Small Business Reserve Program - Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprises - Outreach
Summary
HB1177 would require the Maryland Attorney General to create a toll-free hotline for tenants to report complaints about repairs and maintenance in residential rental property. The hotline would have to accept anonymous complaints and cover housing owned by private landlords as well as federal, state, and local government-owned residential property. The bill is aimed at giving tenants a direct, centralized way to report habitability and maintenance problems.
After a complaint is received and reviewed, the Office of the Attorney General could refer tenants to the Maryland Legal Services Corporation or another legal services provider, forward violations to local code enforcement, or bring court actions to recover damages and seek equitable relief for tenants. The bill also requires annual reporting to the General Assembly from 2026 through 2030 on complaint volume, geography, demographics, complaint type, resolution time, and patterns of repeat complaints against particular landlords or property management groups.
Impact
The bill adds a new section to the Real Property Article, creating a statewide tenant complaint hotline and expanding the Attorney General’s role in landlord-tenant enforcement and tenant assistance. It does not directly change repair obligations in the underlying landlord-tenant law, but it creates a new administrative and enforcement mechanism that could increase referrals, code enforcement activity, and litigation involving housing conditions. It also imposes ongoing reporting requirements on the Office of the Attorney General and may affect landlords, property managers, and public housing operators by increasing complaint visibility and potential enforcement scrutiny.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be tenant-protective and enforcement-oriented, with a focus on improving access to remedies for housing repair and maintenance issues. The bill’s sponsors suggest support for stronger oversight of landlord compliance and easier reporting pathways for tenants, including anonymous reporting. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s structure and stated purpose.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the expanded role of the Attorney General in landlord-tenant disputes, the possibility of state-level enforcement overlapping with local code enforcement, and the administrative burden of operating the hotline and producing annual demographic and complaint-pattern reports. Landlords and property management entities may be concerned about increased complaints, investigations, or litigation, while tenant advocates are likely to support the bill’s access-to-justice and habitability enforcement provisions. Because no hearing transcript or vote history is available, specific objections or amendments are not documented in the provided materials.