Landlord-tenant complaints in Montgomery County climbed to 1,121 in 2025, the highest annual total in the county’s public case-tracking dataset, which begins in July 2008. Security deposit disputes remain the most common problem, and Silver Spring accounts for roughly four in 10 cases.
TANTV News analyzed the Housing Landlord-Tenant Disputes dataset published on the county’s open data portal. The dataset tracks complaints and how each case ended. The county says it is updated monthly, and the newest filing in it is dated Oct. 26.
A steady climb since 2021
Annual filings sat between roughly 600 and 870 for most of the dataset’s history. They fell to 610 in 2020, rose to 710 in 2021 and then increased every year: 840 in 2022, 1,021 in 2023, 1,090 in 2024 and 1,121 in 2025. That is 58 percent more than in 2021.
The dataset does not say why complaints increased. It records the complaint type and outcome, not the cause.
What tenants complain about
Security deposits are the leading complaint by a wide margin. They made up 237 of the 1,121 cases in 2025, or about 21 percent, and 4,253 of the 14,201 cases in the dataset since 2008. Early lease termination (87 cases in 2025), quit and vacate complaints (54) and rent payment history (52) follow. A large group of 2025 cases, 175, is labeled “Other-Miscellaneous.”
A category labeled “Admin Condemnation” has also grown, from 68 cases in 2024 to 92 in 2025.
Silver Spring is the center of the caseload. The city label covered 443 of the 2025 cases, followed by Germantown (127), Rockville (125), Bethesda (109) and Gaithersburg (73). The label reflects mailing addresses, so it includes unincorporated areas.
How cases end is also telling. Across all years, the most common recorded outcome is an acceptable explanation from the landlord (2,983 cases, about 21 percent), followed by service performed or corrected (1,611) and refunds of payments or deposits (1,424).
Rent increase complaints dropped
Complaints about rent increases moved in the opposite direction. They peaked at 77 in 2022 and 84 in 2023 and fell to 39 in 2024, 16 in 2025 and 11 so far in 2026.
That decline came after the county’s rent stabilization law took effect in October 2023 and set a cap on annual increases for older buildings. The cap was 5.7 percent for the year ending June 30 and is 5.2 percent starting July 1, the county has said. Tenants who believe a landlord broke the law can file with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ Office of Rent Stabilization, and the dataset may not capture complaints handled there. The county data does not show whether the law caused the drop.
What to know about 2026
Through Oct. 26, the dataset lists 758 cases for 2026, about 20 percent fewer than the 948 listed for the same period of 2025. Monthly counts have fallen since July. The most recent months may be incomplete if cases are added after they close, so the decline should be treated as preliminary.
Tenants can file complaints through the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs at the Department of Housing and Community Affairs or by calling MC311.
