--- title: "Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act takes effect Oct. 1: new tenant screening rules" description: "Starting October 1, 2026, Maryland landlords with five or more units must delay most criminal-history questions until after a conditional offer. New rules on voucher-holder credit screening and rent reporting also start, and AC rules now reach renovated units." date: 2026-10-01 updated: 2026-10-01 author: "Proppely Research Desk" kind: NEWS_BRIEF tags: ["tenant-screening", "fair-housing", "section-8", "policy", "maintenance", "maryland"] reading_minutes: 6 word_count: 1273 canonical: "https://www.proppely.com/insights/maryland-fair-chance-housing-act-october-2026-landlord-screening-rules" html: "https://www.proppely.com/insights/maryland-fair-chance-housing-act-october-2026-landlord-screening-rules" feed: "https://proppely.com/insights/feed.xml" license: "Free to read and cite with a link to the canonical URL." sources: - title: "2026 Maryland laws impacting housing providers will take effect Oct. 1, 2026" url: "https://dhcd.maryland.gov/news-stories/public-notices/2026-maryland-laws-impacting-housing-providers-will-take-effect-oct-1-2026" publisher: "Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development" published: "2026-09-21" - title: "Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 937, Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act (Enrolled - Revised)" url: "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf" publisher: "Maryland Department of Legislative Services" published: "2026-05-06" - title: "Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 335, Income-Based Housing Subsidies and Positive Rental History Reporting (Enrolled - Revised)" url: "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf" publisher: "Maryland Department of Legislative Services" published: "2026-05-04" - title: "Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 12, Residential Rental Apartments - Air-Conditioning Requirement (Enrolled - Revised)" url: "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/sb0012.pdf" publisher: "Maryland Department of Legislative Services" published: "2026-05-06" --- # Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act takes effect Oct. 1: new tenant screening rules > Starting October 1, 2026, Maryland landlords with five or more units must delay most criminal-history questions until after a conditional offer. New rules on voucher-holder credit screening and rent reporting also start, and AC rules now reach renovated units. ## Key takeaways - Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act takes effect October 1, 2026, for landlords that own or manage five or more rental units in the state; owner-occupied units are excluded. - Before a conditional offer, covered landlords may ask only about a short list of offenses; after it, they may consider felonies within five years of the application. - Withdrawing an offer requires a written, specific reason and a reassessment right; violations carry a civil penalty of up to $500 each. - Landlords that use credit screening may not reject voucher holders over income, credit score or lack of one, or credit history from periods without the subsidy; income may be verified only against the tenant's share of rent and utilities. - Landlords with six or more units must offer positive rent reporting, with a fee capped at the lesser of actual cost or $10 a month; existing tenants must get the offer by January 1, 2027. Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act takes effect today, [October 1, 2026](https://dhcd.maryland.gov/news-stories/public-notices/2026-maryland-laws-impacting-housing-providers-will-take-effect-oct-1-2026). If you own or manage [five or more rental units in the state](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf), you can no longer ask about criminal history on the application, with a short list of exceptions, until you have made a conditional offer. A second law changes how Maryland landlords screen voucher holders and report rent payments, and the state's air-conditioning law, in effect since June 1, now also reaches certain renovated units. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the details with Maryland counsel before you change forms. ## What happened **Fair Chance Housing Act (SB 937, Chapter 752).** The [Department of Legislative Services fiscal note](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf) lays out the new screening sequence: - **Who it covers:** landlords that own or manage five or more residential rental units in Maryland, counting units held directly, indirectly or through other entities. Owner-occupied units are excluded. - **Before the offer:** you may not ask on the application, orally or in writing, about criminal history or charges. You may ask about, and reject on, a limited list: certain methamphetamine convictions (for federally assisted housing only), sexual offenses, child pornography, first- or second-degree murder, human trafficking, sex offender registration, and equivalent out-of-state or federal convictions. - **After the offer:** you may run a check and consider only [felony convictions within five years before the application](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf), equivalent out-of-state or federal felonies in that window, and listed convictions the applicant did not disclose. - **Withdrawal:** allowed only if you determine it is necessary for a "substantial, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest." You must give a written, specific reason and tell the applicant they can ask for a reassessment. - **Records request:** within 30 days after your notice withdrawing the offer, the applicant can [request everything you relied on, and you have 10 days to provide it](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf). - **Other rules:** if you run checks, run them on every applicant. Give the written notice about criminal history screening before you take an application fee, and tell applicants an individualized assessment will be conducted. No drug or alcohol testing. Unless federal law requires it, you may not knowingly or intentionally publish an ad that expressly says people with arrests or convictions will not be considered. - **Penalty and preemption:** [up to $500 per violation](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf), and the law preempts comparable local ordinances. **Voucher holders and rent reporting (SB 335/HB 315, Chapters 773/772).** Landlords that use financial information in screening may not reject an applicant who pays with an income-based subsidy because of income, credit score, no credit score, or adverse credit history from a period [when the applicant did not have the subsidy](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf), if that period is confirmed by the applicant, voucher paperwork or a public housing authority, except where federal law allows it. You can still verify income against the tenant's share of rent and utilities, using a ratio [substantially equivalent to the one you use for unsubsidized tenants](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf). You can also weigh landlord references and history of lease violations, unpaid utilities, nuisance or property damage. The [fiscal note](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf) says the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights enforces it. The same law requires landlords that own [six or more units](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf) to offer tenants the option to have on-time rent reported to a credit bureau. For new leases, the offer comes at signing and at least once a year after that. For existing leases, the deadline is [January 1, 2027](https://dhcd.maryland.gov/news-stories/public-notices/2026-maryland-laws-impacting-housing-providers-will-take-effect-oct-1-2026). Any fee is capped at [the lesser of your actual cost or $10 a month](https://dhcd.maryland.gov/news-stories/public-notices/2026-maryland-laws-impacting-housing-providers-will-take-effect-oct-1-2026). **Air conditioning (SB 12, Chapter 664).** In apartment buildings with [10 or more units](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/sb0012.pdf), landlords must provide air conditioning from June 1 through September 30 that can hold every habitable space at 80°F or lower (measured 3 feet above the floor). Since the law took effect June 1, 2026, this has applied to newly constructed units and to units where, since January 1, 2025, the landlord provided AC or the lease required it. Starting [October 1, 2026](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/sb0012.pdf), the rule also reaches existing units that undergo a renovation replacing or substantially upgrading electrical or heating systems. Properties on the National Register of Historic Places are exempt. The [fiscal note](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/sb0012.pdf) says the law applies only to work whose building permit was issued on or after the law's June 1, 2026 effective date. ## Why it matters for property managers **Your application is probably out of date.** Most screening packages ask "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" on page one. For a covered Maryland landlord, that question is now off-limits except for the listed offenses. Online application templates, leasing-office paper forms and the questions agents ask on tours all need to change. **Screening becomes a two-step process.** The offer comes first, the criminal check second, and any withdrawal has to be explained in writing. That adds time and paperwork to each approval. Set up the sequence now so applicants aren't sitting in limbo. **Your vendor settings matter.** If your screening provider returns a full criminal report alongside credit and eviction data, you may be seeing information the law says you can't consider yet. Ask whether the provider can hold the criminal portion until after a conditional offer, and limit what it returns to the lookback the law allows. **Voucher applicants can't be screened out on old credit.** If your minimum credit score is applied the same way to every applicant, it now conflicts with the subsidy rule: for voucher holders you generally may not reject on credit score, lack of a credit score, or adverse credit history from a period without the subsidy. Income tests have to be measured against the tenant's portion of rent and utilities, not the full rent. **Renovation budgets need an AC line.** If a 10-plus-unit building is getting new electrical or heating systems, price in cooling capacity that meets the 80°F standard before you pull the permit. ## What to do this week 1. **Pull the criminal-history question from Maryland applications.** Replace it with a question limited to the offenses the law allows before an offer, and have counsel review the wording. 2. **Write the pre-application notice.** It must explain how criminal history is used and how applicants can submit corrections, rehabilitation evidence and mitigating factors. Tell applicants an individualized assessment will be conducted. Deliver it before you collect a fee. Check whether DHCD's Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs has posted the model notice the law requires it to publish; DHCD's models are optional, but useful as a baseline. 3. **Call your screening vendor.** Confirm whether it can split the criminal check out until after a conditional offer and filter to felonies within five years (including equivalent out-of-state or federal felonies) plus any undisclosed listed convictions. 4. **Build the withdrawal and reassessment templates.** Include the specific reason, the reassessment right, and a process to send relied-on records within 10 days of a timely request. 5. **Fix voucher-applicant criteria.** Apply your income ratio to the tenant's share, and stop rejecting voucher holders on credit score, lack of a credit score, or credit history from periods without the subsidy. 6. **Prepare the rent-reporting offer.** Pick a reporting vendor, set any fee at or below the cap, add the offer to new leases, and schedule offers for existing tenants before January 1, 2027. ## What we're watching - **DHCD regulations and the model notice.** The [fiscal note](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf) says the department must adopt regulations and a model notice. Watch for any detail they add on notice content and timing. - **Local ordinances.** Counties with their own fair chance rules will need to sort out what the state preemption clause overrides. Check with local counsel if you operate in a county with an existing ordinance. - **Rent-reporting regulations.** The [offer form will be set by DHCD rule](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf), so wait for that before finalizing lease addenda. ## FAQ **Who has to follow Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act?** Per the state's fiscal note, landlords that own or manage five or more residential rental units in Maryland, including units held through other entities. Owner-occupied units are excluded. Maryland DHCD says the law takes effect October 1, 2026. **Can a Maryland landlord still run a criminal background check?** Yes, but generally only after a conditional offer, and then only felonies within five years of the application, equivalent out-of-state or federal felonies within the same five years, and undisclosed listed offenses can be considered. A short list of offenses can be asked about before the offer. **What is the penalty for violating the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act?** The Department of Legislative Services fiscal note says violators face a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation. Confirm current enforcement details with Maryland counsel. **How much can a Maryland landlord charge for rent reporting?** According to Maryland DHCD, the fee may not exceed the lesser of the landlord's actual cost or $10 per month. Landlords with six or more units must offer reporting to existing tenants by January 1, 2027. ## Sources 1. [2026 Maryland laws impacting housing providers will take effect Oct. 1, 2026](https://dhcd.maryland.gov/news-stories/public-notices/2026-maryland-laws-impacting-housing-providers-will-take-effect-oct-1-2026) — Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development 2. [Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 937, Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act (Enrolled - Revised)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0007/sb0937.pdf) — Maryland Department of Legislative Services 3. [Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 335, Income-Based Housing Subsidies and Positive Rental History Reporting (Enrolled - Revised)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0335.pdf) — Maryland Department of Legislative Services 4. [Fiscal and Policy Note: SB 12, Residential Rental Apartments - Air-Conditioning Requirement (Enrolled - Revised)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/sb0012.pdf) — Maryland Department of Legislative Services --- Published by the Proppely Research Desk. 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