Maryland Ground Rent: What Buyers and Sellers Should Know (2026)

Updated October 2026. Maryland statutes and SDAT ground rent rules read October 30, 2026. Written for people buying or selling a house in Maryland that comes with a ground rent bill.

Maryland ground rent is a yearly fee some homeowners pay to whoever owns the land under their house. As of October 2026, it can only be collected if it’s on the state’s SDAT registry, and most can be bought out for good at 16.66 times the annual rent, or 8.33 times for leases created after July 1, 1982.

Jump to: 🏠 What it is · 📍 Check a property · 💲 Buyout price · 🤝 Selling · 🪜 Buying · ❓ FAQ

What is ground rent in Maryland?

A ground rent splits a house into two pieces. You own the house and a long lease on the lot. Someone else, the ground lease holder, keeps the land itself and collects rent on it, usually once or twice a year.

Most of these leases run for 99 years and renew forever. A 2012 analysis by Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services traces the system back to colonial times, with some of the earliest known leases dating to 1750. In the 1900s, builders used ground rents to lower the price of new row houses, then kept or sold the rent as steady income.

So what you own isn’t quite the same as fee simple ownership, the fullest form of ownership, where you hold the land and the house together. Under a ground lease, the same legislative analysis notes, the land stays with the holder and the homeowner usually pays the taxes and other costs of owning the property anyway.

Where are Maryland ground rents found?

Mostly in and around Baltimore. Before the September 30, 2010 registration deadline, SDAT reported 85,000 registered ground leases. The 2012 fiscal note lists 57,781 in Baltimore City and 23,915 in Baltimore County. Anne Arundel County had 3,454.

Everywhere else the numbers were tiny. Worcester County had 141, Harford 78, Howard 58 and Prince George’s 34. If you’re selling a row house in Baltimore City, though, a ground rent is a real possibility, so check before you list.

How do you check if a house has a ground rent?

Start with the state’s free search. SDAT’s ground rent page gives two steps: look up the property on the Real Property search, then click “View Ground Rent Registration” and “View Ground Rent Redemption.” That shows whether a ground lease is registered on the house and whether anyone has already bought it out.

Then read your deed and your old title papers. A ground lease usually shows up in the chain of title, and a title search during a sale should catch it too. Our guide to how title insurance works explains what a title search covers and what the policy protects.

Registration matters a lot here. SDAT says the holder can’t collect a payment unless the ground lease is registered, and must mail a bill at least 60 days before each payment is due. You can still pay an unregistered bill if you want to. You just aren’t legally required to.

How much does it cost to buy out a ground rent?

Maryland law fixes the price. Under Real Property §8-804, you multiply the annual ground rent by a factor based on when the lease was created. The lease can also set a lower price, or you and the holder can agree on another amount at the time.

The $120 figure is only an example. Check the exact rent on your bill or lease, and the creation date on the lease itself.

There are two ways to do it. You can deal with the holder directly: §8-804 lets you redeem a lease longer than 15 years at any time after 30 days’ notice, sent by both certified and first-class mail. Or you can go through SDAT’s redemption program, which works even when you can’t find the holder, the holder has died or you’ve never received a bill.

The SDAT route takes patience. The processing fee is $20 for regular handling, about 9 weeks, or $70 for expedited handling, about 5 weeks. After approval you wait at least 100 days, then send the lump sum by certified check. SDAT issues a Certificate of Redemption, and you record it with your county’s land records office.

What happens if ground rent isn’t paid?

This is the part that made headlines. According to the 2012 fiscal note, a series of Baltimore Sun articles in 2006 noted a sharp rise in ejectment cases, where a holder sues to take back the house over unpaid ground rent. In 2007 the General Assembly passed seven bills on ground rents.

One of them, Chapter 286, replaced ejectment with a lien-and-foreclosure process. In February 2014, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled in State v. Goldberg that the state couldn’t apply that change to existing ground leases, because it took away a right the holders already had.

That’s why the notice Maryland now requires in sale contracts, under §8-811, still warns owners of two risks. The holder may sue for past-due rent plus fees, and may seek possession of the property. It also says the holder can demand no more than 3 years of past-due rent. If you have a ground rent, pay it on time and keep the receipts.

Can you sell a house with a ground rent?

Yes. Plenty of Baltimore homes sell with a ground rent in place. You have three realistic choices.

• Redeem it before you list, so the buyer gets a cleaner title. Start early, since the SDAT route can run past 100 days.
• Sell with the ground rent in place and disclose it clearly in the listing and the contract.
• Negotiate with the buyer, for example a price adjustment or a seller credit that covers the buyout.

Whichever you pick, the contract has to carry the ground lease notice in boldface type, at least 14 point, under §8-811. It must state the yearly payment, whether it’s due once or twice a year, and the dates. It also tells the buyer they have a right to redeem and how the price is set. Your purchase and sale agreement is where that notice goes.

It also belongs on your list of seller disclosures from day one. Buyers and their lenders will ask, and a ground rent that turns up late in the title search can slow a closing that was otherwise on track.

If you sell with Beycome, your listing goes on the major home search sites and the MLS. Beycome lists Maryland homes on Bright MLS (Beycome internal data, October 2026), and you can mention the ground rent in the listing details so buyers know up front. Basic is $99, Enhanced is $399 and Concierge is $999 until November 2, 2026 (list price $1,399), with $0 owed to Beycome at closing.

On Concierge, an expert works with you through the offer and the contract, and every decision stays yours. State forms are in your dashboard under Legal Forms. We’ve helped 22,000+ homeowners save over $225 million (Beycome internal data, October 2026). Support runs 7 days a week, with Artur AI 24/7.

What should buyers check before making an offer?

Look up the SDAT registry before you offer, not after. Then ask the seller three plain questions. What’s the yearly rent? Who is it paid to? Are there any past-due amounts? Get copies of the last bills if you can.

Run the buyout math too. On a $90-a-year ground rent from an older lease, the statutory price would be about $1,499 (90 × 16.66). That’s small next to a home price, and some buyers ask for it as a credit at closing so they can redeem right away.

Talk to your lender early. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide (topic B2-3-03, dated August 5, 2026) allows loans on leasehold estates when the lease’s unexpired term runs at least five years past the loan’s maturity date. Each lender applies its own rules on top of that, so ask how it treats a Maryland ground lease.

If you buy with Beycome’s buyer program, you pay no upfront fee. Beycome keeps 1% of the price (minimum $1,499) and credits the rest of the buyer-agent commission to you at closing (the commission credit can’t apply where no buyer-agent commission is offered, like most FSBO homes, or on homes listed by Beycome sellers).

Closing costs still apply either way. Our breakdown of who pays closing costs shows the usual split, and the Beycome FAQ explains what title insurance is in plain terms. For more on listing in this state, see selling a Maryland home without a realtor.

Maryland ground rent FAQ