.webp)
Is Your Rental Application Still Asking the Wrong Question?
Is your rental application still asking applicants to check a box about their criminal history? Since October 1, 2026, that question could put a Rockville landlord out of compliance.
Maryland Senate Bill 937, known as the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act, rewrites how and when rental owners can review an applicant's criminal background. This guide covers who it applies to, the new screening steps, and the mistakes that lead to penalties.
At Next Level Rentals & Realty, we've spent more than 15 years helping owners across Rockville, Montgomery County, DC, and Northern Virginia lease homes with confidence.
Key Takeaways
- The law is already in effect: SB 937 was signed as Chapter 752 and took effect October 1, 2026, replacing comparable local rules.
- Coverage is broad: It applies to landlords who own or manage five or more Maryland rental units, which can include owners who use a professional manager.
- Order matters: Most criminal history questions must wait until after a conditional offer, once income, credit, and rental history check out.
- Lookbacks are limited: Outside a short list of serious offenses, only felony convictions from the past five years may be considered.
- Paperwork protects you: Written notices, consistent screening, and timely responses to applicant requests are now required.
What Maryland Senate Bill 937 Changes for Rockville Landlords
The new law moves criminal history from the front of the application process to the back.
The Governor approved SB 937 on May 26, 2026, as Chapter 752, and it took effect October 1, 2026. The enrolled bill text adds a new subtitle to the Real Property Article governing how landlords request and use criminal history records.
The law also preempts and supersedes any comparable local law or ordinance, according to the Department of Legislative Services fiscal and policy note. For Rockville owners, older leasing workflows should be reviewed right away.
Does the Fair Chance Housing Act Apply to Your Rental?
Coverage depends on the size of the portfolio involved, not just the number of homes you personally own.
The Five-Unit Threshold
The law applies to landlords who own or manage five or more residential rental units in Maryland. Units held in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, or through separate legal entities all count toward that total.
Owners Who Use a Professional Manager
Because the statute covers whoever manages the units, an owner of one Rockville home who uses a professional property manager should expect the rules to apply to that home's screening.
Who Is Exempt
Owner-occupied rental units are exempt regardless of portfolio size. Landlords who skip criminal checks entirely avoid the conditional-offer process, though drug-testing and advertising limits still apply.
The New Four-Step Screening Sequence
Covered landlords who run criminal checks now need to follow a set order for every applicant.
Step 1: Give Written Notice Before Collecting a Fee
Before accepting an application fee, you must give applicants written notice explaining how criminal history is used in leasing decisions. It must explain that applicants can submit evidence of errors, rehabilitation, or mitigating factors, and that an individualized assessment will be conducted.
Step 2: Screen Income, Credit, and Rental History First
During this stage, you can't ask whether an applicant has been arrested, charged, or convicted, except for a short list of serious offenses covered below.
Step 3: Run the Criminal Check After a Conditional Offer
Once an applicant meets your non-criminal standards, you can extend a conditional offer and then run a criminal history records check. If you run checks, you must run them for every applicant.
Step 4: Assess Before You Withdraw
A conviction on the report isn't an automatic denial. You may withdraw the offer only when it's necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest.
If you withdraw, your written notice must state the specific reason and explain that the applicant can request a reassessment by submitting written evidence signed under penalty of perjury. That review must weigh:
- The nature and severity of the offense
- The applicant's age at the time
- Time elapsed since the offense
- Evidence of rehabilitation and good conduct
- How a repeat offense could affect other tenants' safety or property
- Whether the offense happened at a property the applicant previously rented
What Criminal History You Can Still Consider
The law narrows your review to specific offenses and specific time frames.
Offenses You May Review at Any Stage
Even before a conditional offer, you may ask about and deny based on a short list of convictions. These include first- or second-degree murder, human trafficking, certain sexual offenses, child pornography, and sex offender registration. Equivalent out-of-state and federal convictions count too, as does methamphetamine production on federally assisted premises.
Felonies Within the Last Five Years
After a conditional offer, you may also consider felony convictions under Maryland's Criminal Law Article from the five years immediately before the application.
Everything Else Is Off the Table
Arrests and charges that never led to a conviction, misdemeanors, and older felonies fall outside what the law lets you weigh.
A fair screening process isn't the opposite of a careful one. When every applicant moves through the same steps in the same order, owners gain consistency, defensible decisions, and fewer surprises.
Screening Practices That Now Carry Risk
Several habits that were once routine can now lead to violations.
Restrictive Language in Ads and Applications
Unless federal law requires it, you can't publish ads, signs, or application forms that express criminal history limits inconsistent with the law. Review listing templates and qualification pages for phrases like "no felonies," and let our rental marketing services keep listings compliant.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
Landlords can't require applicants to take a drug or alcohol test. You also can't ask applicants to release information from substance use disorder treatment programs.
Sharing Background Reports
Criminal history records may only go to people who will use them to evaluate the applicant as the law allows. Forwarding a report to anyone else is prohibited.
Missing the Disclosure Deadlines
If you withdraw a conditional offer, the applicant has 30 days from your notice to request a copy of everything you relied on, including the background report. Once a timely request arrives, you have 10 days to reply.
Penalties and Why Documentation Matters
Sloppy recordkeeping now carries real costs.
Violations carry a civil penalty of up to $500 each. The Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs must also publish a model notice that tells applicants about their right to file a complaint under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.
Keep dated copies of every notice, screening result, and reassessment to show you followed the law.
One provision works in your favor. Leasing to someone with a criminal history, or choosing not to run a check at all, can't be the basis of a legal claim against you.
How Next Level Rentals & Realty Keeps Screening Compliant
Professional management turns a complicated legal sequence into a repeatable leasing system.
Our tenant screening process applies the same criteria to every applicant, in the order Maryland law now requires. We handle every notice, conditional offer, and reassessment, and we document each file.
That consistency supports the steady occupancy and reliable rent our owners count on, backed by our owner guarantees and full-service Rockville property management. See what owners say in our client testimonials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to common questions Rockville owners are asking about the new law.
Do I still have to follow Montgomery County screening rules?
SB 937 preempts and supersedes comparable local laws on criminal history screening. Other county rules, such as rental licensing, still apply.
Can I still deny an applicant for poor credit or rental history?
Yes. Income, credit, and rental history remain valid criteria and should be evaluated first, before any criminal history review.
Does the law apply if I only own one rental home?
If you self-manage a single home, you likely fall below the five-unit threshold. If a professional manager handles your home, expect the law to apply, since the manager's portfolio counts.
Lease With Confidence Under Maryland's New Screening Rules
The right process lets you protect your property and follow the law at the same time.
Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act doesn't stop you from choosing qualified residents. It changes the order, the limits, and the paperwork you need to get right.
Next Level Rentals & Realty is ready to put a compliant screening system to work for your Rockville rental. Call us at 301.339.8850, book a consultation, or contact us today.
