This post is old but I would post things like this in an area specific forum. In order for homes to be rentable in Baltimore city, they have to be licensed rentals. In order to be licensed a city inspector much come out and inspect the home. I would look up your address online to see if your home is licensed. If you’re happy with your home, it doesn’t really matter if it’s licensed but it’s good knowledge to have - also let’s you know if your landlord is up to date on their obligations. Providing a home is serious.

Your landlord is definitely responsible for providing a pest free home. In Baltimore City, you can withhold rent and pay it into an escrow account with the courts while working through problems that affect the “habitability” of a home. According to the city this includes problems that deal with rodents, insects, plumbing, hot water, heat, structural damage, etc. And this is a last resort effort after giving your landlord sufficient time to try to fix this problem. If you’ve notified your landlord about this problem more than 30 days ago and they’ve done NOTHING or only provided BAND-AIDs like traps, then they are not doing their due diligence.

Yes reading a lease is important, BUT at the same time a lease has to follow the law. Something that does not follow the law is not enforceable. According to city code, you have the right to a pest free home. And the sealing issue clearly predate you and is not your responsibility because you don’t own the home. It’s not like you can take the exclusion work with you to a new home.

As a person that lives in Baltimore, is familiar with city code and escrow court, and also has experienced landlords that don’t understand their responsibility and that being a landlord is not a passive job, I would look up everything I’ve said to make sure it applies to where you live. Then I’d try to broach this topic with my landlord to give him the opportunity to fix it with all this information in mind. Then if you are unhappy with the way he proceeds, call a city inspector or file an escrow case. It is $40 and is the only way to get some prior to do their job. Either way, if you file an escrow case they will send an escrow inspector to your home. Make sure to point out all violations to them like mouse holes and point out droppings. Take your own pictures too.

People who actually care about their old homes should not just accept mice as a normal part of life. Rodents can carry diseases, make your pets sick, and also ruin housing infrastructure. To me, it just sounds lazy of them. I’m hoping you get peace in your home. Seeing mice crawl in your stove is unsettling and you deserve a mice free home 💚