Baltimore City Landlords

New MDE Lead Compliance Standards

1.) New Maryland Dust-Lead Level Standards

Effective July 1 new standards for lead inspections will become law in Maryland, Matching EPA standards. Please refer to the below chart for the new micrograms per square foot requirements. Stricter standards, mean safer rentals and less lead exposure. 

2.) Maryland Healthy Children Act and Modified Risk Reduction Changes

In 2019, Maryland passed the Maryland Healthy Children Act. The law lowered the blood lead level that defines elevated blood lead (“EBL”) from greater than or equal to 10 μg/dl, to greater than or equal to 5 μg/dl, matching the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's blood lead reference level. On July 1, 2020, the events that trigger the modified risk reduction (MRR) standard will change under this 2019 law. Please carefully read the information below.

Currently (prior to July 1, 2020), there are two notifying events that trigger the MRR standard:

1. A Notice of Defect notifying the owner of a pre-1978 rental unit ("Affected Property") about the chipping, peeling, or flaking paint (a “defect”) that exists inside and/or outside of the property.
2. A Notice of EBL notifying the owner of an Affected Property that a child under the age of 6 years old or a pregnant woman living in the property has been diagnosed with a blood lead level of greater than or equal to 10 μg/dl.

These events require the owner to meet the MRR standard, satisfied by performing certain lead hazard reduction treatments and obtaining a new MRR lead inspection certificate within 30 days of receiving a Notice of Defect or Notice of EBL.

Effective July 1, 2020, a Notice of EBL will no longer trigger the MRR standard. A Notice of Defect will serve as the sole trigger for the MRR standard. To explain further:

1. MDE or a local health department is required to perform environmental investigations for a child under the age of 6 years old or pregnant woman diagnosed with a blood lead level of greater than or equal to 5 μg/dl. If during the aforementioned environmental investigation, chipping, peeling, or flaking paint is observed by the inspector and the home is an Affected Property, a Notice of Defect will be issued by MDE or the local health department.
2. Absent a diagnosis of EBL or an environmental investigation, a tenant or any other source may still issue a Notice of Defect to the owner of an Affected Property if chipping, peeling, or flaking paint exists inside and/or outside of the property.

In both cases, the rental owner will be required to meet the MRR standard within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Defect.

Court Updates

A “limited lead-free” inspection certificate is a certificate in which only the interior surfaces of an Affected Property are lead-free, but the exterior painted surfaces of the Affected Property are not lead-free. In order to pass an inspection for a limited lead-free certificate, all exterior paint of the Affected Property must be intact. A limited lead-free inspection certificate has a two-year expiration date. Every two years, owners must recertify that the Affected Property is free of chipping, peeling, or flaking paint. If the limited lead-free inspection certificate expires and is not timely recertified by the owner, the owner must obtain a new limited lead-free inspection certificate for the Affected Property and pay MDE another $10 lead processing fee per property/unit.
Read the Law: Md. Code Ann., Environment § 6-804 and § 6-843; Code of Maryland Regulation 26.16.02

Changes to the Baltimore City Inspection Process

The time has come... the City of Baltimore recently passed legislation that requires all residential rental properties to be inspected by a State Licensed Home Inspector.

PLEASE download the form because things have CHANGED! 

Download the checklist 

Owners must install 10 year sealed battery smoke detectors in each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in compliance with the year your property was built.
Carbon Monoxide Alarms must be located outside of sleeping area and near fuel-burning heating units (if applicable).

Download the file below to see the new inspection sheet that will be used by all inspectors.

More information can be found here

Contact Information for Baltimore City regarding the new information is below: 

Property Registration and Licensing Division
417 E. Fayette Street, Room 100

   410-396-3575

property_registration@baltimorecity.gov

Contact our office if you are looking for an inspector

Multi Family Properties

Any MFDs must get a third party inspector. 

Easy Ways to Process Your Water Bills

"What are my responsibilities as a rental property owner in Maryland regarding the lead poisoning program?"  

Concord has provided the following documents below for you to review and complete from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE):

Lead accredited inspectors are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to answer your questions and schedule your appointment. 

Call Abode today at 410-661-6962

Property Management

Concord strives to facilitate the management of properties with owners rather than dictate the process. 

Who decides on the amount of monthly rent?  

• You, the Property Owner.
• Concord can offer assistance by providing Owners with information on rental amounts in the area.

How much does all of this cost me?  

• All of Concord's services are provided for one, low, tax-deductible, monthly fee, which is generally 10% of the monthly rent. 

How do I get my money from Concord? 

• Concord will disburse rent payments to Owner, once the Tenant payment has cleared Concord's account.
• Concord can send payments to the Owner, or arrange for payments to be transferred to their personal bank if they are affiliated with PNC, M&T, Wells Fargo, Suntrust, SECU or Bank of America. 
• A monthly statement and maintenance log will be emailed to the Owner for record keeping purposes. 
• Concord may be able to set up ACH payments through your Banking institution

Tenant Placement Services

For those not interested in Property Management but seek help with tenant placement, Concord offers Tenant Placement Services. Concord is able to assist with the following:

Concord is BBB Accredited!

At Concord, we strive to obtain the trust and confidence of our clients.  Our client's satisfaction with the personalized attention and full range of services that we provide is our company's goal.

If you are one of our existing clients, we would be honored if you took the time to provide a testimonial to share on this web-site for others to review.  Please email us to submit your testimonial.  A referral from a client is the ultimate compliment for any business, and at Concord, we also work very hard to establish a close, professional relationship with the tenants of the properties we manage.  If you are one of our existing tenants or you have been one of our tenants in the past, we would appreciate your time to provide other prospective rental applicants with a testimonial about our company's service and management style. 

"I must say I was pleasantly surprised to receive rent last week as I was braced for the worst because of this COVID-19 mess. Thank you so much for your continued service and help with my property. It means a lot! I hope you and yours are safe and healthy!"

-Brad

A new client with Concord that we just leased their property shared: "That is fantastic, we really appreciate the effort that was put into finding a tenant."

-Chuck

"Thanks again for everything. You've been awesome and I truly mean that. This whole house rental thing was not a apart of my plan, but you made it palatable. Wish I was there to convey this in person. You run a tight ship and y'all are an excellent property management group."

- Shawn 

"Thank you very much. I'm glad to see the extra renovations were worth doing. You do a great job if we've never told you that before. Thanks again."

- Jamie

"Thanks Tonya for all the help!! You've been great to help me finding the tenant in such short time frame. I will definitely refer my friends to you and concord property. Thanks." 

- WiIbur 

"Gosh where do I begin- Concord Property Management saved us a lot of money and "stress" by doing what they do so well. From the first day, Tonya and her staff had been more than helpful to educate us with our many questions about our new experience in using a management company. It's the best thing we ever did, was hire Concord. Our monthly statements and deposits were always on time and without errors. I feel she is fair with both  parties involved, and did a great job screening our tenant. You truly did make our lives less STRESSFUL! We would be more than happy to let Concord handle all our affairs again, should the need arise again. Thank you again."

- Joe & Cheryl Wrightson

"To Whom It May Concern:  Concord Property Management has been handling my home as a rental property for 4 years.  During that time, I have had not one complaint or misgiving regarding their business decisions.  The company is above board on all aspects.  They take great pride in their work, respond promptly to any situation that needs attention, and treat both the renter and owner with highest regard and respect.  I would recommend them most highly- I am very, very pleased with this company.  I can't imagine having to do this on my own!"

- Kathy Farrell Mary (Kathy) Farrell, Administrative Secretary

School Improvement, Instruction, and Administration/Title 1

"Concord Properties has been managing my two units for over two years.  They have always conducted themselves with the highest level of professionalism and integrity.  There have been a few challenging situations that have come up during this past year in which Concord has gone above and beyond expectations to resolve.  I highly recommend their services."

- Charlie Belt

"As a first time landlord I had a lot of anxiety over getting my property ready to be converted into a rental.The abundance of paperwork for registering the Rental Property, meeting MDE Lead Certification Regulations, and finding, screening good tenants to occupy the property was daunting for someone that works a full time job.  I stumbled upon Concord Property Management in search for someone to help with the Lead Certification and what I actually found was a full service property manager that would coordinate all of the necessary paperwork, help get the property in shape for a lead inspection, perform the Lead Inspection and get the property good tenants. Over the last 2 years I have not had to do any maintenance or work associated with the property.  The Concord team has handled everything from fixing windows, painting, fixing doors and coordination with tenants.  Every month I receive the rent check, which is deposited directly into my account (talk about convenience) and a monthly Revenue/Expense statement.  At the end of the year Concord also issues out 1099s for tax purposes, making my life a whole lot easier.  Thank you to Tonya and the Concord team!"

- Jon Kraft/ Bowman Consulting

"My current experience using Concord as a property management company has been excellent. They are prompt in response to my needs and the needs of my renters. They also handle difficult situations in a very professional manner.  As a rental property owner I would recommend them to everyone."

- Sonya Smith-Valentine

"I have been working with Concord management for about five years and they continue to impress me just as if they were beginning a new customer! They are extremely reliable and knowledgeable.  I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a management company."

- Dominic Cicero

"I am very impressed with the service I receive from Concord Property Management Service.  Anytime there is a problem with any of my properties, Mrs. Lurz takes care of it asap. Mr. Lurz does all the maintenance on my properties at a fair price.  He does an outstanding job on any work that needs to be done.  I will continue to use their services and I would encourage anyone who has rental properties and doesn't want the hassle to use their services."

- Velma Ames

"Concord has been my Management Company for the past 3 years  They have done an excellent job managing my properties.  They have always been honest with me. I have three properties with them and they have done a great job on all of them."

- Khalil Singh

"Concord Property Management has been handling our rental townhouse in Baltimore County for over 5 years. They handle all aspects of the rental including, at our request, any routine maintenance of the property We always receive the rent on time, along with a detailed spread sheet showing any expenditures for the month. If there are any major repairs that are needed we receive a call or e-mail with the explanation. Tonya and her husband Joel are first class and extremely professional. Our only regret is that we don’t have other rental properties for them to manage. We very highly recommend Tonya and Joel to handle any property management."

- Brian & Cherie Spector Easton, MD