Read on Twitter
As of January 1, 2019, ALL rental properties in Baltimore City had to be inspected & licensed; there was nearly a year’s notice to landlords leading up to that. Yet, every day in rent court, dozens of landlords remain unlicensed. https://twitter.com/CarolSOtt/status/1169352196967849985
Many landlords insist their inspections = licensure, which is like saying knowing how to drive means you have a license. There are several conditions landlords must meet; if they have open violations, for ex., they either can’t get a license or an existing license can be revoked.
An thing about Baltimore City rent court is that, unlike other jurisdictions, landlords don’t have to show licenses to file failure to pay rent complaints. If your landlord sues you, show up to court. If you suspect the place you live is unlicensed, that’s a chance to raise it.
“I want to see if where I live is licensed,” you say? Check out your address here (leave out “street”, “ave”, “blvd”, etc.; larger complexes may be listed by block); if it doesn’t have a license print date & this year as the valid year, it’s not licensed. http://cels.baltimorehousing.org/reg/Reg_MFD_Search.aspx
In order to confirm, especially if a property shows as licensed but has open violations (the site doesn’t show when a license has been revoked), you can also go to Ste. 100 of the Benton Building, right next to the court where rent court happens, & request a license cert.
Honestly I fucking love explaining regulations & processes & paperwork, a communist through & through.
Fwiw if you ever want to date me, taking me home is the easiest way to kill the normal horny vibe & kick me into full-on horny bureaucrat mode while I ask when the last time you sent a certified letter to your landlord regarding your leaking ceiling was 
*Me, sexting* Have you ever wanted to try...instigating a rent strike?
Ugh I’m literally going to end up married to a copy of Robert's Rules of Order
