This past weekend marked the halfway point in Maryland’s 90-day legislative session. As we cross that benchmark, another, more critical deadline looms: March 23. This is crossover day, which means a bill has to have passed out of one chamber and crossed over to the opposite chamber to have a good chance to make it across the finish line this session.

Several critical housing bills haven’t been voted on, and we need your help to get them on the vote lists and out of committee as the clock ticks down. Take action today!

Corporate landlords and property managers are trying to squeeze every penny of profit from struggling renters, while lenders and debt buyers are foreclosing on homeowners who have substantial equity in their homes after decades of paying down their mortgages. Priority bills to move this year include:

• HB523/SB353 Real Property – Residential Foreclosures – Commencement Restrictions: Establishes a 10-year Statute of Limitations for Foreclosures and limits the ability of debt buyers to foreclose on homeowners for decades old debt.
• HB315/SB335 Human Relations – Discrimination in Housing – Income-Based Housing Subsidies: Prohibits landlords or property management firms from using credit scores or income for people who are paying rent using government-supported vouchers.
• HB774/SB462 Good Cause Eviction: Allows counties and municipalities to pass their own laws stating that landlords and property managers must have a good reason to evict renters, such as failure to pay and other approved reasons.
• HB213/SB180 Evidence – Interception of Oral Communications – Fair Housing Testing: Strengthens fair housing laws by enabling fair housing testers in Maryland to use audio recorders when testing.
• HB434 Residential Leases – Use of Algorithmic Device by Landlord to Determine Rent, Occupancy, and Lease Terms – Prohibition: Prohibits landlords and property management companies from using software to fix prices on rents.

Please contact your legislators today and urge them to put these bills on the vote list and vote Yes! 

The landlord lobby wants to kill these bills outright or run out the clock — don’t let them. Legislators need to hear that you want to keep people housed.