduction in hours of work; closure of place of employment; or a need to miss work to care for a home-bound school-age child.

While some call the Governor’s Order a “moratorium,” it is not automatic. If called to Court, tenants must attend Court and present evidence that they qualify for the protection. 

Examples of proof you can collect now and bring to court:

• an email or text from your employer of reduced hours or layoff;
• wage statements or bank statements showing a drop in income;
• other accounting records;
• proof of school-age child if you missed work to stay home with them. 

If a judge accepts the documents as proof, the moratorium on eviction will remain in place “until the state of emergency is terminated and the proclamation of the catastrophic health emergency is rescinded....” Once the emergency is ended and the Governor’s Order is rescinded, the judgment for possession will take effect. There will not be a new court date; the judgment will be entered and acted on, automatically.

As long as this Governor’s order remains in place, tenants who are called to appear in court for a failure-to-pay-rent case have a defense against eviction. To make your case, you must:

• appear in court when your case comes up, and
• present proof of substantial income loss due to the COVID-19 emergency.

Gather your proof of income loss now so you have it available if you are called to Court. This is important, as eviction notices typically arrive just a few days before the scheduled Court date.

Contact one of these Support Organizations for help in preparing for Court: Support Organizations

Contact Maryland Legal Aid at 240-314-0373 if you receive a Court Summons. Be sure to attend your Court date.

Landlords may communicate requests to vacate, reflecting the lease agreement, and pursue collection actions.
However, no eviction can occur until

• the court hears the case,

• the court issues a court order, and

• the eviction is scheduled by the Sheriff’s Office.

That means that a landlord can never change the locks, cut utilities, or remove your belongings without a court order and a Sheriff present.
If a landlord attempts to physically evict you without a court order, you can call the Police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.
For more information, call 311 (240-777-0311) to reach the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs.

Tenant Holding Over

When your lease expires, if you are not offered (or choose not to sign) a one- or two-year lease, your landlord can offer to lease month-to-month or can give you a notice to vacate. Sixty days notice is required for notice to vacate, which can be at lease expiration or later. If you haven’t left by the end of the notice-to-vacate timeframe, the landlord can file a tenant holdover case to enforce the notice to vacate.  

If you receive a notice from your landlord to terminate your lease or vacate the property or if you receive a summons to appear in court, call Maryland Legal Aid at 240-314-0373. Or call  one of the  Support Organizations for assistance. Be sure to go to Court on the assigned date.

Breach of Lease

A tenant may be given a 30-day notice that they are in breach of the lease (for example, the apartment doesn’t allow pets and the tenant has a dog). A tenant can remedy a breach. For example, the tenant can rehome the dog and the breach is remedied.
If it is a minor breach, the judge can decide whether it warrants eviction.

If you receive a breach of lease notice from your landlord or a summons to appear in court, call Maryland Legal Aid at 240-314-0373. Or, call one of the Support Organizations for assistance. Be sure to go to Court on the assigned date.  

Failure to Pay Rent

A landlord can file a Failure to Pay Rent case when a tenant is behind on their rent. 

Tenants can review the federal eviction protection (CDC) and if they are eligible, give their landlord a signed declaration.
And/or, tenants can prepare to assert a defense against eviction using the state eviction protection (Governor’s Order), by collecting the COVID-related loss of income documents now, to present in court.

The state and/or federal eviction protections can delay eviction and provide more time for landlords and tenants to work out a payment plan. Renters have the right to pay owed rent at any time. The landlord must accept the rent payment, and cancel the eviction process if rent is brought current.

If you receive a summons to appear in court, call Maryland Legal Aid at 240-314-0373. Or, call on of the Support Organizations for assistance. Be sure to go to Court on the assigned date.

If you have received a decision for eviction from the court, you still have some options:

• Housing Stabilization Services may be able to help you. Call 311 (240-777-0311) to discuss your situation.
• If you are able to pay the amount owed you can give that payment to your landlord and they must accept it and cancel the eviction process if rent is brought current. 

• See resources for information on financial assistance, food resources, health and utilities

• Visit WorkSource Montgomery or call 301-929-6880 for job search supports.

The COVID-19 Renter Relief Act of 2020 prohibits landlords from notifying tenants of a rent increase greater than the Voluntary Rent Guideline (VRG) during the COVID-19 Emergency and for 90 days after the emergency ends.
Under requirements of County law, the Voluntary Rent Guideline is updated annually. Starting February 5, 2021, the VRG for Montgomery County is set at 1.4%.
This means that a notice of rent increase (month-to-month, one-year or two-year) provided on or after February 5 and within 90 days after the end of the Emergency cannot include an annual rent increase of greater than 1.4%.
Each written rent increase notice from a landlord must contain the following information:

1. The current (old) rent amount; the proposed new rent amount; and, the percentage increase in monthly rent;

2. The effective date of the proposed increase; and,

3. The applicable rent increase guideline (e.g., 1.4% on Feb. 5 or later)

Any rent increase (month-to-month, one-year or two-year lease) cannot occur until at least 90 days after the landlord gives the tenant written notice of the increase. Landlords can increase your rent only once every 12 months.
Prior to February 5, any notice of rent increase during the COVID-19 emergency was limited to 2.6%. A notice of rent increase provided to the tenant at least 90 days in advance may take effect if it meets these and other requirements. 
Such limits on rent increase notices apply to all licensed residential rentals in Montgomery County, including rental units in multifamily buildings, houses, townhouses, individual condominium units, and accessory dwelling units.  

• If you select a 2-year lease, your rent for the second year also cannot increase by more than the Voluntary Rent Guideline in effect at the time of the notice, if that notice of rent increase was communicated to you during the emergency or within 90 days after the emergency ends.

• A 2-year lease must state the rent amount for the full term of the lease; it cannot leave the second year rent amount unstated.

If a rent increase notice of more than 1.4% was provided to a tenant on or after February 5, 2021 and within 90 days after the end of the Emergency, the tenant should contact the landlord to work out a correction. The DHCA Office of Landlord and Tenant Affairs can help with explanations and working through any adjustments. Call 311 (240-777-0311).  
For more information, see the  Summary of COVID-19 Renter Relief Act  or  Explanatory Scenarios Regarding the COVID-19 Renter Relief Act .

With funds running low for reasons beyond their control, some tenants have asked whether they can break their lease without large financial penalties. The  Landlord-Tenant Handbook includes a list of “Reasons beyond the Tenant’s Control” under which a tenant may terminate the lease agreement by giving the landlord a 30-day written notice to vacate.
This notice does not have to coincide with the rent payment cycle. This option applies to a tenant who cannot fulfill the balance of the rental contract because of an involuntary change of employment from the Washington Metropolitan area (generally 25 miles); death of a major wage earner; unemployment; tenant or tenant’s child being the victim of domestic violence; a landlord harassing the tenant or violating the tenant’s privacy rights; the tenant or tenant’s spouse being 62 or older, no longer able to live independently and needing to move to a nursing home or other senior housing; tenant being incarcerated or declared mentally incompetent; or for any other reasonable cause beyond the tenant’s control.
The tenant should be prepared to explain the specific circumstances in the notice to vacate and provide evidence to substantiate the reasons at the time the notice is given. The tenant is responsible for rent through the notice period. Under these circumstances, the tenant may be liable for a termination fee not to exceed one month’s rent or actual damages sustained by the landlord as a result of the breach, whichever is less.
More information about this topic is available in the Landlord-Tenant Handbook.

All apartment buildings must clean high touch surfaces in common areas at least once a day following the CDC guidelines, with recommendation for more frequent cleaning in high traffic areas.
Apartment buildings must also post these items in common areas. If you don’t see them posted in your building, please call 311 (240-777-0311).
The County offers COVID-19 health, safety and tenant posters for apartment buildings, including multilingual flyers on “ Face Covering Required (apartment & condo buildings),” “Stop the Spread of Germs,” and “Social Distancing.”
If staff or tenants in your building are not wearing face masks in building common areas, call 311 (240-777-0311) to file a complaint. Code Enforcement will reach out to the property owner and educate them of the need to comply with the County mask requirements.

Department of Housing & Community Affairs (DHCA) handles Housing Code Complaints

DHCA Code Enforcement staff handle and enforce the County’s housing and building maintenance codes. Code Enforcement is responsible for inspecting rental properties for unsafe housing conditions.
During COVID-19, DHCA continues to review and assess housing code complaints. Contact DHCA online , or call 311 (or 240-777-0311) to submit service requests.
Staff from DHCA Housing Code Enforcement is responding by phone or e-mail to every service request to assess the situation, consider ways to address it and explain the timing of any further actions. Please be aware that some actions/inspections/investigations may not be immediately forthcoming, based on the nature and severity of the issue.
In most cases, inspectors will handle the inspection remotely by requesting photo or video evidence and then contacting the property manager to ask them to resolve the violation. If the correction doesn’t happen, the inspector will take enforcement action.

Additional Housing inspections

DHCA inspectors are doing exterior inspections and also have started conducting specific, structured inspections for Foster Care and Adoption and Accessory Dwelling Units. These limited Inspections involve additional safety measures that include:

• Only one person from the household or a management representative is to accompany the assigned Inspector during the scheduled inspection.

• All parties must use face coverings during the inspection at all times.

• Social distancing must be maintained during the inspection process.

• The person accompanying inspection staff will operate all doors and windows, turn on and off lights, operate equipment and test smoke alarms and CO detectors.

• If further conversations are needed to take place before or after the inspection, these discussions will be done outdoors with social distancing and face masks.

Routine inspections

Due to COVID-19, the County has put on hold its protocol of systematically inspecting all apartment buildings in the County on a routine schedule, based on designation as Compliant, At-Risk and Troubled Properties.
These temporary Inspection procedures will be adjusted as the County moves into additional phases of Reopening Montgomery County and with advisement from County health officials.

The  Landlord-Tenant Handbook describes the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants in Montgomery County.
If you have questions or concerns, contact the County’s Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs directly by

• calling 311 (240-777-0311)

• submitting an online request, or

• emailing olta.intake@montgomerycountymd.gov.

The County Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs (OLTA) enforces County landlord-tenant laws, state security deposit law; questions about leases and, rights and obligations of tenants and landlords. To reach OLTA, call 311 (240-777-0311) and ask to speak with someone. An investigator will call you back within 48 hours; often on the same day. OLTA staff tries to call multiple times and will call the following day as well.
When you speak with a Landlord-Tenant investigator, they will provide as much support over the phone as possible. If a complaint form is needed to solve the issue, we will provide you the form and pursue the complaint process.

You are free to contact the Department of Health and Human Services or your landlord/property manager to ask for help.
If you have COVID-19 health- and testing-related concerns and questions, contact the Montgomery County Disease Control Call Center at 240-777-1755. The Call Center is open Monday through Sunday, 8 AM to 8 PM.

Protected health information

Patient health information includes information related to COVID-19 test results, isolation, monitoring or quarantine status.
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Maryland confidentiality laws

• You are not obligated to share protected health information related to COVID-19 with your landlord or other residents.

• Landlords/Property Managers should not report residents' or staff's protected health information to the Department of Health and Human Services.

• Landlords/Property Managers must not share with other residents any health-related information about individual tenants, whether the information identifies the tenant or not. 

Renters cannot be evicted for testing positive

Renters, including those who rent a room or a basement in someone’s house, cannot be kicked out for testing positive for COVID-19. If a landlord attempts to physically evict you during this moratorium, call the Police non-emergency number (301-279-8000).

• You may shelter in place if it allows you to stay away from the other members of the household.

• If you have no place to stay, contact the County Health and Human Services Crisis Center at 240-777-4000.