Anne Arundel County’s new eviction ordinance kicked in on July 1, 2026, and it is already rattling nerves among renters and housing advocates. The law changes how landlords must notify tenants and deal with belongings after a sheriff-led repossession, boosting advance notice and outlawing the old practice of dumping possessions on the curb. At the same time, it creates a tight post-eviction window when anything left inside can be treated as abandoned, a mix critics say quietly clears the way for people to lose nearly everything before they have a real shot at getting it back.
According to Anne Arundel County, Bill No. 101-25 adds a new Title 13 that requires landlords to give tenants written notice at least 14 days before the sheriff’s scheduled repossession and spells out how personal property must be stored or disposed of. The county text refers to a reclamation and right-of-access provision. At the same time, the judiciary’s revised warrant forms for Anne Arundel, which became mandatory on July 1, state that “24 hours after the execution of the eviction… the landlord may remove or dispose of any abandoned personal property” without giving any additional notice, according to Maryland Courts.
Why renters and advocates are alarmed
Community legal advocates say that pairing a longer warning period with almost no post-eviction protection still leaves tenants with virtually no realistic chance to reclaim what is left behind. “It is a taking. It is a government taking of a personal property interest without due process of law,” Lisa Sarro of Community Legal Services told The Daily Record. Supporters, including County Council members, contend that ending sidewalk pileups restores a measure of dignity and improves public safety, but critics argue the real constitutional problem is untouched if renters cannot meaningfully retrieve their belongings once the locks are changed.
Federal precedent in the background
Hovering over the new policy is a 2024 Fourth Circuit opinion that struck down Baltimore’s so-called abandonment ordinance. The court ruled that Baltimore’s approach deprived tenants of their property without adequate notice and upheld an award of roughly $186,000 in damages to a tenant whose belongings were lost after an eviction. The published opinion can be read in the Fourth Circuit decision available on Justia.
Legal challenges could follow
The litigation trend on similar rules is already underway. In June, Maryland Legal Aid filed suit against Baltimore County over an ordinance that declares tenants’ property abandoned at the moment of eviction, arguing that the measure violates due process and seeking relief for a client who lost essential belongings, according to The Daily Record. Tenant advocates say Anne Arundel’s combination of a longer notice requirement with sharply limited practical reclamation rights is likely to invite its own court challenges.
What renters should know
The Maryland Courts’ public notice and updated warrant forms for Anne Arundel are already online, and tenants facing repossession are being urged to get legal help as early as possible. The new forms and guidance are posted at Maryland Courts, and the Anne Arundel housing commission lists eviction-prevention programs and legal referral options for local renters.
County officials framed the ordinance as a compromise meant to end the public spectacle of curbside possessions. Tenant advocates counter that, without a clear and enforceable window for reclaiming property, the measure leaves serious constitutional questions unresolved and sets the stage for another round of litigation. County leaders say they will watch how the law plays out on the ground, while renters’ groups plan to keep pressing in Annapolis for statewide protections that guarantee tenants a genuine chance to be heard before their belongings are treated as gone for good.
