How to convert SFH to MFH in Baltimore County

[Heather Canoles]

Is it possible to legally convert a SFH to a MFH (i.e. legal basement apartment) in Baltimore County, MD?

A few months ago, I had a very frustrating search for a duplex to buy, but every time I called the county to verify a listing's legality, I got bad news. I then asked if it was even possible to have a duplex/MFH in Baltimore County. The answer was "it's hard".

So now I am just trying to find the laws/codes I would need to follow to legally convert a basement into an apartment. Does anyone know where I can find this? I feel like I've googled to no end, but maybe I'm missing something. I've tried reading through the zoning regulations, but it doesn't tell me how to make a legal MFH. It just says that that it is legal in some areas

I hope someone can help. Thanks. 

[Ken Wang]

Hi Heather, I am not sure if my situation is similar to yours. I am in Howard county, MD (so maybe different than Baltimore county). I live in SFH and plan to rent out my basement. From my research and talking to county inspector, it is true that it's difficult to convert basement to an apartment if you want to add additional meter..etc. However, it's not too difficult to apply rental license just to rent per room (basement), if you don't add additional gas line, and find a good way to cover/share the utility with tenant. You need to have 2 egress exists to qualify a room. In my case, I have 2 exists in my basement, so county inspector pretty much just ask me to add smoke detector. I will apply the whole basement as a room for rental license next week. Hope it will go well.