diff --git a/src/Controls/src/Build.Tasks/nuget/buildTransitive/netstandard2.0/Microsoft.Maui.Controls.targets b/src/Controls/src/Build.Tasks/nuget/buildTransitive/netstandard2.0/Microsoft.Maui.Controls.targets
index 22d79df04b92..43830be2d9aa 100644
--- a/src/Controls/src/Build.Tasks/nuget/buildTransitive/netstandard2.0/Microsoft.Maui.Controls.targets
+++ b/src/Controls/src/Build.Tasks/nuget/buildTransitive/netstandard2.0/Microsoft.Maui.Controls.targets
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@
     <_MauiXamlInflator Condition="' $(MauiXamlInflator)' != '' ">$(MauiXamlInflator)</_MauiXamlInflator>
     <_MauiXamlInflator Condition=" '$(MauiXamlInflator)' == '' ">SourceGen</_MauiXamlInflator>
 
+    <!-- XAML Hot Reload mode for IDE communication (Legacy or SourceGen) -->
+    <MauiXamlHotReload Condition="'$(MauiXamlHotReload)' == ''">Legacy</MauiXamlHotReload>
+
     <EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics Condition=" '$(EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics)' == '' ">$(EnableMauiDiagnostics)</EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics>
     <EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics Condition=" '$(EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics)' == '' And '$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' ">$(EnableDiagnostics)</EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics>
     <EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics Condition=" '$(EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics)' == '' And '$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' ">true</EnableMauiXamlDiagnostics>
@@ -73,6 +76,23 @@
 			Condition="'$(_MauiTargetsImportedAgain)' == 'True'" />
 	</Target>
 
+	<!-- Validate MauiXamlHotReload values (case-insensitive) -->
+	<Target Name="_ValidateMauiXamlHotReload" BeforeTargets="_CheckForInvalidConfigurationAndPlatform">
+		<PropertyGroup>
+			<_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper>$([System.String]::Copy('$(MauiXamlHotReload)').Trim().ToUpperInvariant())</_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper>
+		</PropertyGroup>
+
+		<Warning
+			Code="MAUI1002"
+			Text="MauiXamlHotReload is set to 'SourceGen'. Source generator-based XAML Hot Reload is experimental and not yet fully implemented. Use at your own risk."
+			Condition="'$(_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper)' == 'SOURCEGEN'" />
+
+		<Warning
+			Code="MAUI1003"
+			Text="MauiXamlHotReload is set to an unrecognized value '$(MauiXamlHotReload)'. Supported values are 'Legacy' and 'SourceGen'."
+			Condition="'$(_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper)' != '' and '$(_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper)' != 'SOURCEGEN' and '$(_MauiXamlHotReloadUpper)' != 'LEGACY'" />
+	</Target>
+
 	<Target Name="_ValidateMSBuild" BeforeTargets="_CheckForInvalidConfigurationAndPlatform">
 		<Error Code="XF003"
 			Text="Microsoft.Maui requires msbuild. xbuild is no longer supported."