A new report from the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) shows that fewer rental properties in the county are being flagged for poor conditions this fiscal year compared to previous years.
Properties in Silver Spring and Takoma Park continue to account for most of the properties on the poor conditions list.
The report found a 78% decline in the number of units on the county’s Troubled Properties list. There was a 69% decline in the number of units on its At-Risk Properties list from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2026.
County Executive Marc Elrich credited the improvement to the county’s Troubled Properties law, passed in late 2016 after the Flower Branch Apartments explosion in Silver Spring gave the long-stalled bill the momentum to pass. The blast killed seven people and displaced about 70 others.
“We’ve continued to strengthen those protections through rent stabilization, increased inspections and stronger enforcement tools,” Elrich said in a press release. “We still have work to do, but thousands fewer rental units are now on our Troubled and At-Risk lists than there were two years ago, and that is real progress.”
There were 37 Troubled Properties in FY26, down from 67 in FY25 and 93 in FY24. Of those, 21 properties, comprising 1,478 units, remain designated as Troubled because owners did not submit corrective action plans or maintenance reports.
The number of At-Risk units fell to 1,955 in FY26, down from 2,740 in FY25 and 6,375 in FY24. There were 35 At-Risk properties this year, 22 of which were newly designated.
Silver Spring and Takoma Park are among the cities that appear most often on the List of Troubled Properties Identified During FY26. MCM requested comment from District 4 Councilmember Kate Stewart, and as of the close of this story, she had not responded.
DHCA Director Scott Bruton, Ph.D. said Code Enforcement completed more than 13,000 mandated inspections in FY26.
“Our priority is ensuring that all tenants in the county have a safe place to call home,” Bruton said.
The report attributes the improvement to two measures taken, the county’s rent stabilization law, which limits rent increases for Troubled and At-Risk properties and Bill 6-25. Passed in April 2025, Bill 6-25 strengthened consumer protections for tenants and removed exemptions for rental housing from Chapter 11 of the Montgomery County Consumer Protection Code.
Beginning May 1, 2026, DHCA also began charging reinspection fees for multifamily properties after a second reinspection, giving owners added incentive to fix violations quickly.
DHCA issued 2,354 notices of violation to 442 multifamily properties this year, up slightly from 2,059 notices to 364 properties in FY25.
The full Troubled Properties Report for FY26 is available through DHCA. Residents can submit housing code concerns through MC311.
