What a maintenance bond is
A maintenance bond, also called a warranty bond, guarantees your finished work is free of defects in materials and workmanship for a set period, often one or two years. Sometimes it's built into the performance bond; sometimes the owner wants it separately.
In Maryland
No Maryland statute requires a maintenance bond statewide. Counties set them for public infrastructure they take over; for example, Washington County requires a maintenance bond that covers repair of damage from faulty materials or workmanship after it conditionally accepts subdivision infrastructure. On other jobs the contract sets it.
- State construction contracts require performance and payment security under Md. Code, State Fin. & Proc. § 17-103; no maintenance bond requirement was found there.
You need this bond if you're
- A contractor finishing public works with a warranty period
- A site contractor handing improvements over to a city or county
- Paving, concrete, roofing and landscaping contractors
- A developer whose subdivision bond is being released
What the surety looks at
Your business, credit and the finished project. Often handled together with the performance bond.