 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Last Page Edit 12/17/07
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Introduction
Landlord-tenant relations are governed mainly by state statutes and case law. However, depending on the specific problem you are trying to research, you may need to research Maryland state law, federal law, or both.
Maryland Statutes
In Maryland, the official source of the state statutes is the Annotated Code of Maryland. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the Annotated Code of Maryland in print. For your convenience, this guide provides links to Maryland's statutes in a free web database maintained by Lexis-Nexis. Keep in mind, however, that the print version may be more useful in your research because it provides summaries of and citations to cases that have interpreted each statute. The free web version does not give summaries of case law.
Citations to selected Maryland landloard-tenant law statutes (available online from Lexis-Nexis; click the "+" next to Maryland Code to see a list of titles):
For more information on researching Maryland statutes, see Finding Statutes and Searching for Maryland Statutes When You Don't Have a Citation.
Federal Statutes
The official source of the federal statutes is the United States Code. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the United States Code in print. Many of the same libraries also carry one of the unofficial versions, the United States Code Annotated and the United States Code Service. It is a good idea to do your federal statute research in one of these unofficial print versions of the Code, because they are both more up-to-date than the official Code, and because they include summaries of cases that interpret each statute. Because there is no up-to-date free version of the United States Code on the web, we will not link to it here. However, below are some important federal statutes that you might want to look up in print:
Federal Regulations
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigates complaints against landlords in federal housing, and complaints of discrimination in private housing rentals. The Department's regulations are published officially in Title 24 of CFR (the Code of Federal Regulations), the print version of which is available in all Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (SAILOR). The Department's Fair Housing regulations are also available electronically on the GPO Access home page. For more information on researching federal administrative regulations, see Finding Regulations and Finding Federal Regulations When You Don't Have a CFR Citation. Forms
Resources for Additional Help The resources below may help you to understand landlord-tenant law. Keep in mind, however, that books that explain the law are no substitute for the law itself. You should always verify what the authors of these books say about the law by looking up the statutes, cases, and regulations the books cite. Some of these books may also include sample forms.
Cases There are several ways to begin research into landlord-tenant case law. One way is to find the statutes that apply to your situation in the Annotated Code of Maryland. You can find additional cases by reading books that explain the law and noting the cases they cite. Another method of finding cases is to search the Maryland Digest, which is a subject index to Maryland case law. The Digest arranges summaries of published cases by legal issue using something called the "topic and key number" system. Once you know the topic and key number combination that represents your issue, look up that topic and key number in the Digest and you should find a list of summaries of cases that discuss your issue. Each summary includes a citation to the full text of a case. For more information on researching Maryland case law, see Finding Maryland Case Law, Finding Federal Case Law, and Finding Case Law by Subject.Source: This section developed by Sara Kelley, Librarian, Georgetown University Law Library, in partnership with the Maryland Legal Assistance Network. Last Review Date 10/04 (MLAN/AC)
|
