Maryland Rental Application Form

What this Maryland rental application is

This one-page form is headed "Maryland Lease Application." It combines a standard rental application with seven numbered terms that reflect Maryland law, an initials line for those terms, and a broad authorization for credit and criminal history checks. Applicants list their employment, military service if any, residence history, bank accounts, vehicles, occupants, pets, and an emergency contact, and answer two screening questions. It is a general template, not a form issued by the State of Maryland or any Maryland agency.

One detail to know: the printed authorization paragraph names a specific property management company. A landlord using this template should edit that text so it names their own business before sending the form out.

Who uses it

Maryland apartment communities, property managers, and individual landlords use applications like this one to screen tenants and record the deposit and fees paid with the application. Each applicant, co-applicant, and occupant 18 or older is asked to submit a separate application.

What to have ready

• Driver's license number and state, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address
• Current and previous employer details, time employed, annual salary, position, and supervisor
• Military rank, branch, commanding officer, and time in service, if applicable
• Current and previous addresses with monthly payment, dates of residency, and landlord or mortgage holder contact
• Checking and savings account numbers, bank, and branch
• Vehicle make, model, year, and tag/state; occupant names, birth dates, and relationships; pet descriptions

See our guide to documents needed for a rental application for supporting paperwork.

How to fill it out online

Click "Fill Template Now," type into the fields, sign, and download the finished PDF. The form's sections:

• Header: Property, Date, Applicant Name, Social Security #, Passport/Alien # (an ID number field), Date of Birth, Driver's License # and State, Cell Phone #, Email Address, and how you heard about the property.
• Employment History: current and previous employer, phone, address, time employed, annual salary, position, and supervisor. A military block asks for rank, branch, commanding officer, and time in. Add any other income source and amount.
• Residence History: current and previous address, phone, monthly payment, dates of residency, and Landlord/Mortgagee with phone. Military applicants give their home of record.
• Bank: checking and savings account numbers, bank, and branch.
• Other Information: number of automobiles with make, model, year, and tag/state; number of occupants including yourself; each other occupant's name, DOB, and relation; whether anyone will have pets, how many, and a description (breed, size, color, weight).
• Screening questions: whether you or any household member has ever been charged with, arrested for, or convicted of a criminal offense, and whether anyone has been evicted or vacated before the end of a lease. If yes, give the date, place, nature, and outcome, or explain.
• Emergency contact: name, address, phone, and alternate phone.
• Terms 1 to 7: the landlord or applicant fills in the apartment number, address, lease term in months and days, start date, monthly rent, security deposit, and the credit report fee. You then initial once for all seven terms.
• Signature: Applicant's Signature and Date. The lower box is for office use only.

Maryland rules on fees, deposits, and screening

General information as of October 2026, from the Real Property Article of the Maryland Code.

Application fees

Real Property §8-213 requires a lease application to explain the liabilities the applicant takes on and the fee rules. If a landlord collects fees other than a security deposit and they exceed $25, the landlord may keep only what was actually spent on a credit check or other application expenses and must return the rest within 15 days after occupancy or after either side communicates in writing that no tenancy will occur. Otherwise the landlord can owe twice the fees. The section does not apply to a landlord offering four or fewer units on one parcel or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals. This template's term 1 restates that rule.

Under §8-218, landlords must say whether they accept reusable tenant screening reports. A landlord that accepts one may not charge an application fee or a fee to access it when an applicant provides one.

Security deposits

• Cap: since October 1, 2024, §8-203 limits the security deposit to one month's rent per unit, with a narrow exception of up to two months for certain tenants in utility assistance programs. The state's Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act handout summarizes the change.
• Return: within 45 days after the tenancy ends, with interest as set by §8-203, less any lawful deductions, which must be itemized.
• Receipt and inspections: §8-203.1 gives tenants the right to request a move-in damage inspection within 15 days of occupancy and to attend the move-out inspection with 15 days' notice by certified mail. Terms 4 and 5 on this form describe those rights.

Source of income

Maryland fair housing law prohibits discrimination based on source of income, including housing choice vouchers. See the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights source of income guidance.

Signing and submitting

Initial the terms, sign and date, and return the PDF to the leasing office or landlord. Add a typed or drawn signature with our sign PDF tool.

Common mistakes

• Signing before the rent, deposit, and credit report fee amounts in term 1 are filled in.
• Skipping the initials line, which the form says applies to all seven terms.
• Answering the criminal history question but leaving the explanation blank.
• Submitting one application for a household with more than one adult.