Maryland HB 767: The Tenant Possessions Recovery Act — What Every Baltimore Landlord Must Know
Effective October 1, 2025, Maryland law fundamentally changed how landlords handle evictions and tenant belongings. Miss the 14-day notice or the 10-day recovery window, and you could face a civil lawsuit — even after you’ve won in court.
Maryland’s eviction process has never been simple. But as of October 1, 2025, it got more complex in a critical way that affects every landlord who has — or may ever — execute a warrant of restitution in Baltimore City or Baltimore County. House Bill 767, known as the Tenant Possessions Recovery Act, added two new mandatory steps to the post-judgment eviction process: a 14-day advance notice requirement and a 10-day post-eviction window during which tenants can reclaim their personal property.
If you’re a Baltimore landlord who hasn’t updated your eviction workflow to reflect these changes, you’re exposed. Violations carry civil penalties including actual damages and attorney’s fees — and importantly, a tenant can sue you even after you’ve lawfully won your eviction case in court.
The bottom line: Winning an eviction in Maryland court is no longer the finish line. HB 767 adds two legally required steps after the warrant of restitution is issued — and skipping either one can result in a civil lawsuit from your former tenant. This law is already in effect. If you haven’t updated your process, now is the time.
What HB 767 Actually Requires: The Step-by-Step Breakdown
The Tenant Possessions Recovery Act applies when a landlord is executing a warrant of restitution — that is, when the court has ruled in the landlord’s favor and the Sheriff is authorized to carry out the physical eviction. Here’s exactly what the law now requires:
Before the Sheriff executes the warrant of restitution, the landlord must provide the tenant with written notice of the specific eviction date — not just that an eviction may occur at some future time. This notice must be delivered at least 14 days before the scheduled eviction date via two methods: first-class mail and posting on the tenant’s front door. Electronic notice is recommended as a third channel where possible but does not substitute for mail and posting.
The Sheriff carries out the eviction. The tenant is removed from the property. Any personal property remaining on the premises becomes subject to the 10-day recovery period — whether it stays in the unit or the landlord moves it to a reasonably secure storage location.
After eviction, the former tenant has 10 days to return to the premises (or designated storage location) and reclaim their personal property. During this entire 10-day window, the landlord cannot charge the tenant a storage fee for keeping the belongings on-site. The property must remain accessible to the tenant for retrieval.
Once the 10-day window closes, any unclaimed personal property is legally deemed abandoned. The landlord may then dispose of it by: donating it to a charity, selling it, discarding it at a landfill or solid waste facility, or any other lawful method. The one thing landlords cannot do is place tenant belongings on the street or sidewalk. This was already prohibited in Baltimore City under prior law and is now prohibited statewide.
What Changed vs. the Old Process
Before HB 767, Maryland landlords operating under a warrant of restitution had relatively limited obligations regarding tenant personal property after the physical eviction. The primary rule was Baltimore City’s long-standing prohibition on placing belongings on the sidewalk — but there was no standardized statewide notice period and no mandated post-eviction recovery window.
No mandatory pre-eviction notice period specifying the actual eviction date. No statutory recovery window for tenant belongings after execution. Property disposal rules varied by jurisdiction.
Mandatory 14-day advance written notice (mail + door posting) of the specific eviction date. Mandatory 10-day post-eviction recovery period. No storage fees during recovery window. No property on the street — statewide.
Tenants have the right to sue for actual damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs — even if the underlying eviction judgment was valid. The violation is the process failure, not the eviction itself.
Placing tenant belongings on a public sidewalk or street is a separate prohibited act. It can trigger claims beyond the HB 767 framework — including under Baltimore City Code and Maryland common law.
The 14-Day Notice: What It Must Say and How to Deliver It
The advance notice requirement has a specific purpose: it gives tenants a meaningful opportunity to arrange for their belongings before the eviction date. Because of this, the law requires that the notice state the actual, specific eviction date — not a general statement that eviction may occur “on or after” a certain date. Vague notices do not satisfy the requirement.
Delivery requires two simultaneous channels: first-class mail to the tenant’s last known address and physical posting on the front door of the rental unit. Best practice is to document both — keep your certificate of mailing from the post office and photograph the posted notice with a date-stamped image. If you later face a challenge about whether proper notice was given, this documentation is your defense.
If you use property management software or a third-party notice service to issue eviction-related communications, verify that your workflow has been updated to include this step. The 14-day notice clock must be running before you schedule the Sheriff’s execution date — not concurrent with it.
The 10-Day Recovery Window: Practical Questions Answered
Where do the belongings have to be kept? The law allows the landlord to keep them in the rental unit itself or move them to a “reasonably secure storage location.” If you’re eager to begin your turnover, you may move the belongings — but to a secure location that the former tenant can access, not to a dumpster or curb.
Can you charge the tenant after the 10 days are up? The law prohibits storage fees during the 10-day window. Once the window closes and property is deemed abandoned, the separate question of cost recovery gets more complex and may depend on your lease terms and Maryland common law. Consult with a Maryland attorney before attempting to recover storage costs after the window closes.
What counts as proper disposal after day 10? Donation, sale, and landfill disposal are all explicitly permitted by the statute. Placing items on a public sidewalk is not. Whatever method you use, keep a brief record: a note of the date, what was disposed of, and the method is reasonable documentation for your property management records.
At Sungate, our eviction workflow — from the initial FTPR filing through warrant execution — is managed end to end by our team, with Buildium-documented records at every step. When HB 767 took effect in October 2025, we updated our standard eviction checklist to include the 14-day notice generation, dual-channel delivery documentation, and the 10-day property recovery tracking protocol. Owners who manage evictions on their own are responsible for getting every step right. Owners who work with Sungate have a team that knows Maryland eviction law as it currently stands — not as it stood two years ago.
Why This Matters More Than Most Landlords Realize
The Tenant Possessions Recovery Act creates a new category of civil liability that is entirely separate from the eviction judgment itself. A landlord can win in eviction court, execute a lawful warrant of restitution with the Sheriff, and still face a civil lawsuit if the pre-eviction notice was defective or if tenant belongings were not handled properly during the 10-day window.
This is particularly relevant in Baltimore, where eviction rates among self-managing landlords are higher than city averages and where tenant advocacy organizations are actively educating tenants about their rights under the 2024 Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act and now HB 767. A procedural misstep — a notice that doesn’t specify the actual eviction date, belongings moved to an inaccessible location, or a landlord who disposes of property on day 9 instead of day 11 — creates a legally actionable claim.
The law is clear, the effective date has passed, and the exposure is real. Baltimore landlords who handle evictions without professional property management should audit their eviction workflows now if they haven’t already done so since October 1, 2025.
Sungate’s 1.3% eviction rate on placed tenants means most of our owners rarely face this process — because we screen tenants rigorously upfront. But when an eviction is necessary, our team manages every legally required step: the FTPR filing, the required court appearances, warrant coordination with the Sheriff, HB 767-compliant pre-eviction notice, and post-eviction property handling. Owners never have to navigate Maryland eviction law alone. That’s what the management fee is for.
Don’t Navigate Maryland’s Eviction Laws Alone
Sungate manages evictions end to end — from filing to warrant execution to HB 767-compliant property handling — for 400+ properties across Baltimore City and County. Call Aldo or Ravi directly to learn how we protect owners at every stage.
Call (443) 219-8410