Renting to a tenant with a Housing Choice Voucher in Baltimore works like this: you screen the applicant the same way you screen everyone, the tenant gives you a Request for Tenancy Approval to complete, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) inspects the home and checks that the rent is reasonable, and then you sign a lease plus a HUD tenancy addendum and a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract with HABC. HABC pays its share by direct deposit each month, and the tenant pays the rest.
In Maryland, voucher holders are also a protected class, so this isn’t optional the way it once was. We handle voucher paperwork and inspections for owners at SW Property Management. Here’s how the program runs as of October 2026.
The law: source of income is protected statewide
Maryland’s HOME Act (2020) added source of income to the state’s fair housing law. State Government § 20-705 bars refusing to rent, setting different terms, or advertising a preference because of it, and § 20-701 defines source of income to include vouchers issued under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. That’s the Housing Choice Voucher program.
So a landlord can’t refuse a voucher, can’t write “no Section 8” in a listing, and can’t charge a voucher holder more. What you can do, and HABC encourages it, is screen voucher applicants against the same written criteria as everyone else. If you use an income test, apply it to the tenant’s share of the rent; see tenant screening rules in Maryland for why, including the Supreme Court of Maryland’s 2025 Hare decision.
How a voucher lease works
HABC says it administers over 18,000 housing choice vouchers with HUD funding. The process from HABC’s landlord FAQ, as of October 2026:
- The family has a voucher and an RFTA. The voucher lists the bedroom size the family qualifies for. Check that it matches your home. The voucher term is 90 days, with extensions available.
- You screen the family as you would any applicant.
- You and the tenant complete the Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA), with the rent you’re asking and who pays which utilities. HABC requires RFTAs to be submitted through its HCVP Owner Portal.
- HABC inspects the home and reviews the rent for reasonableness.
- You sign the lease with the HUD tenancy addendum, and the HAP contract with HABC. The contract sets how much rent HABC pays and how much the tenant pays.
- HABC pays its share by direct deposit, and you collect the tenant’s portion.
The paperwork, briefly
HUD’s HAP contract (form HUD-52641) has three parts: contract information, the contract itself and the tenancy addendum. The tenancy addendum goes with your lease, and where the two conflict, the addendum controls.
Who pays what
Tenants typically pay 30% of their adjusted income toward rent, per HABC. HUD’s guidebook on calculating rent and HAP payments says the housing assistance payment is the lower of the payment standard minus the family’s total tenant payment, or the gross rent minus the total tenant payment. If the rent is above the payment standard, the family can pay the difference, but only up to the point where its share is 40% of monthly adjusted income at move-in. That’s why HABC will negotiate a rent down if the family’s share would be over 40%.
No side payments. HABC is blunt about this: the tenant can’t pay more than the share HABC sets, and side deals between landlord and tenant are illegal. They can get the family terminated and the landlord barred from the program.
HABC and Baltimore County inspections
HABC. Before a HAP contract starts, HABC inspects the unit against federal Housing Quality Standards. HABC expects the home to be ready for occupancy at inspection and says not to use the inspection as a punch list. After move-in, HABC inspects units under contract on a two-year cycle and can schedule special inspections at the request of the tenant, the landlord or HABC. An inspector who can’t get in counts it as a failed inspection; two failed entries lead to HAP suspension (HABC property regulations).
HABC also requires proof that the property is registered with MDE’s lead program (for pre-1978 homes) and with Baltimore City DHCD before it signs or continues a HAP contract.
If a unit fails and the repairs aren’t done in the time HABC sets, the payment is abated. HABC resumes payment from the date the unit passes, and doesn’t pay retroactively for the time it was out of compliance.
Baltimore County. Homes in Baltimore County are served by the county’s own housing program (the Baltimore County Department of Housing and Community Development is the local housing agency named in the Hare case). The county’s rental license accepts a Section 8 or Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership inspection completed within the past 12 months in place of a separate licensing inspection (Baltimore County).
Payment standards and rent reasonableness
Two numbers decide the rent:
- The payment standard is the housing authority’s ceiling for the subsidy calculation, by bedroom size. It changes, so get HABC’s current schedule from the HCVP office or the owner portal rather than relying on a number you saw online.
- Rent reasonableness is HABC’s check that your rent matches comparable unassisted homes of similar size, location, quality and type.
You set the asking rent. HABC decides whether it’s reasonable and whether the family’s share fits under the 40% rule.
Timeline to first payment
From HABC’s FAQ: after the unit is inspected and approved and the rent is agreed, the HAP contract is signed, and once the HAP contract is executed, HABC begins processing payments. Payments are monthly, with the primary payment run on the 1st, and landlords must take payment by direct deposit.
A few things that speed it up:
- Have the city registration, rental license and MDE lead certificate current before the RFTA goes in.
- Fix everything on the HQS checklist before the inspector comes.
- Keep your contact information current in the owner portal.
Since August 7, 2023, HABC has also offered one-time security deposit assistance for eligible families leasing in Baltimore City, paid directly to the landlord about 60 days after lease-up. The deposit still has to be returned within 45 days after move-out, like any Maryland deposit.
Common inspection fails
HABC publishes a checklist of the most common reasons units fail HQS. The ones to check first on a Baltimore rowhome:
- A working smoke and carbon monoxide detector on every level, including the basement and outside sleeping rooms.
- No cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping or loose paint, inside or out, including window frames.
- Handrails where there are four or more steps, inside and out.
- No exposed wiring, correctly wired three-prong outlets (they test them), and cover plates on every switch and outlet.
- Windows that lock, a working window in every bedroom where windows are designed to open, and weather-tight doors with sturdy locks.
- A bathroom window or exhaust fan.
- A discharge line on the water heater’s pressure relief valve extending to within 6 inches of the floor, and sealed flue pipes at the chimney.
- Heat in every living room, vented to the outside if gas.
- Gutters and downspouts that aren’t causing interior damage, and no pests.
Most of these are quick fixes when they’re caught before the inspection. Our maintenance is done by Monarch Bay Renovations (MHIC #149066), so we can usually handle them during make-ready; you can use any licensed contractor.
Affiliated business disclosure: Monarch Bay Renovations is owned by Stephen Wilson, team lead of The Wilson Home Team of Samson Properties. You are not required to use Monarch Bay Renovations for any service.
Owner portal
HABC’s HCVP Owner Portal handles RFTAs, inspection results and reminders, move tracking, rent increase requests, documents and direct deposit changes. HABC says all RFTAs, ownership changes and rent increase requests must go through the portal. You need your Owner Entity ID and a current email to register.
Raising rent and when things go wrong
- Rent increases: one request per 12 months, at least 60 days before the change, through the portal, subject to rent reasonableness and HABC approval. The tenant still gets Maryland’s written notice under Real Property § 8-209.
- Tenant doesn’t pay their share: HABC says to file a failure-to-pay-rent case in District Court, like any tenant, and send HCVP the judgment. See the Maryland eviction process for landlords.
- Selling the property: contact HCVP’s Program Integrity Unit. Payments stop temporarily until the ownership change is processed.
This is general information, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, talk to a Maryland landlord-tenant attorney, or contact HABC’s HCVP office for program questions.
Bottom line
Screen voucher holders by the same written criteria as everyone, with income tests applied to their share. Get your city registration, rental license and lead certificate in order first. Prepare the home against HABC’s HQS checklist so it passes the first time. Then submit everything through the owner portal and expect payment on the 1st by direct deposit once the HAP contract is signed. If you want help, SW Property Management handles voucher leases for the homes we manage, and the city side is covered in Baltimore City rental license.
Sources
All checked October 26, 2026.
- Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Landlord FAQ, HCVP Property Regulations, HQS Inspections Checklist, HCVP Owner Portal
- HUD, HAP Contract HUD-52641, Tenancy Addendum HUD-52641-A, HCV Guidebook: Calculating Rent and HAP Payments
- Maryland Code, State Government § 20-701 and § 20-705; Real Property § 8-209
- Baltimore City DHCD, Property Registration and Rental Licensing
- Baltimore County, Register or Renew Your Rental Property
- Supreme Court of Maryland, Hare v. David S. Brown Enterprises (2025)