Move-Out Cleaning Checklist for Maryland Renters

Most of a move-out clean is not mysterious. It is the same clean you would do anyway, done harder and in a particular order, in an empty home, before somebody else walks through it with a clipboard. What catches people out is not the cleaning - it is the timing and the paperwork around the deposit.

So this guide covers both: the rules that decide what a landlord can withhold, and a checklist for the rooms themselves.

The 45-day clock

Maryland's security deposit rules are in the Real Property Article of the Maryland Code, section 8-203. The core deadline is this: within 45 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord must return your security deposit with simple interest, less any damages rightfully withheld.

Three details from the same section are worth knowing:

• Interest is calculated at the daily one-year U.S. Treasury yield curve rate as of the first business day of each year, or 1.5% a year, whichever is greater. No interest is due if the deposit was held for less than six months, and none for any period less than a full month. Interest is only payable on deposits of $50 or more.
• If any part of the deposit is withheld, the landlord must send you a written list of the damages claimed, with an itemized statement of the costs incurred, by first-class mail, within 45 days after the tenancy ends.
• If that itemized list does not arrive, the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit for damages.

The Maryland Attorney General's office sets out the same rules for tenants on its landlord and tenant disputes page, which also points to a mediation unit in the Consumer Protection Division when a dispute is not resolving between the two of you.

What a landlord may withhold - and what wear and tear means

The law does not let a landlord keep a deposit simply because the place was lived in. Withholding is limited to:

• unpaid rent;
• damage due to a breach of the lease;
• damage by you, or by your family, agents, employees, guests or invitees, in excess of ordinary wear and tear to the premises, common areas, major appliances and furnishings owned by the landlord.

That phrase - in excess of ordinary wear and tear - is doing a lot of work, and the statute does not define it. It is decided on the facts of each home, so treat what follows as ordinary judgment about what cleaners see, rather than as a legal line.

Usually ordinary wear and tear: light scuffs and marks on walls from furniture and daily life; carpet worn in the paths you walk; paint faded with age; a floor finish worn thin in a hallway; picture-hanging nail holes where the wall was not otherwise damaged.

Usually damage rather than wear: burns, ink, dye or pet stains that do not come out; cracked tiles; broken fixtures, blinds or hardware; holes beyond picture-hanging size; burns or cuts in counters or flooring; items that belonged to the unit taken away; and filth that needs cleaning rather than wiping, such as grease baked onto an oven or mold in a bathroom.

Most deposit disagreements are not really about whether something changed. They are about whether the place was cleaned and cared for. A claim for cleaning costs is much harder to make stick when the home was genuinely clean, which is what the checklist below is for.

Your right to be there for the final inspection

This is the part most renters do not know, and it is in the same section of the statute. You have the right to be present when the landlord inspects to determine whether any damage was done - if you give notice in advance, in the right way.

• Notify the landlord by certified mail that you intend to move, the date you are moving, and your new address.
• Send that notice at least 15 days before the move date.
• The landlord must then notify you by certified mail of the time and date the premises are to be inspected.
• The inspection must fall within five days before or five days after your move date.
• If the landlord does not meet this requirement, they forfeit the right to withhold any part of the deposit for damages.

Being there matters because you can see what is being written down and raise it while you are still standing in the room. Something small and genuine is far cheaper to deal with that afternoon than to argue about a month later.

How much deposit was allowed in the first place

For any deposit paid on or after October 1, 2024, a landlord may not require more than one month's rent per dwelling unit, no matter how many tenants are on the lease. A deposit of up to two months' rent is allowed only in a narrow case: the tenant qualifies for utility assistance through the Department of Human Services, the lease requires the tenant to pay for utility services directly to the landlord, and the tenant and landlord agree to the amount in writing.

If a landlord charges above that limit, the tenant may recover up to three times the extra amount charged, plus reasonable attorney's fees. And if a deposit is not returned, without a reasonable basis, within the 45 days, the tenant has an action for up to threefold the amount withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Those are the statute's numbers, not ours.

The room-by-room move-out checklist

Work top to bottom and finish one room completely before moving to the next. In an empty home this is naturally a two-pass job: the first pass takes out the bulk, and the second is what makes it look like a place nobody has been living in.

Kitchen

• Oven: racks out, interior degreased, door glass cleaned inside and out.
• Refrigerator and freezer: emptied, shelves and drawers washed, door seals wiped, interior dried so nothing smells.
• Cabinets and drawers: inside and out, including the tops of the doors and the edges of the frames.
• Counters and backsplash: especially behind and beside the stove, where grease travels.
• Sink, faucet and drain: limescale off the faucet, drain cleaned and flushed through.
• Dishwasher and microwave: traps or filters checked, interiors wiped and left dry.
• Range hood: filter cleaned, and the wall behind it.
• Floors: swept, then mopped, with attention where the refrigerator and stove stood.

Bathrooms

• Toilet: base, seat, hinges, rim, and the floor around it.
• Tub and shower: limescale off the glass and doors, grout and sealant scrubbed, drain clear.
• Vanity: sink, faucet, cabinet interior, mirror and light fittings.
• Exhaust fan grille, tiles, and the skirting behind the toilet.
• Floors mopped into the corners and behind the door.

Bedrooms and living areas

• Closets and wardrobes: shelves, rails, floor, and the tops of the frames.
• Blinds and window sills: dusted, with blinds wiped rather than vacuumed.
• Baseboards, door frames, handles, light switches and outlets.
• Ceiling fans and light fittings, including the bulbs.
• Walls: mark spot-cleaned where it comes off, and nail holes left neat rather than picked at.
• Under and behind where the furniture stood.

Hallways, stairs and storage

• Stair treads, risers, spindles and handrails.
• Cupboard interiors, and the space under the stairs.
• Any storage area swept out and left empty.

The things that get missed

• Doors, including their tops and the closets.
• Window glass on the inside, and the tracks vacuumed and wiped - not just the sills.
• Light switches, thermostats and intercom panels.
• Floors last, once everything else is done, so nothing gets walked back in.
• Outside space, if you have it: patio, balcony or entry swept and cleared of your belongings.

Two things worth doing before you hand the keys back: photograph every room yourself once it is clean, and keep the receipt for anything you paid to have done. If a claim turns up later, that is the evidence you want to already have.

Where a professional move-out clean fits

Doing it yourself is entirely possible - the checklist above is the whole job. The reason people book a move-out clean is the window, not the work: you are moving, you are tired, and the clean has to be finished before the inspection, in a home that is empty and therefore much harder to judge with your own furniture as a reference.

Timing it around the lease end

A schedule that fits how the rules actually work:

1. At least 15 days before you move, send the certified-mail notice with your move date and your new address, so your right to be at the inspection is protected.
2. Book the clean for after your belongings are out and before the inspection the landlord confirms. An empty home is faster to clean and easier to check properly, and there is no sense cleaning around furniture that is leaving that day.
3. Attend the inspection, walk through it with the landlord, and note anything raised. If it is a small miss, deal with it then rather than debating it later.
4. Keep your photographs and receipts in one place, and keep your mail forwarding going - the deposit paperwork, and the itemized list if there is one, is sent by mail to your last known address.
5. The 45-day clock runs from the end of the tenancy. If neither the deposit nor an itemized list has arrived by then, that is when the rules above start to matter.

None of this replaces reading your own lease, which may set out its own terms, or getting advice about your own situation.

This article is general information about Maryland's security deposit rules as they stand in 2026, with links to the statute and to the Attorney General's guidance. It is not legal advice.