Maryland has no single statewide short-term rental license. Baltimore City, each county and some cities like Annapolis set their own rules, and they differ on who can host, how many units you can run and how long a stay counts as “short-term.” On top of that you owe state sales tax and a local hotel tax, and as of October 1, 2026 there’s a new statewide safety law.
If you’re buying a house to run as an Airbnb, check these rules before you write the offer, not after. We go through them with every client on our investor page, and the numbers on a short-term rental only work if the license does.
Why the rules vary
Licensing for short-term rentals is set locally, so the same house rented the same way can be legal on one side of a county line and not on the other. Even the definition changes. Baltimore City counts any stay under 90 nights. Baltimore County and Montgomery use under 30 days. Anne Arundel and Annapolis use up to 120 consecutive days in a calendar year.
That definition decides more than the license. A stay that’s too long to count as short-term is usually a regular rental, which brings in the rental license and landlord-tenant rules. Our planned guide to rental licenses by county covers the long-term side.
The rules by jurisdiction
Checked on each jurisdiction’s own site in October 2026. Rules here change often, so confirm with the agency before you buy.
| Jurisdiction | What counts as short-term | License | Who can host | Limits | Local hotel tax (FY2027) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore City | Under 90 nights | Short-term rental license, DHCD | Principal residence only, deeded to an individual, no code violations | No new licenses for unhosted units | 9.5% |
| Baltimore County | Typically under 30 consecutive days | Rental license, $300 per unit, 3 years | Check with Permits, Approvals and Inspections | STRs can’t use the rental registration exemption | 9.5% |
| Anne Arundel County (outside Annapolis) | Up to 120 consecutive days a year | Registration, $100 for 2 years, Inspections and Permits | Individuals or businesses; units count against every owner | Max 2 units per host; 24-hour minimum stay | 8% |
| City of Annapolis | Up to 120 consecutive days a year | City STR license, Planning and Zoning | Check with Planning and Zoning | Check with Planning and Zoning | 8% city occupancy tax |
| Howard County | Check with DILP | Rental housing license, DILP | Any unit not occupied only by the owner’s family needs a license | Check with DILP | 7% |
| Montgomery County | Less than 30 consecutive days | STR license, $500 a year, DHCA | Proof of primary residence required | Designated representative and neighbor notice required | 7% |
Hotel tax rates are from the Department of Legislative Services’ county tax rate tables for fiscal 2027 (2026 session materials). The rest comes from the agency pages linked below.
Baltimore City
The city’s short-term rental page defines a short-term rental as renting all or part of your home for less than 90 nights. Hosted and unhosted units both need a license. To get one, the property has to be your principal residence, it has to be deeded in your own name rather than an LLC’s, and it can’t have open code violations.
The big one for investors: “There are no new licenses being issued for unhosted units.” Existing unhosted licenses can renew, but you can’t buy a rowhouse in the city today and start a new whole-house Airbnb there. The rules are in Baltimore City Code Article 15, Subtitle 48.
Baltimore County
Baltimore County treats a short-term rental as a regular rental for licensing. Its rental registration page says operators of units rented for typically less than 30 consecutive days must register, the fee is $300 per unit, and short-term rentals aren’t eligible for the exemption some small rentals get. Licenses last three years. Register before the first guest arrives.
Baltimore County is a separate jurisdiction from Baltimore City, and a “Baltimore” mailing address doesn’t tell you which one you’re in. Look up the property on SDAT’s real property search to be sure.
Anne Arundel County
Outside Annapolis, you register with the county Department of Inspections and Permits. The county’s registration form sets these rules:
- $100 for a two-year registration, which doesn’t transfer when the house sells.
- A host may not register more than two dwelling units. If an LLC is the host, its units count against every person with an ownership interest in it.
- Each rental has to be at least 24 hours.
- The registration number goes in every listing and on a sign inside the unit.
- No renting while you owe the county overdue taxes, fines or fees.
- For an unhosted rental, guests get the name of someone available for the whole stay and a 24-hour emergency number.
- The application asks for a homeowners insurance declaration page showing rental coverage, plus HOA approval if there is an HOA.
The county’s registration page defines a short-term rental as a stay booked through a hosting platform for no more than 120 consecutive days in a calendar year. Questions go to (410) 222-7788.
City of Annapolis
Annapolis licenses its own short-term rentals through the city’s online portal, run by the Department of Planning and Zoning. The city uses the same 120-consecutive-day definition and charges an occupancy tax of 8% of the rent, which went up from 7% on July 1, 2023.
Annapolis has been revising its short-term rental rules, and I couldn’t confirm the current license terms on a city page. Call Planning and Zoning at (410) 260-2200 before you buy anything you plan to rent this way.
Howard County
Howard County doesn’t have a separate short-term rental license that I could find. Its rental housing page says every dwelling not occupied only by the owner or the owner’s immediate family has to be licensed by the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits. Ask DILP ([email protected] or 410-313-1830) how they classify a platform rental before you list it. Zoning and HOA rules can also limit transient rentals on a specific lot.
Montgomery County
Montgomery’s short-term rental program is run by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. It covers renting habitable living space for less than 30 consecutive days. Under Executive Regulation 27-25 you have to show proof of primary residence, name a designated representative and give neighbor notification information. The county’s FAQ puts the license at $500, valid for one year (as of October 2026).
Lodging taxes
You have two taxes to deal with.
State sales and use tax. Chapters 704 and 758 of 2019 put the state sales and use tax on short-term rentals booked through a platform and required the platforms to collect and remit it, according to the Department of Legislative Services’ fiscal note on HB 87 (2025). Maryland’s general rate is 6% (Comptroller rate chart, October 2026). If you take bookings directly, off the platform, ask the Comptroller how to register and collect.
Local hotel or occupancy tax. Baltimore City’s code applies its 9.5% tax to money guests pay hosts and hosting platforms for short-term rentals, not just hotels. Baltimore County lists its transient occupancy tax at 9.5% of the room rate on its tax rates page. Anne Arundel’s use or occupancy tax page covers short-term residential rentals, and its return form makes the owner responsible if the platform doesn’t remit. Howard’s tax is 5% plus a 2% tourism tax, 7% in all, on stays of 30 days or less according to its room rental tax form.
The platform may collect some of these and not others. Check each one in your listing settings, and keep your own records. If the platform doesn’t remit, you’re on the hook.
The new statewide safety law
The Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act (HB 1221, Chapter 9 of 2026) took effect October 1, 2026. Hosts have to post an evacuation diagram and emergency phone numbers in the unit and provide fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. By July 1, 2028, each county and Baltimore City that allows short-term rentals has to require, by local law or regulation, annual inspections of short-term rental units, according to the DLS fiscal note. Expect a local inspection requirement to show up wherever you host.
HOA and condo bans
A county license doesn’t override your HOA or condo documents. Anne Arundel’s form says outright that confirming the covenants allow short-term rentals is your job. Association documents can restrict or ban rentals shorter than a set term. Get the documents during your contract’s review period and read the leasing section before you’re committed.
Insurance
Before you take paid guests, ask your insurer in writing whether the policy covers short-term rental use, and what it costs to add. Anne Arundel won’t even process the registration without a declaration page that shows rental coverage.
Mid-term rentals as an alternative
Some investors skip the short-term rules by renting furnished for 30 days or more, to traveling nurses, contractors or people between homes. Whether that works depends on where the house is. In Montgomery and Baltimore County a stay of 30 days or more falls outside the short-term definition. In Baltimore City the line is 90 nights, so a 60-night stay is still a short-term rental there.
Once you’re past the short-term definition, you’re a landlord. That means a regular rental license where one is required, a written lease and the state’s landlord-tenant rules, which our landlord-tenant guide covers. If you’d rather not run it yourself, SW Property Management handles long-term leasing.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to an attorney or CPA about your own property before you buy.
Bottom line
Read the local rule first, then run the numbers. In Baltimore City a new short-term rental has to be your own home with you staying there. In Anne Arundel you’re capped at two units. Montgomery needs proof of primary residence. Baltimore County and Howard treat it as a rental license. Every one of them adds a 7% to 9.5% local hotel tax on top of the state sales tax, and each of them has to require annual safety inspections by July 1, 2028.
Sources
- Baltimore City DHCD, Short-Term Rentals, checked October 26, 2026
- Baltimore City Code, Art. 28 § 21-2, hotel tax, checked October 26, 2026
- Baltimore County PAI, Rental Housing Registration, checked October 26, 2026
- Baltimore County Budget and Finance, Tax Rates, checked October 26, 2026
- Anne Arundel County, Short-Term Residential Rental Registration and application form, checked October 26, 2026
- Anne Arundel County Finance, Use or Occupancy Tax, checked October 26, 2026
- City of Annapolis, Short Term Rental Portal, checked October 26, 2026
- Howard County DILP, Rental Housing, and Finance, room rental tax form, checked October 26, 2026
- Montgomery County DHCA, Short-Term Rentals and FAQs, checked October 26, 2026
- Maryland Department of Legislative Services, county tax rate tables and HB 87 (2025) fiscal note, checked October 26, 2026
- Maryland General Assembly, HB 1221 (2026) and its fiscal and policy note, checked October 26, 2026
- Comptroller of Maryland, Sales and use tax rate chart, checked October 26, 2026