MD HOME Act floor vote this week!

Call/email your Senator now!

The Maryland HOME Act, SB 530, passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last Friday and is headed to the Senate floor!

SB 530, which would ban housing discrimination based on source of income statewide, will likely be scheduled for a vote the week of February 17.

Please call or email your Senator TODAY and ask them to VOTE FOR a clean HOME Act and AGAINST any floor amendments!

Don’t know your state Senator? Check with your address here.   

We anticipate two possible floor amendments:

Imposing a 20% cap on voucher holders 

This proposed amendment is contrary to the purpose of fair housing laws and means 80% discrimination against voucher holders. This amendment would also make enforcement very difficult: How does a rejected tenant know whether a landlord or property has hit a certain “cap”? Urge your Senator to vote AGAINST this amendment.

The Maryland fair housing law already provides an exemption for property owners who own two or fewer units, as long as they do not use a realtor or property manager. The opposition wants to extend that exemption to landlords who use realtors and property managers. Maryland fair housing law has never provided an exemption for landlords who use realtors or property managers because once a property owner uses a realtor or property manager, they are considered to be “in the business of” being a landlord and are expected to know and understand fair housing law. Urge your Senator to vote AGAINST this amendment.

About source of income discrimination

Source of income discrimination contributes to concentrations of poverty, racially segregated housing and homelessness. Over 90 local jurisdictions and 15 states prohibit this practice, including six counties and three cities in Maryland. In 2017, the American Bar Association adopted policy urging governments to prohibit the practice. It is time for Maryland to stop allowing this form of housing discrimination! Read more about the Maryland statewide bill to ban source of income discrimination in housing here.

For more information about SB 530, contact Antonia Fasanelli at afasanelli@hprplaw.org or Matt Hill at hillm@publicjustice.org.

A full list of coalition members supporting the Maryland HOME Act is available here.