Free Maryland Cash for Keys Agreement Template

Last reviewed September 2026

Written by LawLease Editorial

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Maryland Cash for Keys Agreement

This Cash for Keys Agreement is built with Maryland as the governing state. These are the Maryland landlord-tenant rules that most often bear on it, with the statute for each.

Maryland rules at a glance

Maryland rules for a Cash for Keys Agreement
Security deposit limit	1 month’s rent; deposit + first month is the most a tenant can be required to pay up frontReal Prop. §8-203(b)
Deposit return	45 days, with simple interest on deposits of $50+ held 6+ monthsReal Prop. §8-203(e)
Deposit rules are firm	No provision of the security-deposit statute can be waived in any lease (§8-203(l)).
Month-to-month termination	Landlord 60 days’ written notice · tenant 30 daysReal Prop. §8-402(c)
Nonpayment notice	10-day written notice of intent to file, on the Judiciary’s formReal Prop. §8-401(c)
Nonpayment	Before filing a failure-to-pay-rent case, the landlord must give a 10-day written notice of intent to file on the Maryland Judiciary’s form, by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, posting on the door, or opted-in electronic delivery (§8-401(c)).

Security deposits in Maryland

Since October 1, 2024, a Maryland landlord may not collect a security deposit of more than one month’s rent per unit, regardless of how many tenants sign (§8-203(b)). The cap covers every advance payment made to protect the landlord — including a pet deposit and prepaid “last month’s rent” — and a tenant can’t be required to pay more than the deposit plus the first month’s rent to move in (§8-208(d)(11)).

Only exception — Up to two months’ rent is allowed only where the tenant qualifies for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services, the lease requires utility payments to the landlord, and both sides agree in writing. Overcharging exposes the landlord to up to three times the excess plus attorney’s fees (§8-203(b)).
Receipt — The deposit receipt must be part of the written lease and must spell out the tenant’s rights: a move-in inspection on request within 15 days, a move-out inspection, the 45-day return rule, and the up-to-3× penalty. Failing to give a receipt costs $25 (§8-203(c), §8-203.1).
How it’s held — In an account used only for security deposits, at a federally insured institution with a Maryland branch, opened within 30 days of receipt (§8-203(d)).
Interest — Simple interest at the greater of the 1-year U.S. Treasury yield-curve rate (as of the first business day of the year) or 1.5% a year, accruing monthly — but only on deposits of $50 or more held at least six months (§8-203(e)).
Return — Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the deposit with interest, or mail an itemized list of damages and costs by first-class mail. Missing the list forfeits the right to withhold for damage; withholding without a reasonable basis exposes the landlord to up to three times the amount withheld (§8-203(e), (g)).
Move-out inspection — If the tenant gives 15 days’ notice by certified mail with the move date and new address, the landlord must inspect within five days before or after move-out, with the tenant present (§8-203(f)).

Ending a Maryland tenancy

Maryland’s notice rule applies at the end of a fixed-term lease too, not only to periodic tenancies: a landlord who wants possession when the term expires must give the written notice below. A lease can lengthen these periods but never shorten them (§8-208(d)(5)).

Landlord’s written notice to end a Maryland tenancy (Real Prop. §8-402(c))
Fixed-term lease over 1 week, or month-to-month	60 days
Year-to-year	90 days
Week-to-week (written lease)	7 days
Week-to-week (no written lease)	21 days

Tenant’s notice — A tenant who plans to leave gives at least 30 days’ notice (90 days for year-to-year). Outside Baltimore City, a tenant’s oral notice proven by competent testimony excuses the landlord’s written notice; that oral-notice rule doesn’t apply in Baltimore City, so put notices in writing there (§8-402(c)(3)).
Nonpayment — Before filing a failure-to-pay-rent case, the landlord must give a 10-day written notice of intent to file on the Maryland Judiciary’s form, by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, posting on the door, or opted-in electronic delivery (§8-401(c)).
Right of redemption — In most cases a tenant can stop a nonpayment eviction by paying all past-due amounts set by the court plus court-awarded costs and fees before the eviction is carried out — unless three nonpayment judgments of possession were entered against the tenant in the 12 months before the case was filed (§8-401(h)).
Domestic violence — A tenant who is a victim of abuse may end the lease with written notice and a protective or peace order or a qualified third party’s report, and owes rent only until moving out, up to 30 days (§§8-5A-02, 8-5A-03).
Automatic renewal — An auto-renewal clause longer than one month must be set apart in the lease and separately initialed or signed by the tenant, or it can’t be enforced (§8-208(e)).

Tenant protections you can’t waive

Prohibited lease terms — A lease can’t include a confession of judgment, a waiver of legal rights or a jury trial, a notice period shorter than the law allows, or a clause penalizing a tenant for calling police or emergency services. Any such clause is unenforceable (§8-208(d), (g)).
No retaliation — A landlord can’t sue for possession, raise rent, cut services or end a periodic tenancy because a tenant made a good-faith complaint, joined a tenants’ organization or went to court; damages run up to three months’ rent plus attorney’s fees (§8-208.1).
Deposit rules are firm — No provision of the security-deposit statute can be waived in any lease (§8-203(l)).
Right of first refusal — In 1-, 2- and 3-unit properties, a named tenant who has lived there six months gets the first chance to buy before a sale to a third party, and a lease can’t waive it (§8-119).

Maryland Cash for Keys Agreement FAQs

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Maryland?

No more than one month’s rent per unit for leases signed on or after October 1, 2024 — down from two months. Pet deposits and prepaid last month’s rent count toward the cap, and a tenant can’t be required to pay more than the deposit plus first month’s rent to move in (§8-203(b), §8-208(d)(11)).

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Maryland?

45 days after the tenancy ends, with interest if the deposit was $50 or more and held at least six months. To keep any part, the landlord must mail an itemized list of damages and costs by first-class mail within the same 45 days; withholding without a reasonable basis can cost up to three times the amount withheld (§8-203(e), (g)).

Cash for Keys Agreement in other states

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