Unruly Social Gatherings & Noise ordinances

Unruly Social Gatherings Ordinance

The purpose of the Unruly Social Gatherings Ordinance is to improve the quality of life and safety for residents; it does not prohibit gatherings. The Ordinance makes it a Municipal Infraction (civil citation) when certain conditions exist at a gathering of eight or more people. For more information about the Unruly Social Gatherings Ordinance, including details of the Ordinance as well as fine and citation information can be found here.

City Noise Ordinace

The City’s Noise Ordinance is 24/7. The City and County have laws to protect the quiet atmosphere of our residential neighborhoods. The ighttime noise limit is 55 decibels from 7:00 a.m. (previously) to 8:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays. For more information about the City’s Noise Ordinance as well as how to report a violation, please click here.

Talk to your Landlord about Fire Safety

It is important that students living off-campus understand fire risks and know the preventative measures that could save their lives.

Some questions you can ask your current or potential landlord about fire safety:
Does every room have a smoke alarm?
What is the power supply to the detector? (hardwire | battery | both)?
Who provides the battery replacements?
Does the off-campus housing have sprinklers and fire extinguishers?
Is there an escape plan in place?
Is there a designated meeting place outside your building?
Can the exit doors be opened from the inside - without a key?

Be Choosy Where you Live
Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems save lives. When it comes time to look for housing, don’t choose just ANY place. Check out a number of locations to make sure the room or apartment you want has WORKING smoke detectors installed. If you’re looking on-campus, be sure your building has a fire sprinkler system.

On and Off Campus Fire Safety Tips

Kitchen Fire Safety
If a fire starts in your stove, toaster oven or microwave, keep the door closed and unplug the unit until the fire burns out. Do NOT use water on a grease fire – it only makes the fire worse and hot oil can splatter and burn you. If you’re sleepy or drowsy, don’t cook a meal that requires turning on appliances.

Get out of the building when a Fire Alarm goes off
Fire doubles in volume every 30-60 seconds. In just a couple of minutes, an entire room or multiple rooms can be engulfed in flames and smoke. When the fire alarm sounds, get out of the building - FAST and NEVER, no matter what, delay or go back inside the building to get your “things”. Ask yourself, is a cell phone or computer more important than your life? No way. You can always buy a new cell phone; but you can’t buy your life back.

Use Flameless Candles
Candles are one of the leading causes of fire in campus housing. Because of this, most colleges and universities won’t allow them in dorms. If you want to use candles off-campus try flameless candles. They’re cheap, scented and come in a million shapes and colors.

Don't cover Lamps with Scarves
Covering lamps with a scarf might look nice and create a great atmosphere in your room, but it’s also a huge fire problem. Keep all materials that can catch fire away from your lamps.

Turn off Appliances
When you leave a room or apartment, ALWAYS turn off the stove, iron, curling irons and other appliances. Leaving these things “on” causes the appliance to overheat and spark a fire. Taking a couple seconds to hit the “off” switch will help keep your apartment and dorm room free of fire, and save your life and the life of your friends.

University of Maryland Code of Student Conduct

The University of Maryland’s Code of Student Conduct includes misconduct that occurs off-campus. To read the Code of Student Conduct, including what misconduct could be referred to the Office of Student Conduct, please click here.

Students found responsible for off-campus misconduct are subject to the same consequences and penalties as misconduct that occurs on campus including dismissal from the University.

What to do if you witness student misconduct:

To report an incident to the University:

Call the police (9-1-1).

Call the City’s Code Enforcement to report noise complaints.

It is not advised to confront misconduct and possibly risk your own safety – contact the police or City Code Enforcement instead.

Any person may report an incident to the Office of Student Conduct at the University!

To report an incident to the Office of Student Conduct please go to www.osc.umd.edu and click on the report form. When filing a report to the Office of Student Conduct please summarize the incident and write out the facts of the incident and be as specific as possible.

Rental Property Listings

Tenants rights & Responsibilities