Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases and Holdover Tenancies - Local Good Cause Termination (Good Cause Eviction)
HB 774 allows counties in Maryland to adopt local laws requiring landlords to have a valid reason (like nonpayment of rent or lease violations) to terminate residential leases or evict tenants who remain after their lease ends ("holdover tenancies"). Landlords in counties with such laws must disclose whether they are subject to these rules in lease agreements and provide specific ownership details (including how many properties they own) if claiming an exemption. The bill also requires the state housing office to create standardized forms for this disclosure and to clarify when landlords must prove "good cause" in court. This directly affects landlords and tenants in counties that implement these local good cause eviction protections.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 4, 2026
Last action Apr 7, 2026
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First - Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases and Holdover Tenancies - Local Good Cause Termination (Good Cause Eviction)
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Third - Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases and Holdover Tenancies - Local Good Cause Termination (Good Cause Eviction)
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3 edits
MINOR
The bill's procedural status was updated to reflect its adoption with amendments, and the explanatory notes were modified to clarify that underlining indicates amendments. Substantively, the bill's scope was narrowed by changing the action from adding new sections to repealing and reenacting existing sections without amendments, effectively removing the proposed additions to the Real Property Article.
Scope change
The bill's scope was reduced from adding new legal provisions to simply repealing and reenacting existing laws without changes, eliminating the new requirements for lease disclosures and local good cause termination rules that were previously proposed.
SCOPE
The bill's operative language was changed from adding new sections to repealing and reenacting existing sections without amendments, removing the proposed new legal requirements.
TECHNICAL
A 'Committee Report: Favorable' and 'House action: Adopted with floor amendments' status were added to the header, indicating the bill has passed committee and the House.
The explanatory notes were updated to include underlining as an indicator of amendments, clarifying how changes to the text should be read.
Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 19, 2026
How they voted
84–41
Passed · 17 other
Total votes 142
Mar 19, 2026
D
Democratic103
81% Yea
R
Republican39
92% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
10
Key actions
5
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Apr 7, 2026
Committee
Referred Rules
upper
Apr 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Apr 3, 2026
Introduced
Floor Amendment {
lower
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion Special Order until 04/03 (Delegate Adams) Adopted
lower
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Adopted
lower
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Report by Economic Matters
lower
Mar 19, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (84-41-17)
house of delegates
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
First Reading Economic Matters
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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