In court-decided eviction outcomes for Silver Hill, MD, tenants prevail in roughly 40.3% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
160d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Silver Hill, MD until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 160 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$6.0-18.2k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Silver Hill, MD costs landlords $6,037 to $18,175 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,523
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Silver Hill, MD is $1,523 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 30% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
79.5%
of households
79.5% of occupied housing units in Silver Hill, MD are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
13.2%
4.0% unemp.
13.2% of Silver Hill, MD residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 4.0%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +75.1% (2024)
9.1
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
9.1
State political climate
Maryland legislature & governorship
5.7
Economic stress
13.2% poverty · 4.0% unemp.
6.0
Supply constraint
$1,523 average · 79.5% renters
9.2
Rent Control risk
30.1% of income on rent
7.0
Eviction process difficulty
160 days filing → judgment
5.9
Tenant organizing strength
79.5% renters
9.9
Housing court bias
County bench composition
6.6
Geographic context
Risk heat across Silver Hill and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Silver Hill compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Prince George's County
High
#16of 82 cities
#16 of 82 cities in Prince George's County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Maryland
Very High
#33of 532 cities
#33 of 532 cities in Maryland for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
8.3
/ 10 · HIGH
The verdict
A High-tier market.
Composite 8.3/10. High statutory friction with active tenant counsel, so assume defenses on every filing. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+6.5 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
160d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,523/mo. A contested eviction takes 160 days and costs $6,037-$18,175 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
79.5%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 5,193 residents, 79.5% rent. 30% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 13.2% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
9.1
Local + regional
The politics
Strong-tenant coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 9.1 and 9.1 (Dem margin +75.1% (2024)). State climate at 5.7, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
5.7
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 5.7/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 5.9, housing court bias 6.6, rent-control risk 7. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.9 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6. Supply constraint: 9.2. The numbers behind those: 13.2% poverty, 4.0% unemployment, 30% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Silver Hill sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Silver Hill · 160d · ~$12.1k all-in ($76/day) · score 8.3National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Silver Hill, Maryland, presents a high-friction environment where attorney involvement on every filing is the norm. The Eviction Risk Score is 8.3/10 (HIGH tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a High-friction landlord market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Silver Hill is a city of 5,193 residents where 79.5% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 30.1% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,523/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Silver Hill eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.9/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Silver Hill closes 160 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Silver Hill's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 6.6/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Silver Hill runs $6,037 to $18,175 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 160 days of typical timeline and $1,523/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 9.9/10 in Silver Hill, and the city carries meaningful rent control exposure (7/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Maryland, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Silver Hill: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a HIGH tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Maryland's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $18,175 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Silver Hill
Trap · 7/10
The 7.9/10 score weighs nine sub-factors including political climate, court bias, supply constraint, and tenant organizing strength. Silver Hill's rent-control-risk sub-score is 7/10, driven by demographic and political pressure for tenant relief.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in Silver Hill for any reason?
No, not exactly. For non-payment of rent, you follow the 10-day notice process. For other lease violations, you'd typically issue a notice to cure the violation. For a no-cause termination at the end of a lease term or for a month-to-month tenant, you generally need to provide a 60-day notice. Maryland does not have statewide "just-cause" eviction requirements, meaning you don't need a specific "reason" to not renew a lease, but you still need to follow proper notice periods.
Q2
How long does it really take to evict someone in Silver Hill?
On average, expect about 160 days from the moment rent is due to when the sheriff performs a lockout. This is an average, and it can be longer if there are appeals, delays in court scheduling, or if you make procedural errors that require you to restart the process. Don't plan for a quick resolution.
Q3
What's the biggest mistake landlords make during eviction here?
Accepting partial rent payments after serving an eviction notice is a huge mistake. It often "resets" the eviction process, requiring you to serve a new notice and start all over. Another common error is using incorrect notice forms or serving them improperly. Always follow the statute strictly.
Q4
Do I need a lawyer for an eviction in Silver Hill?
While you can represent yourself, it's highly recommended to hire an attorney for evictions in Silver Hill, especially given the high eviction risk score and housing court bias. The legal landscape is complex, and a small mistake can cost you months of delays and thousands of dollars. An attorney ensures proper procedure and gives you the best chance of success.
Q5
Can I change the locks if my tenant stops paying rent?
Absolutely not. This is an illegal "self-help" eviction and can result in significant penalties, including fines and potentially owing the tenant damages. You must follow the legal eviction process through the courts and obtain a Warrant of Restitution for the sheriff to execute.
A 8.3/10 places Silver Hill in the 98th percentile of Maryland cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Silver Hill (8.3/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
