Montgomery County Enforcement Efforts and Tenant Protections Drive 69% Drop in Rental Housing Units on Troubled Properties List – Mocofeed

The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) released its annual Troubled Property report listing multifamily apartment buildings with extensive housing code violations. The report details a significant decline in the number of properties on the Troubled and At-Risk Properties lists. After Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) inspections, there are 67 Troubled Properties comprising 2,264 units, down from a total of 93 Troubled Properties containing 7,269 units in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Additionally, in FY25, there are a total of 55 At-Risk Properties with 2,740 units, compared to 76 properties with 6,375 units in FY24.  

These results represent a 69% decrease in the total number of units in Troubled Properties and a 57% decrease in the total number of units in At-Risk Properties compared to the prior year. The lists include properties newly designated as Troubled or At-Risk in FY25, plus properties whose Troubled or At-Risk designations are carried over from FY24 because they have not yet abated violations—or, in the case of Troubled Properties, have not yet submitted corrective action plans or provided required maintenance reports.   

DHCA’s Code Enforcement Section reported improved compliance efforts by landlords following several years of increased enforcement efforts and implementation of the County’s rent stabilization law, which limits rent increases for properties designated as Troubled or At-Risk. DHCA inspectors report that property owners are fixing violations more quickly to avoid this restriction in the rent stabilization law. The increased compliance efforts are also being augmented by the passage of Bill 6-25 in April, which strengthened consumer protections for tenants and removed exemptions for rental housing from Chapter 11 of the Montgomery County Consumer Protection Code. 

“There is nothing more important than the health and safety of Montgomery County residents, which is why we’ve stepped up our efforts to crack down on housing code violations,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “The County passed the Troubled Properties law in 2016 to focus attention on pervasive rental housing problems, and both the rent stabilization law and new tenant protections added more teeth to enforcement. This year’s decrease in the number of Troubled Properties reflects DHCA’s commitment to protecting the well-being of Montgomery County residents, and we will keep working to correct housing code violations across the County.” 

DHCA’s Code Enforcement Section inspects properties for potential violations based both on complaints submitted through the County’s customer service center, MC311, and on a regular mandated inspection schedule for all multifamily properties within its jurisdiction. Following the mandated inspections, DHCA calculates scores for each property based on the total number of violations and the severity of violations. It uses these scores to designate Troubled Properties, where 100% of units must be inspected every year, At-Risk properties, where at least 25% of units must be inspected at least every two years and Compliant properties, where 25% of units must be inspected every three years.  

“DHCA’s Code Enforcement team completed more than 15,000 mandated inspections of multifamily rental units to identify and correct health and safety violations, including pests, mold, and inadequate fire or carbon monoxide alarms,” said DHCA Director Scott Bruton. “After noting any issues, DHCA prioritizes working directly with landlords to get violations resolved as quickly as possible and to ensure tenants can safely stay in their homes. We saw landlords step up their efforts after the rent stabilization law limited rent increases for properties designated as Troubled and At-Risk, and we’re glad this has resulted in faster fixes for tenants.” 

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Key findings from DHCA’s 2025 Troubled Properties Report include: 

• The total number of units in Troubled Properties decreased by 69%. Specifically, the changes from FY24 to FY25 include:
  • The total number of units on the Troubled Properties list declined from 7,269 in FY24 to 2,264 in FY25.
  • There are a total of 67 Troubled Properties in FY25, a decrease from 93 in FY24.
  • Of the Troubled Properties designated in FY24, 38 properties comprising 1,814 units remain designated as Troubled because they did not submit corrective action plans and/or maintenance reports or have not yet abated violations previously identified by DHCA inspectors.

• The total number of units in At-Risk Properties decreased by 57%. Specifically, the changes from FY24 to FY25 include:
  • The total number of units on the list declined from 6,375 in FY24 to 2,740 in FY25.
  • There are a total of 55 At-Risk Properties in FY25, a decrease from 76 in FY24.
  • Of the At-Risk Properties designated in FY24, 18 properties comprising 923 units remain designated as At-Risk because they have not yet abated violations previously identified by DHCA inspectors.

• The rate of housing code citations issued for failure to comply dropped by more than half. Although more Notices of Violation (NOVs) were issued compared to last year, properties were more likely to comply and fix violations:
  • Among all inspections in FY25 (both complaint-based and mandated), DHCA issued 2,059 Notices of Violation (NOVs) to 972 multifamily rental properties. A total of 69 multifamily rental properties failed to make the repairs required by these notices, resulting in 364 citations.
  • In comparison, in FY24, DHCA issued 1,767 NOVs, resulting in 754 citations for 90 multifamily rental properties that failed to comply.

• Property owners increased compliance efforts following passage of rent stabilization. Following the implementation of the Rent Stabilization law and its provisions limiting rent increases at rent stabilized properties that have a Troubled or At-Risk designation: 
  • Property owners and management have increased their efforts to obtain a Compliant rating by seeking assistance from contractors and specialists to assist with preparing for inspections, correcting violations identified during initial inspections and developing Corrective Action Plans and Tenant Work Request reports.
  • Properties designated as Troubled or At-Risk are resolving identified violations much sooner.

Read the full Troubled Properties Report for FY25. Additional information about DHCA’s Code Enforcement section and instructions for submitting MC311 service requests to address housing code concerns are available at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dhca-code.