03/17/2026
Last week in property managementā¦
Landlord/Tenant Failure to Pay Rent court. Rent court is never fun. No one wants to be in front of a judge, I know I sure donāt, but itās part of this profession.
Luckily, I deal with amazing Tenants and do not have to go to court often!
Hereās a few things to be aware of as a Tenantā¦
-Before a Landlord can file the FTP, they must first provide you with a 10 day summary of ejectment notice.
-Once an FTP has been filed, the court may appoint an attorney to represent you through the ACE (Access to Counsel in Evictions) program. Eligibility is based on income and the ACE attorneys are present on the day of court.
-Failure to Pay Rent judgements in favor of the Landlord WILL be visible in Maryland Judiciary case search. Future Landlords and others checking your background will see the judgement.
-If judgement is made in favor of the Landlord, a Tenant will have seven business days to pay their rent before the Warrant of Restitution can be filed. The Warrant of Restitution is the next step in the eviction process.
-Only the Sheriff can schedule the eviction and Landlords are required to provide Tenants with proper notice once it has been scheduled.
Many Tenants donāt think about the Landlordās position. Most Landlords have mortgages and they all have operating expensesā¦taxes, insurance, maintenance, administrative fees, and utilities. Rents pay these expenses. Not only that, but Tenants have entered into a binding agreement and rent is due on a specific date. Communicating with your Landlord, in many cases, can go a long way! Inform them in advance if youāre going to be late with rent payment. If you say youāll have a payment on a specific date, stick to that. Donāt let it happen repeatedly.
**This post is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer legal advice**