MARYLAND — People looking to rent a home after moving to Maryland now have new statewide protections governing how certain landlords can use criminal history when deciding whether to approve a rental application.
Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act took effect October 1, 2026, changing the tenant-screening process for landlords who own or manage five or more residential rental units in the state.
The legislation, Senate Bill 937, was approved by Gov. Wes Moore on May 26 and became Chapter 752 of Maryland's 2026 laws.
For prospective Maryland renters, the biggest change is that covered landlords generally cannot ask about most criminal history before making a conditional offer of housing. After an offer is made, the law also restricts which convictions landlords may consider and requires an individualized assessment in certain cases.
The new rules could be particularly important for people relocating to Maryland who have older convictions or misdemeanor records and previously worried that their criminal history could automatically prevent them from securing a rental home.
What Is Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act?
The Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act establishes a statewide process governing how covered landlords screen prospective tenants based on criminal records.
The law applies generally to a landlord who owns or manages five or more residential rental units in Maryland, including units controlled directly or indirectly through legal entities. Owner-occupied rental units are excluded.
Rather than allowing most criminal-history screening at the beginning of the rental application process, the law creates a staged screening system.
In most cases, landlords must first evaluate an applicant using the other criteria they ordinarily consider and make a conditional housing offer before conducting the broader criminal-history review permitted by the law.
Can a Maryland Landlord Ask About Your Criminal Record Before Approving You?
For covered landlords, generally not before a conditional offer, except for specific categories permitted by the law.
Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development describes the legislation as prohibiting landlords from requesting or considering most criminal-history information before extending a conditional offer.
That means applicants generally get an opportunity to be evaluated on other rental qualifications before most criminal-history information enters the decision.
Certain serious offenses are treated differently under the law. The exceptions include specified murder, sexual offense, child pornography, human trafficking and methamphetamine-related convictions involving federally assisted housing.
What Happens After a Conditional Rental Offer?
After extending a conditional offer, a covered landlord can conduct the criminal-history screening allowed under the law.
One significant provision establishes a five-year lookback for felony convictionsthat may be considered under the general post-offer screening provision.
That means an older criminal record does not necessarily give a covered Maryland landlord unlimited authority to withdraw a rental offer.
The law also requires an individualized assessment rather than allowing every qualifying criminal conviction to automatically result in rejection.
According to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, applicants can provide information concerning:
- Inaccuracies in their criminal records
- Evidence of rehabilitation
- Other mitigating circumstances
The landlord must consider the information as part of the assessment required by the law.
Can a Misdemeanor Keep You From Renting an Apartment in Maryland?
For landlords covered by the Fair Chance Housing Act, most misdemeanor convictions generally cannot be used in the same way as qualifying felony convictions to withdraw a conditional rental offer.
The law significantly restricts the criminal-history information a covered landlord can consider and focuses the broader post-offer lookback on felony convictions within the specified period, while maintaining separate rules for certain enumerated serious offenses.
For renters with older or relatively minor criminal records, that distinction could substantially change the application process compared with screening practices that broadly exclude applicants because they have any criminal record.
Does the New Law Mean Someone With a Felony Must Be Approved?
No. The Fair Chance Housing Act does not eliminate criminal background screening or require landlords to approve every applicant with a criminal record.
Instead, it regulates when criminal history can be considered, what information can be considered and how covered landlords must evaluate that information.
For qualifying convictions that may be considered after a conditional offer, a landlord may withdraw the offer when the landlord determines that doing so is necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate and nondiscriminatory interest.
Applicants can also present rehabilitation evidence, correct inaccurate records and provide mitigating information as part of the assessment.
Are There Exceptions for Serious Crimes?
Yes. Maryland's law preserves different treatment for several specified serious offenses.
Depending on the offense and circumstances, exceptions include murder, human trafficking, certain sexual offenses, child pornography, lifetime sex-offender registration and certain methamphetamine offenses involving federally assisted housing.
Prospective renters with a criminal record should therefore not assume that every conviction older than five years is automatically excluded from consideration. The specific offense and applicable provision matter.
Which Maryland Landlords Must Follow the New Law?
The Fair Chance Housing Act generally applies to a landlord who owns or manages five or more residential rental units in Maryland.
It does not apply to owner-occupied residential rental units.
That distinction could matter for relocators deciding between a large apartment community, a professionally managed rental and a smaller owner-occupied property.
What If a Landlord Withdraws a Conditional Offer Because of Criminal History?
The law establishes procedural protections for applicants.
When criminal history is used to withdraw a conditional offer, covered landlords must follow the law's notice and assessment requirements. Applicants have an opportunity to provide information such as evidence of rehabilitation, mitigating circumstances or evidence showing that criminal-history information is inaccurate.
The law is therefore designed to make the process more individualized rather than treating the existence of a criminal record as an automatic disqualification.
What Are the Penalties for Maryland Landlords Who Violate the Law?
Violations can result in a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation, according to the Maryland General Assembly's fiscal and policy analysis of the enacted legislation.
The law also directs the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt regulations and develop a model notice for landlords.
Why This Matters for People Moving to Maryland
Finding housing is often one of the first—and most consequential—steps in relocating to another state. For someone with a criminal record, rental screening policies can dramatically affect where that person can live, particularly when relocating without an established housing history in the new community.
Maryland's new law does not guarantee rental approval. Applicants can still be evaluated on applicable rental qualifications, and landlords retain the ability to consider criminal history within the limits established by the statute.
What changes is the process.
For covered properties, most criminal history can no longer dominate the initial stage of the application before the prospective tenant has been evaluated for a conditional offer. The state also limits which records may subsequently factor into the decision and requires consideration of rehabilitation and mitigating circumstances.
Does Maryland ban criminal background checks for apartments?
No. Covered landlords can still conduct criminal-history screening, but the Fair Chance Housing Act restricts when the screening can occur and what information can be considered.
Can a Maryland landlord deny an applicant for a misdemeanor?
For landlords covered by the law, most misdemeanor convictions are outside the general categories that may be used to withdraw a conditional offer. Certain specifically enumerated offenses and circumstances are treated differently.
Can Maryland landlords consider an old felony?
The law generally limits the post-conditional-offer consideration of other felony convictions to those occurring within the five years preceding the rental application, subject to separate provisions covering specified offenses.
Does the law apply to every Maryland landlord?
No. It generally applies to landlords who own or manage five or more residential rental units in Maryland, and owner-occupied rental units are excluded.
Can renters explain their criminal history?
Yes. The law's individualized-assessment process allows prospective tenants to provide evidence of rehabilitation, identify inaccuracies and present other mitigating factors for consideration.
Moving to Maryland? Know the Rental Rules Before Applying
For people planning to move to Maryland in 2026 or 2027, the Fair Chance Housing Act represents an important change in the state's rental-housing landscape.
Relocators with criminal records should still carefully review individual rental requirements and understand that the new law does not guarantee approval. But for properties covered by the law, Maryland now places statewide limits on how and when criminal history can influence a landlord's decision.
Knowing those protections before beginning an apartment search can help newcomers better understand the application process, what information a landlord may request and what rights applicants have if criminal history becomes part of the decision.
Let's Move to Maryland News covers housing, communities, jobs, cost of living and policy changes affecting individuals and families considering a move to Maryland.