Resources / Topic

State-by-state landlord guides

Federal frameworks set the floor; state law sets the ceiling, and cities sometimes set both walls. The state guides below are the practical references — security-deposit clocks, notice and eviction frameworks, retaliation traps, short-term-rental rules, coastal insurance, and the state-specific quirks that catch out-of-state owners. Each guide cites the controlling statute and the cases or ordinances that move the needle.

7 articles

See all DiscoveryMark flows From $10

Austin Spaeth Jun 1, 2026 State guides

The Maryland Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

Maryland reshaped its landlord rules with the Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024. For leases signed on or after October 1, 2024 the security deposit is capped at one month's rent (down from two), it must be returned with interest within 45 days, and wrongful withholding exposes you to 3× the withheld amount plus attorney fees (RP § 8-203). Nonpayment evictions require a 10-day written notice before you can file a Failure to Pay Rent case in District Court (RP § 8-401), and in Baltimore City, Montgomery, and Prince George's you cannot file at all without a current rental license. The tenant keeps a right of redemption (pay-and-stay) until the moment of eviction. Source of income is a protected class statewide under the HOME Act, so refusing Housing Choice Vouchers as a blanket policy is unlawful. Montgomery and Prince George's County now cap annual rent increases (roughly CPI + 3%, max 6%). Self-help eviction is illegal, and the new $43 summary-ejectment surcharge cannot be passed through to the tenant.

Read the full article →

The Virginia Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 22, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything a Virginia landlord or property manager needs in one place: the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 55.1, Chapter 12, §§ 55.1-1200 to 55.1-1262), the 2-month all-inclusive security-deposit cap and 45-day return window under § 55.1-1226, the rewritten § 55.1-1243.1 self-help damages floor of $5,000 or four months' rent (whichever is greater), the July 1, 2026 expansion of the nonpayment pay-or-quit notice from 5 to 14 days under HB 15 / SB 48, the § 55.1-1244 tenant assertion and rent escrow procedure that runs the habitability litigation, the 2020 expansion of § 36-96.3 to make source of income a protected class, the $50 application fee cap at § 55.1-1203, the 10% late-fee cap at § 55.1-1204(E), the Eviction Diversion Program made permanent in 2025, the General District Court unlawful detainer timeline, the Virginia Beach Sandbridge / CUP framework, the Arlington Accessory Homestay rule, and the city-by-city STR ordinances for Richmond, Alexandria, Norfolk, Charlottesville, and Loudoun.

The Georgia Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 20, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything a Georgia landlord or property manager needs in one reference: Title 44, Chapter 7 of the O.C.G.A. (§ 44-7-1 through § 44-7-119), the Safe at Home Act (HB 404, effective 7/1/24) with its 2-month deposit cap, 3-business-day pay-or-quit, codified implied warranty of habitability and AC-included self-help prohibition, the § 44-7-30 to § 44-7-37 security-deposit framework with the move-in/move-out condition lists and 3x treble damages, dispossessory in Magistrate Court with the 7-day answer, 7-day post-judgment writ window, and once-per-12-months pay-and-stay defense, the § 44-7-19 rent-control preemption that's absolute for private property, the § 44-7-24 retaliation 3-month presumption, HB 1409 (the Squatters Act), and city-by-city STR rules including Tybee Island's June 2024 R-zone moratorium and Atlanta's $150 STRL with operator-resident requirement.

The North Carolina Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 19, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything a North Carolina landlord or property manager needs in one place: the NC Residential Rental Agreements Act (Chapter 42, Article 5), the Tenant Security Deposit Act (§§ 42-50 to 42-56) with its 30-day and 60-day return windows, the § 42-46 late-fee cap, the § 42-3 10-day demand and small-claims summary-ejectment timeline, the § 42-25.9 self-help damages framework, the § 42-37.1 12-month retaliation presumption, the NCIUA Beach Plan, the Vacation Rental Act (Chapter 42A) expedited eviction, and the city-by-city STR ordinances that quietly disqualify operators every quarter.

The Florida Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 18, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything a Florida landlord or property manager needs to know in one place: FRLTA (Chapter 83, Part II), the 3-day nonpayment notice excluding weekends and holidays (F.S. 83.56), the 15-day / 30-day deposit return rule (F.S. 83.49), HB 1417 statewide preemption of local tenant protections (F.S. 83.425), the new F.S. 83.512 flood disclosure for leases 1 year or longer (effective October 1, 2025), the 2011 STR preemption grandfather clause (F.S. 509.032(7)), Citizens Property Insurance + the hurricane deductible separate-perils framework, SB 4-D / SB 154 SIRS reserves, the F.S. 83.60(2) court-registry deposit requirement, and the Florida quirks (no source-of-income protection, retaliation is defense-only, no statutory late-fee cap, liquidated damages capped at 2 months under F.S. 83.595, 12-hour entry notice between 7:30 AM–8 PM).

The Oregon Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 18, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything an Oregon landlord or property manager needs to know in one place: ORLTA (ORS Chapter 90), the 2026 9.5% statewide rent cap (ORS 90.323), the no-rent-increase-in-the-first-year rule, statewide just-cause termination after year one with a one-month relocation payment (ORS 90.427), the 10-day / 13-day nonpayment notice math (ORS 90.394), the 31-day deposit return rule with 2× damages (ORS 90.300), source-of-income as a protected class (ORS 659A.421), Portland's FAIR Ordinance relocation amounts, Bend's Type I/II STR system, and the OR-specific traps (the 4-day grace period, the +3 days for mail service, the first-year rule, the qualifying-landlord-reason framework).

The South Carolina Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

May 16, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Everything a South Carolina landlord or property manager needs to know in one place: SCRLTA (Title 27, Chapter 40), the 5-day/14-day notice framework, magistrate-court ejectment, the 30-day deposit return and 3× damages penalty, coastal wind-pool insurance, STR rules by city, and the SC-specific traps (the § 27-40-710(B) safe-harbor clause, the 4-unit deposit-disclosure rule, the 6-month retaliation presumption).

Start your paper trail this month.

Move-ins, move-outs, repairs, violations — pick one, run it through DiscoveryMark, and see what a real record looks like. Your first record is free.

Get started free →

No credit card required. Your first record is on us.

Move-In / Move-Out

Paper Trails