Plumbing glossary

40 property management and Maryland landlord terms in plain English. Every rule links to its source.

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Assistance animal: An assistance animal is an animal that helps a person with a disability and is handled under fair housing rules instead of normal pet rules.

BAH: BAH is Basic Allowance for Housing, a monthly military payment that helps service members cover housing costs when government quarters are not provided.

Cap rate: Cap rate is a property's yearly net operating income divided by its value, used to compare investment properties on equal terms.
Cash flow: Cash flow is the money left from rent after you pay all the costs of owning and running the rental, including the loan payment.

Days on market: Days on market is the number of days a rental listing is advertised before a lease is signed, and it shows how fast a home rents.

Failure to pay rent: Failure to pay rent is the Maryland District Court case a landlord files to recover a home when a tenant has not paid rent that is due. People often call it rent court.
Fair Chance Housing Act: The Fair Chance Housing Act is a Maryland law, effective October 1, 2026, that limits when and how a landlord may ask about and use an applicant's criminal history.
Fair Housing Act: The Fair Housing Act is the federal law that bars housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability.

Holdover tenant: A holdover tenant is a tenant who keeps living in the rental home after the lease term ends, without signing a new lease or other agreement.
Housing Choice Voucher: A Housing Choice Voucher, often called Section 8, is a federal rental subsidy that helps a low-income household pay rent to a private landlord.

Landlord insurance: Landlord insurance is a policy that covers the building and the owner's liability for a rental home. It differs from a tenant's renters insurance.
Late fee: A late fee is a charge for rent paid after the due date. Maryland limits it to 5% of the unpaid rent for the rental period.
Lead paint registration: Lead paint registration is a yearly state registration required for Maryland rental homes built before 1978, with lead inspection certificates at each tenant turnover.
Lease renewal: A lease renewal is an agreement to extend a tenancy for a new term, often with a new rent amount.
Leasing fee: A leasing fee is a one-time charge for finding and screening a tenant and preparing the lease. Some managers call it a tenant placement fee.

Maintenance reserve: A maintenance reserve is money a manager holds from the owner so small repairs can be paid quickly without waiting for approval.
Make-ready: Make-ready is the cleaning, painting and repair work done between one tenant and the next to get a home rent-ready for the new lease.
Management fee: A management fee is the monthly charge a property manager takes, usually a percentage of the rent collected, for running a rental home day to day.
Market rent: Market rent is the rent a home can likely earn today, judged by comparing similar nearby rentals in size, condition and features.
Military clause: A military clause is a lease term that lets a service member end the lease early when they receive orders to move or deploy.
Move-in inspection: A move-in inspection is a written record of a home's condition at move-in, used later to judge damage versus normal wear.

Net operating income: Net operating income is rental income minus operating costs such as repairs, insurance, taxes and management, counted before any mortgage payments.
Normal wear and tear: Normal wear and tear is the gradual aging of a home from ordinary use, such as faded paint or worn carpet, which a landlord cannot charge a tenant for from the deposit.
Notice of intent to file: A notice of intent to file is the written warning a Maryland landlord must give before filing a rent-court case. It gives the tenant 10 days to fix the problem.

Owner draw: An owner draw is the payment a property manager sends to the owner from collected rent after fees and expenses.
Owner portal: An owner portal is a secure website where an owner views statements, leases and maintenance activity for a rental at any time.

PCS: PCS stands for permanent change of station, which is a service member's official military move to a new duty location, usually on written orders.
Pet deposit: A pet deposit is money collected for possible pet damage. In Maryland it counts toward the security deposit cap of one month's rent.

Reasonable accommodation: A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or policy that lets a person with a disability use and enjoy a home on an equal basis with others.
Rent increase notice: A rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord must send before raising rent. Maryland sets it at 90 days for most tenancies longer than one month.
Rent-ready: Rent-ready describes a home that is clean, repaired, in working order and fully ready for a new tenant to move in on day one.
Rental license: A rental license is a local permit that some Maryland counties and towns require before an owner can rent out a home.
Reusable tenant screening report: A reusable tenant screening report is a report an applicant buys once and shares with several landlords. Maryland landlords must say whether they accept one.
Right of first refusal: Right of first refusal is a Maryland rule that gives tenants in homes with three or fewer units the first chance to buy when the owner plans to sell to someone else.

Security deposit: A security deposit is money a tenant pays up front to protect the landlord against unpaid rent or damage, capped at one month's rent in most Maryland leases.
Security deposit interest: Security deposit interest is simple interest a Maryland landlord owes on deposits of $50 or more held at least six months, at the greater of the 1-year Treasury rate or 1.5% a year.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is a federal law that lets service members end a residential lease early after qualifying military orders.

Tenants' Bill of Rights: The Tenants' Bill of Rights is a state-published summary of renter rights that Maryland landlords must include with every written residential lease.

Vacancy rate: Vacancy rate is the share of time a rental sits empty with no paying tenant, which lowers income for the owner and raises carrying costs.

Warrant of restitution: A warrant of restitution is a court order that lets a sheriff or constable carry out an eviction after a landlord has won a case.

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