Baltimore County renters live in garden apartment complexes, townhomes, and older single-family houses. Wherever water gets in through a roof, a window, a plumbing leak, or a damp basement and stays, mold can follow. Tenants in Baltimore County have protection from three directions: the County's Livability Code, Maryland's Tenant Mold Protection Act, and public health guidance that explains why damp buildings matter.
The World Health Organization reviewed the research on damp buildings in its 2009 Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould. It concluded that the most important health effects are increased respiratory symptoms, allergies, and asthma, together with disturbance of the immune system. The World Health Organization named the prevention of persistent dampness and microbial growth inside buildings as the most important way to avoid those effects.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, reports that damp, moldy buildings increase occupants' risk of respiratory problems, including shortness of breath and worsening asthma. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home, states that the key to mold control is moisture control and that water-damaged areas should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.
Since July 1, 2025, the Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act, Real Property Article § 8-220, has set deadlines that apply in Baltimore County. Once a landlord receives written notice of mold from a tenant or from the local code enforcement agency, the landlord must perform a mold assessment within 15 days. If the assessment finds mold, the landlord must complete remediation within 45 days, or within a reasonable time if 45 days is not feasible.
The same law requires the landlord to follow recommended industry guidelines and state and local law, to keep occupants informed during the work, to ensure proper ventilation and low indoor humidity, and to maintain the property under all applicable housing and building codes. A landlord must also give each tenant a mold pamphlet when the lease is signed, and the State may use the EPA's Brief Guide for that pamphlet.
The Act defines mold to include Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Memnoniella, Mucor, Penicillium, Stachybotrys chartarum, and Trichoderma. It also directs the Maryland Department of the Environment to adopt uniform assessment and remediation standards by June 1, 2027, with remediation measured against the EPA's Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings.
Baltimore County sets its housing standards in the Livability Code, Article 35, Title 5 of the Baltimore County Code, which the County's code officials enforce. Rental properties also need a County rental housing license under Article 35, Title 6. For properties with six or fewer units, the County requires an inspection of each unit by a state-licensed home inspector before it issues the license.
A complaint to Baltimore County code enforcement about a leak, water damage, or another defect creates an official record of the condition. The Tenant Mold Protection Act treats written notice of mold from the local code agency as one of the two notices that start the landlord's 15-day clock. A copy of any inspection report or violation notice belongs in the tenant's own file.
Rent escrow in the District Court can push a landlord to make repairs, but it does not compensate a tenant for illness, medical bills, lost wages, or ruined belongings. A claim for those losses proceeds separately in the circuit court. Before signing anything in a rent escrow or eviction case, read it carefully, because a release signed there can end an injury claim.
Report the mold and the water problem to the landlord in writing, and keep a dated copy. Contact Baltimore County code enforcement about the leak or water damage, and keep any report it issues. Photograph the growth, the stains, and damaged belongings before anyone repaints. Hire your own qualified mold assessor rather than relying on the landlord's contractor, and save every message and repair ticket.
If new symptoms begin after exposure to mold or water-damaged building materials, including exposure you did not recognize at the time, see your doctor for care. Maryland injury claims generally must be filed within three years under Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article § 5-101, and claims against public housing carry earlier notice deadlines.
Christopher L. Beard, an Annapolis attorney, concentrates his practice in toxic mold injury and habitability claims for Maryland tenants and has filed mold cases in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. To discuss a Baltimore County rental, e-mail chris@attorneybeard.com or call (410) 267-0227. You can also read our article on the Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act.
This article is one part of a five-part series. Read the full series, Mold in Maryland Rentals, for every jurisdiction in one place.
For the same guidance in neighboring jurisdictions, read about mold in rentals in Baltimore City, Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and the Eastern Shore. You can also return to the attorneybeard.com home page or see how Chris Beard represents Maryland tenants injured by mold.
