Maryland Fair Housing
Take Action to Protect Tenants! Close the HOME Act Loophole!
Housing vouchers and other rental assistance programs are a lifeline for families struggling to pay their rent. In 2020, Maryland passed the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act, which added Source of Income to the list of protected classes in Maryland. The HOME Act was intended to ensure that landlords do not discriminate against tenants who use these rental assistance programs. Some landlords are exploiting a loophole to the HOME Act and use credit history or income information to refuse to rent to voucher holders. Applying credit and income-based screens to families participating in housing assistance programs is neither relevant nor ...
Take Action to Strengthen Fair Housing in Maryland
Everyone needs a safe, affordable roof over their head. Yet some property owners refuse to provide housing to Marylanders based on their source of income, race, ability or other protected characteristics. This is illegal according to Maryland's fair housing laws, but we currently have trouble proving discrimination. SB180 will change that and make it easier to detect and root out housing discrimination. Fair housing programs test housing providers to ensure that they are following the law and root out discrimination. This work in Maryland is more important than ever since at the federal level, staffing and funding of the Department ...
Maryland Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Tenants Using Housing Vouchers
Earlier this year, the Maryland Attorney General asked the Maryland Supreme Court to protect housing voucher recipients from income-based discrimination, via an amicus brief filed in March. In July of this year, the Maryland Supreme Court issued a judgement in favor of the tenant. The case began when a tenant named Katrina Hare tried to obtain housing in a Baltimore County apartment complex owned by David S. Brown Enterprises. The company implemented an income requirement, and did not use the accepted income calculations that take into account the client's voucher amount. As a result, Ms. Hare was denied housing because ...
Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Publishes Source of Income Guidance
This information is important for both landlords and tenants. The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights has published Source of Income Guidance, which outlines the rules around what landlords can and cannot do, with regard to tenants who use Housing Choice Vouchers and other sources of non-traditional income. From MCCR: The purpose of this guidance1 is to provide information on how the State of Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (“Commission”) analyzes source of income discrimination in housing as a result of the enactment of the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (“HOME”) Act of 2020. The guidance aims to inform tenants, housing providers, ...
Maryland Management Emergency Rental Assistance Conciliation Agreement
According to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Maryland Management, Inc. refused to participate in or cooperate with emergency rental assistance programs. If you were denied housing or evicted because of this practice, you may be eligible to receive a money settlement from a Restitution Fund negotiated by the Maryland Attorney General to resolve allegations of Source of Income Discrimination by Maryland Management Company, Inc. This agreement can be downloaded here. The amount of compensation you are eligible for will depend on your experience with Maryland Management Company, Inc., and other applications to the Restitution Fund. To receive any ...
2025 End of Session Report
Yesterday was the last day of the legislative session and although it was a cool, gray, rainy day, there were still moments when the rain stopped, and the sun burst through. This is an apt description of this year's legislative session as well. At a time when economic protections and policies to promote racial equity are being decimated, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently on life support, Maryland’s General Assembly passed some great bills, some good bills, and some very bad bills for working families. Below are some of the bills that Economic Action was thrilled to lead ...
Major Federal Housing Policy Changes
Below is information from the National Housing Resource Center about a series of significant policy changes recently announced by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). These changes impact mortgage eligibility, tenant protections, housing equity efforts, and fair lending requirements. FHA Changes – Effective May 25, 2025 Residency Requirement Update: Only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents will be eligible for FHA-insured loans. Non-permanent residents will no longer qualify for FHA financing. Borrowers must provide valid documentation, such as a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) Read the mortgagee letter here. (Link opens a PDF.) The ...
Post-Crossover Update: Heading To the Finish Line
Last Monday, March 17 wasn’t just St. Patrick’s Day. It was also ‘crossover day,’ the day by which a bill had to pass out of one chamber of the General Assembly in order to have a good chance of final passage by Sine Die, the last day of the 2025 legislative session on Monday, April 7. It wasn’t the luck of the Irish, it was the hard work of our policy team, our bill sponsors, our partners and supporters that led to 14 bills we’ve led and supported making it across this critical legislative hurdle. A few highlights include: HB268/SB981: ...
Strengthen Fair Housing in Maryland, Urge Your Legislators to Vote YES on HB392/SB107
Background In 2023, there were 198 fair housing complaints in the Baltimore Metro region. At Economic Action, we’ve received many fair housing complaints with a large number of complaints based on access to reasonable accommodations to assist residents with a disability. To determine whether housing providers are discriminating against Marylanders due to race, gender, ethnicity, how someone pays for their rent, or other protected reasons, fair housing organizations conduct tests to see if discrimination exists. The Problem In 39 states including Virginia and the District of Columbia, fair housing testers use an audio recording to accurately capture the conversation with ...
Maryland Fair Housing Fact Sheets
Maryland Fair Housing Fact SheetsHere are several one-page Fair Housing fact sheets you can download, relevant to Maryland residents. Fact sheets are in PDF format.The HOME ActDisability RightsFair Housing ProgramFair Housing Protected Classes: Federal, State, and LocalIf you need assistance with a Maryland landlord-tenant matter, please use our Tenant Intake Form.To file a Fair Housing complaint, please go here.