Maryland Sample Failure to Pay Rent/Landlord's Complaint for Repossession of Rented Property

This form is applicable in Maryland district court, and can be obtained from any district court location. If you need one pertinent to Baltimore City, you’ll can find hard copy forms at the Fayette and Gay Street location only. Note that the downloadable copy is for instructional use only. This form cannot be completed online, and the court requires the carbon less multi-part form (hard copy).

Who: This form must be completed and filed with the district court in Maryland in order to start the official eviction process in the event of a tenant’s nonpayment of rent. However, the landlord (you) must first give the tenant notice that they are behind on the rent, and that they have a specific amount of time to pay before the eviction process proceeds.

What: This form starts the eviction process after you have notified the tenant that they are behind on rent, and they have not paid the amount due. Note that there is no legally defined notification period for alerting the tenant about nonpayment of rent. It is at the landlord’s discretion.

The form itself consists of multiple pages, and all the applicable fields must be completed. Again, this form cannot be completed online. The court will only accept a legal hard copy version.

The first section is given over to your name and contact information, as well as the tenant’s information (you’re the plaintiff and the tenant is the defendant). Next, you must list the property’s location, whether you’re licensed to operate it as a rental property, and your license number.

You need to provide information concerning environmental regulations, as well as whether the tenancy is subsidized by the government, how the rental payment agreement is set up, and the amount of rent late/due.

If prior judgments have been made against the tenant, those should be listed, and you’ll need to include the name of your attorney, as well as his or her contact information.

When: This form can be filed at any point after the notice given to the tenant about nonpayment of rent has expired. For instance, if you notified the client that he or she had three days to pay rent, this form can be filed on the fourth business day (weekends and holidays don’t count).

Resources:
• Sample Maryland Lease Agreement
• Maryland’s Law Summary
• Further Reading: Move Out & Eviction Articles

Tips and Tricks for Landlords:

There is no legally-defined notification period for nonpayment of rent. The state leaves it at your discretion. Some landlords prefer a 3-day notice, while others are willing to give 5 or 7 days.