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Lease glossary

Rent escrow

Rent escrow lets a tenant pay rent into a court or an escrow account, instead of to the landlord, while serious repair problems go unfixed. The money is released to the landlord once repairs are made, or used to pay for them, as the court decides.

Also called paying rent into court

Example

A tenant in Maryland has had no working heat since early December 2026, after giving the landlord written notice and a reasonable time to fix it. The tenant files a rent escrow case in District Court and pays the $1,400 monthly rent to the court. If the court finds the condition dangerous, it can hold the money until the heat is fixed, or release some of it to pay for the repair. The tenant must keep paying the full rent into court on time; missing a payment there can end the case.

In a lease it looks like…

Tenant shall pay rent to Landlord when due and may not withhold rent except as expressly permitted by law, including by paying rent into court in a rent escrow proceeding.

By state

Only some states and cities offer rent escrow, and the steps differ. Withholding rent outside the legal process can lead to an eviction for nonpayment, even when the repair complaint is real.

Your state’s landlord-tenant law

Plain English, not legal advice. Last reviewed September 29, 2026.