Illegal Lockouts & Utility Shutoffs in Maryland: Your Rights and the Penalties Landlords Face

In Maryland, a landlord cannot evict you by changing the locks, hauling your belongings to the curb, or cutting off your heat, water, or electricity. Since October 1, 2021, a statewide law commonly cited as Maryland Real Property § 7-113 has made these "self-help" tactics flatly illegal against residential tenants. The only lawful way to remove a tenant is through the District Court of Maryland: the landlord files an eviction case, wins a judgment, obtains a warrant of restitution, and the sheriff or a constable carries it out. No landlord, anywhere in Maryland, is allowed to skip that process and force you out themselves. (This is general legal information, not legal advice, and laws change, so confirm the current statute or talk with a Maryland attorney.)

What Maryland law forbids

Under Maryland's prohibition on wrongful repossession, a landlord acting outside the court process generally may not take any of the following steps to push a tenant out of a home they lawfully occupy:

• Lockouts — changing or adding locks, or otherwise denying you entry to the unit.
• Removing doors, windows, locks, or appliances so the unit becomes unusable.
• Removing or withholding your belongings from the unit.
• Shutting off or interfering with utilities — including electricity, gas, water, heat, or other essential services — to make you leave.

It does not matter whether you are behind on rent, whether your lease has expired, or whether the landlord believes you are a "holdover" tenant. As long as you are actually living in the unit, the landlord must use the courts. Trying to make life unbearable so you give up is exactly the conduct the law targets.

Penalties a Maryland landlord can face

Maryland's self-help eviction ban gives the affected tenant real teeth. Depending on the situation, a tenant subjected to an illegal lockout or utility shutoff may be able to:

• Regain possession of the unit, or in some cases choose to treat the lease as ended.
• Recover actual damages — the real losses caused by the lockout or shutoff, such as the cost of a hotel, spoiled food, replacement of belongings, or restoring service.
• Recover reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, which makes it easier to find a lawyer willing to take the case.

Some Maryland tenants may also have separate claims, and certain wrongful conduct can carry additional or punitive exposure depending on the facts and the locality. Because the precise damages formula (and any multiplier or per-day amount) can vary and may be updated, confirm the exact current provisions for Maryland before you rely on a specific dollar figure. A landlord who repeats this behavior is also at risk of a stronger response from a judge.

How to regain possession or restore service fast

If you have been locked out or had utilities cut, treat it as urgent. Practical first steps:

• Document everything immediately — photos of changed locks or a dark unit, the date and time, texts or notes from the landlord, and the names of any witnesses.
• Call the police or sheriff. Explain that you are the lawful tenant and that Maryland law bars self-help eviction. Officers can sometimes help you get back in or at least create a report, though many will tell both sides it is a civil matter.
• Contact the utility company if service was shut off in the landlord's name to keep you out; explain the situation.
• Go to the District Court of Maryland in your county (or Baltimore City) and ask the clerk about emergency relief to restore possession and services. Maryland courts can order a landlord to let you back in.
• Get help. A local legal aid office or a Maryland landlord-tenant attorney can often move quickly, and attorney's fees may be recoverable if you win.

Keep paying or setting aside your rent if you can, and keep proof of any payment. Acting promptly strengthens both your emergency request and any damages claim.

The lawful path a landlord must follow

For contrast, here is what a legitimate Maryland eviction looks like. The landlord files a case in the District Court — typically failure to pay rent, tenant holding over, or breach of lease. There is a hearing. If the landlord wins and the tenant does not pay or move within the allowed time, the landlord requests a warrant of restitution, and a sheriff or constable — never the landlord personally — supervises the actual removal. That court paperwork is your signal that an eviction is real. A note taped to the door, a sudden lock change, or a dark apartment is not a lawful eviction; it is the kind of conduct Maryland prohibits.

A few cautions

Maryland law in this area has changed in recent years and continues to evolve, and some counties and Baltimore City have additional local rules. Statutory section numbers and remedies can be amended, so verify the current section before quoting a figure in a letter or filing. When a lockout or utility shutoff has left you without a safe place to stay, or when you are weighing a damages claim, it is usually worth a quick consultation with a Maryland attorney or legal aid program.