Maryland landlords can screen for credit, rental history, eviction history and income, and in limited ways criminal history, as long as the criteria are written down and applied the same way to every applicant. What you can’t do is treat anyone differently because of a protected class, and in Maryland that includes source of income, so housing vouchers count like any other income. Application fees and, since October 1, 2026, criminal history questions have their own rules.
At SW Property Management we tell applicants the screening criteria and the fee before they pay anything. Here’s the legal framework behind that, as of October 2026.
Protected classes
Federal law. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability.
Maryland law adds more. State Government § 20-705 covers race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, source of income and military status. It bars refusing to rent after a good-faith offer, setting different terms, publishing an ad that shows a preference or limitation, and saying a home isn’t available when it is.
Source of income was added by the HOME Act (2020 Md. Laws, Chapter 117). State Government § 20-701 defines it as any lawful source of money paid to or on behalf of a renter, and it expressly includes rental assistance and vouchers issued under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. Counties may add protections of their own, so check local law too.
The practical rule for listings: describe the home, not the people you want in it. Never write “no vouchers,” “no Section 8” or anything about who the home suits.
Written criteria applied the same to everyone
Write your standards down before the listing goes live, and apply them to every adult applicant in the same order. A simple criteria sheet covers:
- Income: the minimum, how it’s calculated, and what proof you accept (pay stubs, benefit letters, voucher paperwork, bank statements).
- Credit: what you look at, and whether a cosigner or other option is allowed.
- Rental history: how many years of references, and what counts as a disqualifying record.
- Eviction history: the lookback period and whether you consider cases that were dismissed or paid.
- Criminal history: only within what the law now allows (see below).
- Occupancy: a standard based on the home, applied the same to everyone.
Process applications in the order they arrive complete. If someone asks for a reasonable accommodation for a disability, such as more time or another way to apply, consider it.
Application fees
Real Property § 8-213 works like this:
- If a fee (other than a security deposit) is more than $25, the landlord must return it, except for the part actually spent on a credit check and other screening costs.
- The refund is due within 15 days after the applicant moves in, or after written notice that no tenancy will happen.
- A landlord who doesn’t return it owes twice the fee in damages.
- The application has to explain the applicant’s liabilities when signing it.
- The section doesn’t apply to landlords offering four or fewer units on one parcel or at one location, or to seasonal or condo rentals.
The Maryland Attorney General summarizes the same $25 and 15-day rule. Even if you’re exempt, charging only your actual screening cost avoids arguments.
Reusable screening reports. Under Real Property § 8-218, a landlord must tell applicants, in writing or in a conspicuous posting such as the listing, whether it accepts reusable tenant screening reports (prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the last 30 days, at the applicant’s expense). A landlord that accepts one can’t charge an access fee or an application fee to that applicant.
Income tests and vouchers
An income minimum is fine if it’s written and applied consistently. The question is how you apply it to someone whose rent is partly paid by a voucher.
In Hare v. David S. Brown Enterprises (filed July 28, 2025), the Supreme Court of Maryland looked at a landlord that required income of 2.5 times the full rent, counting the voucher as income. The applicant’s voucher covered $1,464 of a $1,590 rent, leaving her $126 a month, and her other income was more than six times that share. She was denied. The court held that counting voucher money the same as other income didn’t defeat her claim that the policy has a disparate impact on voucher holders, and sent the case back for that analysis.
A source-of-income handout published on Anne Arundel County’s website (prepared by the Equal Rights Center for the county’s fair housing webinar series) says it plainly: in Maryland, a landlord can only require a voucher holder to meet an income requirement for the tenant portion of the rent. That’s the approach we’d recommend to any owner.
Credit and eviction history
You can pull a credit report and check eviction history with the applicant’s permission and for a housing purpose. The FTC says a landlord needs a permissible purpose, such as an application to rent or renew, and must certify it will use the report only for housing.
Look at the record, not just the score. Thin credit isn’t the same as bad credit, and a single medical collection tells you less than three years of on-time rent. Whatever you decide to weigh, put it in the criteria.
Criminal history
This changed on October 1, 2026. The Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act (SB 937, Chapter 752 of 2026) applies to landlords who own or manage five or more residential rental units in Maryland, and not to owner-occupied units. According to the Department of Legislative Services fiscal note:
- If you run criminal checks, you must run them for every applicant.
- Before taking an application fee, give written notice about how criminal history is used, including that certain convictions can be considered only after a conditional offer, and that the applicant can show inaccuracies, rehabilitation and mitigating factors.
- Before a conditional offer, you can’t ask about criminal history at all, except a short list: specified sexual offenses, first- or second-degree murder, human trafficking, child pornography, methamphetamine production on federally assisted premises (for that housing), and sex offender registration.
- After a conditional offer, you may consider felony convictions from the five years before the application, plus any listed conviction the applicant didn’t disclose.
- You can withdraw an offer only if it’s necessary to protect a substantial, legitimate and nondiscriminatory interest, with a written notice stating the specific reason and the right to ask for reassessment.
- You can’t require drug or alcohol testing, and you can’t advertise a policy of excluding people with arrest or conviction records unless federal law requires it.
- Violations carry civil penalties up to $500 each, and the act preempts comparable local laws.
On the federal side, HUD’s Office of General Counsel withdrew its 2016 criminal records guidance in a notice published July 17, 2026 (effective September 25, 2025). The Fair Housing Act itself still applies. For a Maryland landlord, the state act is now the rulebook.
Adverse action notices
If you deny an application, require a cosigner, ask for a higher deposit or charge more rent based in any part on a consumer report, federal law requires an adverse action notice. Per the FTC, it must include:
- The name, address and phone number of the reporting agency.
- A statement that the agency didn’t make the decision and can’t explain it.
- The applicant’s right to a free copy of the report if requested within 60 days, and to dispute inaccurate information.
If a credit score was used, the notice also has to include the score, its range and source, and the key factors that hurt it. Under the Fair Chance Housing Act, a withdrawn conditional offer gets its own written notice, and DHCD is required to publish a model form.
How SW screens
Every adult applies separately. We publish the criteria and the fee before anyone pays. We check credit, rental history, income, eviction history and criminal background within what the law allows, and apply the same standards to every applicant. Under Maryland’s HOME Act, applicants using a housing voucher or other lawful source of income are considered on the same terms as everyone else. You can read more on our renters page.
This is general information, not legal advice. Fair housing and screening laws carry real penalties, so talk to a Maryland attorney about your criteria if you’re not sure.
Bottom line
Write the criteria first, apply them to everyone, and keep the records. Count voucher income and apply income tests to the tenant’s share. Watch the $25 refund rule if you have five or more units, and don’t charge a fee when you accept a reusable report. If you own or manage five or more units, follow the Fair Chance Housing Act steps from the first notice. And send an adverse action notice every time a report affects your decision. Renting to a voucher holder in Baltimore? See renting to Housing Choice Voucher tenants in Baltimore. For the bigger picture, see our Maryland landlord-tenant rules guide and how to rent out your house in Maryland.
Sources
All checked October 26, 2026.
- Maryland Code, State Government § 20-701 and § 20-705
- Maryland Code, Real Property § 8-213 and § 8-218
- Maryland General Assembly, SB 937 (2026) and fiscal and policy note
- Supreme Court of Maryland, Hare v. David S. Brown Enterprises, No. 32, Sept. Term 2024
- Anne Arundel County / Equal Rights Center, Source of Income one-pager
- HUD, Fair Housing Act overview; Federal Register notice of withdrawn OGC guidance, July 17, 2026
- FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
- Maryland Attorney General, Landlord/Tenant Disputes