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Summary
HB1077, titled the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act, would regulate how landlords may use criminal history information when screening applicants for residential leases. The bill generally prohibits landlords from asking about, requiring disclosure of, or considering a prospective tenant’s criminal history before making a conditional offer, with limited exceptions for certain federally required inquiries. After a conditional offer is made, landlords may consider only a narrow set of serious convictions, and even then only after an individualized assessment that accounts for factors such as the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, the applicant’s age at the time, and evidence of rehabilitation or mitigating circumstances.
The bill also requires landlords to give written notices about criminal-history screening, prohibits housing advertisements and application materials that exclude people with criminal records in ways inconsistent with the bill, and limits how criminal history information may be shared or used. It directs the Attorney General to publish a model notice, collect complaint data, and report annually on substantiated complaints and civil penalties. Violations are treated as unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and may result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.
Impact
HB1077 would add a new subtitle to the Real Property Article governing discriminatory use of criminal history in residential leasing and would amend the Commercial Law Article to make violations of the new subtitle a consumer protection offense. It would also modify the reusable tenant screening report provisions to account for the new criminal-history screening rules, including limiting the lookback period for criminal history checks in that context from seven years to three years subject to the new subtitle. The bill would create new landlord notice, assessment, record-sharing, and advertising requirements, while giving the Attorney General enforcement authority and rulemaking responsibilities.
Sentiment
The bill text reflects a strong pro-housing-access and anti-discrimination policy approach, aiming to reduce barriers for people with criminal records seeking housing. Although no committee transcript or vote record is provided, the structure of the bill suggests support for fair-chance housing principles and a preference for individualized review over categorical exclusion. The absence of recorded votes or hearing testimony means there is no documented public sentiment in the provided materials beyond the bill’s own policy design.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the balance between fair-chance housing and landlord discretion/safety concerns. Landlords may object to limits on pre-application screening, the narrow list of convictions that can be considered, the individualized assessment requirement, and the prohibition on using broad criminal-history exclusions in advertisements or applications. Tenant advocates would likely support these provisions as reducing housing discrimination and improving reentry opportunities for people with criminal records. The bill’s enforcement mechanism, data collection requirements, and civil penalties may also be debated as potentially burdensome for landlords and administratively significant for the Attorney General.