Short-term rentals at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland

Deep Creek Lake is Maryland's mountain getaway: the state's largest freshwater lake, in Garrett County at the far western tip of the state, within a few hours' drive of Washington, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Summer means boats, docks and lake-access houses; winter brings skiers and snowboarders to Wisp Resort; autumn color fills the weekends in between. The typical rental is a large family house or cabin with a hot tub, a game room and enough bedrooms for two or three households traveling together.

A county license, not a city one

Most of the lake area is unincorporated, so Garrett County's rules are the ones that count. Under an ordinance dating from 2006, a house rented for periods of 14 days or less needs a Transient Vacation Rental Unit (TVRU) license. The conditions are concrete: no more than eight bedrooms, overnight occupancy capped at two persons per bedroom plus four, a proper egress window in every bedroom, adequate parking, and bear-proof trash containers sized to the number of bedrooms. Renewal is billed every two years, and an application not approved within a year expires.

Taxes

Once licensed, you report the county's 8% accommodations tax monthly, alongside Maryland sales tax. Platforms already collect the state tax. County lodging tax has historically been the owner's job; Annapolis has been moving to shift local lodging tax collection onto platforms, with a July 1, 2027 start date announced, so confirm each year who collects what.

What to check before buying

• The legal bedroom count and septic capacity: occupancy follows permitted bedrooms, not sofa beds.
• Lake access: "lakefront", "lake access" and "community dock" are very different promises, and use of the state-owned shoreline buffer requires permits.
• Winter driving: steep driveways and snow removal shape reviews from December to March.
• Covenants in newer subdivisions, which can be stricter than the county.

Our advice

Treat the TVRU license as the foundation of the business plan: size the house to the occupancy the county will actually allow, invest in the bear-proof trash setup and a clear house manual on noise and parking, and price the summer and ski seasons separately. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.