Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Re: Please help!!!

Maryland landlord-tenant law requires the landlord to do a number of things when a tenant moves out in order to have a right to retain the security deposit. First of all, the landlord, at the time the lease is signed and it receives the security deposit, must notify you in writing of your rights upon moving out at the end of the lease. The notice says that if you send the landlord a letter requesting a list of any damages they propose to charge you for within 15 days after your occupancy ends, they must provide you with such a list. If your 15 day notice letter was sent by certified mail and also requested the right to be present at the inspection and provided your new addrress, the landlord must notify you of the inspection date and give you an opportunity to attend. If they fail to comply with these requirements, you can sue them for an amount equal to three times your deposit plus attorney fees. It sounds like you may not have sent them the proper notices, so the questions is whether they made you aware of these requirements when you signed the lease and you failed to comply or whether you weren't notified. Usually if it's a commercial landlord the notices are printed right into the lease.

As for the collection suit in MD, if you were served properly (certified mail or process server) with the complaint and don't appear to defend yourself a judgment will automatically be entered against you in MD and can then be sent to an attorney in MI for enforcement. That means a "foreign judgment" will be entered in MI and thereafter collection efforts can begin, consisting of bank account or wage attachment.

If by any chance you still have the lease, check to see if it contains the notice provisions, since I assume you didn't request in writing to be present at an inspection or to be sent a list of damages after you moved out.