How long is squatters' rights in Maryland?

Twenty years, under section 5-103 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, with no shorter route in the statute. What Maryland changed in 2025 is how quickly an owner can get a hearing against someone with no right to be there.

If someone is living in your home now, the clock matters far less than getting them out lawfully, and that is where we can help.

Someone in your home? Get them out Start with one building

Statutory period: 20 years
What's different here: plus a hearing within 10 business days on a wrongful detainer complaint since 2025
Statute: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-103; Real Prop. § 14-132

Someone living in your home in Maryland? Dardaris helps you get them out.

Changing the locks or cutting the power turns the law against you. We hand it to people who remove squatters lawfully, for a living.

If they are moving in right now, call the police first. Once they have settled in, it takes a formal process, and that is where we come in.

Your contact at Dardaris

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Dardaris is not a law firm and removes nobody itself. If you hire the specialist we introduce, they pay us a referral fee, and you deal with them under their own terms. We pass your details on only once you agree.

Tell us what is happening, by email or on a call. Talking to us costs nothing.
We put you in touch with a removal specialist who works through the court and the sheriff, never around them.
Once the home is free, Dardaris manages the letting for you.

The ordinary Maryland period is 20 years. Section 5-103 says that within 20 years from the date the cause of action accrues, a person must file an action for recovery of possession of a freehold or leasehold estate in land, or enter on the land. An occupant who has held the property for that long in the usual adverse way, hostile, actual, open, exclusive and continuous, can rely on the bar. The section names no shorter route for a defective deed or for paid taxes, so a squatter with no paperwork faces the same 20 years.

The recent change is about speed, not ownership. Senate Bill 46 (2025), Chapter 188, in force since October 1, 2025, reworked the wrongful detainer action in Real Property § 14-132. A person claiming possession files a written complaint in the District Court of the county, the court summons the person in possession to show cause why possession should not be restored, the hearing must be held not more than 10 business days after the complaint is filed, and service must be completed within 4 business days. The section does not apply where the occupant has court-ordered possession or another remedy, such as a Title 8 landlord and tenant remedy, governs.

A second law targets the fake lease. Senate Bill 82 (2026), Chapter 550, amends section 8-601 of the Criminal Law Article and takes effect October 1, 2026. It makes counterfeiting a lease of real property a felony, which matters because a forged lease was often what an unlawful occupant handed police to stall them.

Where Maryland sits against the rest of the United States, in years

Of 50 places in the United States on these pages, 39 have a shorter clock and 3 a longer one or none at all.

Sources checked

From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible

The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.

Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
After 20 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.

Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.

Letting a home in Maryland? Start from a free leaseFill in a Maryland residential lease with the deposit, late fee, entry and notice rules Maryland law sets, then download it as PDF or Word. No account needed.Write the Maryland lease

The record a court asks for, kept as you go

Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.

Start with one building

Every lease, with who signed it and when
Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
Every document, filed against the building it concerns

Frequently asked questions

What are the squatting laws in Maryland?

Adverse possession runs 20 years under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-103, with no shorter route in the section. What sets Maryland apart is the expedited wrongful detainer action in Real Property § 14-132 (Senate Bill 46, 2025), with a hearing within 10 business days of the complaint. Squatting is trespassing, and a settled squatter is removed through the courts, never by changing locks or cutting utilities.

How long is squatters' rights in Maryland?

Twenty years of continuous, hostile, open and exclusive possession. Section 5-103 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article requires an action to recover possession, or an entry on the land, within 20 years from when the cause of action accrues.

What applies to an ordinary squatter with no deed in Maryland?

The 20 years. Section 5-103 gives one period and names no shorter route for a defective deed or paid taxes, so a squatter with no paperwork has to reach the full 20 years.

What is the recent Maryland squatter law?

Senate Bill 46 (2025), Chapter 188, in force October 1, 2025, changed the wrongful detainer action in Real Property § 14-132: the hearing must be held within 10 business days after the complaint is filed and service completed within 4 business days. Senate Bill 82 (2026), Chapter 550, effective October 1, 2026, adds a felony for counterfeiting a lease of real property under Criminal Law § 8-601.

Can I remove a squatter in Maryland without a court order?

No. Once someone has settled in, changing the locks, removing belongings or shutting off utilities is unlawful self-help. File a written wrongful detainer complaint in the District Court under § 14-132 and expect a hearing within 10 business days. Call the police while someone is still moving in, before they have settled.

Can someone help me get squatters out of my home in Maryland?

Yes. Removal specialists do it through the court and the sheriff. Changing the locks or cutting the power would put you in the wrong. Dardaris can put you in touch with one, and once the home is free, manage the letting for you.

Elsewhere in the United States

The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.

This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.