Landmark Fair Housing Legislation Signed into Law in Maryland

Read a PDF of our statement here.

After a concerted effort by national civil rights organizations and local fair housing advocates, Governor Wes Moore today signed Fair Chance Housing Act (SB 937) and Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination - Regulations, Intent, and Discriminatory Effect (HB 573) into law. These new laws mark a significant step forward in ensuring that every resident in the state of Maryland has access to affordable and accessible housing in well-resourced neighborhoods of their choice, without discrimination standing in their way.

The Fair Chance Housing Act places limits on how landlords use criminal background checks, ensuring applicants are evaluated on their qualifications as tenants today, such as their ability to reliably pay rent and be a good tenant and neighbor, rather than their past. It is the most progressive statewide fair chance at housing legislation in the country. The Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination - Regulations, Intent, and Discriminatory Effect bill, now signed into law, strengthens the state's fair housing laws by codifying protections against policies that have unjustified discriminatory effects and by ensuring Maryland takes proactive steps to combat housing discrimination and overcome patterns of housing segregation.

"Maryland has taken a significant step in protecting Black residents, communities and others and striving to ensure its residents have a fair chance at accessing housing where they can thrive," said Demetria McCain, Director of Policy at the Legal Defense Fund (LDF). "During the current moment in our country, when the administration is turning its back on civil rights enforcement, nothing could be more timely."

"The signing of these bills into law represents a major win for everyone in the state of Maryland," said David Wheaton, Assistant Policy Counsel at LDF. "For too long, landlords were misusing background checks to shut Black people with criminal records out of housing, even after they had served their time and present no danger to the community. Now, these discriminatory practices can be corrected. In combination with the new law on disparate impact, the state's fair housing laws are now fortified in a way that will help ensure access to fair housing for countless families. We are proud to be a part of this deeply important work."

"The passage of HB 573 is a significant advance in the fight for fair housing in Maryland," said Thomas Silverstein, President and Executive Director of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council. "Maryland was a proving ground for many of the discriminatory practices that eventually segregated communities all across the country, and this law will help to remedy the continuing effects of segregation and redlining."

"Today, residents of Maryland receive critical protections against the discriminatory housing policies and practices that have plagued the state for too long," said Delegate Deni Taveras, House sponsor of HB 573. "With the federal government abandoning longstanding federal regulations related to fair housing, the importance of ensuring state-level protections against housing discrimination cannot be understated. We are proud to see HB 573 make it over the finish line and know it will positively impact many families across the state of Maryland."

LDF partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), Public Justice Center, Life After Release, Out for Justice, Economic Action Maryland and Maryland Legal Aid to support SB 937. Groups advocating for HB 573 included LDF, Economic Action Maryland, Maryland Legal Aid, Public Justice Center, Policy & Race Research Action Council (PPRAC), and Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.