Videos explain District Court of Maryland rent court process for tenants and landlords

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Three new videos help landlords and tenants learn about rent court, which is the name for the specially-designated court sessions and related services for failure-to-pay-rent cases in the District Court of Maryland.

• “Rent Court for Tenants” covers what happens before, during, and after the rent court process, and defines terms that are often used during rent court.

• “Rent Court for Landlords” describes the rent court process in which a landlord may seek relief when a tenant fails to pay rent on a residential property, such as a house or apartment.

• “Rent Escrow” describes the legal action that may be brought by tenants to force landlords to repair serious or dangerous conditions in a rental property. In a rent escrow case, tenants pay rent into a court-controlled account instead of to a landlord.

“The Judiciary is committed to providing equal access to justice for all of the people of Maryland,” said Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera, Maryland Court of Appeals. “While ideally all litigants would have access to legal representation, we know this is not the case for many who come before Maryland’s courts. Our goal with these videos is to provide landlords and tenants who are representing themselves in rent court with useful legal information that will help them prepare for their court proceeding or, perhaps, otherwise resolve the underlying issue.”

“We believe these videos are a useful resource for tenants and landlords,” said District Court of Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey. “By understanding what happens during rent court and what their options are, litigants can actively take part in the process and move forward to resolve their issues.”

The rent court videos are part of the Judiciary’s online library of 25 self-help videos, which help answer questions and unravel complex legal principles and procedures. Each video is close-captioned in English and Spanish, has transcripts in both languages, and includes a tip sheet summarizing the video’s content as well as links to other resources, court forms and services. The videos are available to view anytime on the Maryland Judiciary website. The direct link to the self-help video library is https://www.mdcourts.gov/reference/videolibrary.

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