Safe and Healthy Homes for All Act

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*sb0941*

SENATE BILL 941
C9, N1 (6lr1959)
ENROLLED BILL
— Judicial Proceedings/Economic Matters —
Introduced by Senator Henson

Read and Examined by Proofreaders:

_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.

Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this

_______ day of _______________ at _________________ _______ o’clock, ________M.

______________________________________________
President.

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Department of Housing and Community Development – Severe Health and 2
Safety Risk Properties – Intervention Plan 3
Safe and Healthy Homes for All Act 4

FOR the purpose of requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development, 5
Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs, in collaboration with the Attorney General, 6
to develop a plan to identify certain severe health and safety risk properties in the 7
State and take related actions; requiring the Department to submit the plan and 8
certain recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before a 9
certain date; requiring the Department to publi sh a certain list publicly on the 10
Department’s website; and generally relating to severe health and safety risk 11
properties. 12

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 13
That: 14
2 SENATE BILL 941

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 1

(2) “Office” means the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs in the 2
Department of Housing and Community Development. 3

(3) (i) “Severe health and safety risk property” means a rental property 4
that routinely fails to meet basic health and safety standards. 5

(ii) “Severe health and safety risk property” includes: 6

1. a rental property that is in continued noncompliance with 7
local housing codes, resulting in chronic unsafe housing conditions; 8

2. a severely distressed rental property; 9

3. a rental property that has repeated cycles of violations, 10
citations, and failures to remediate; and 11

4. a persistently hazardous rental property. 12

(b) This section applies only to properties with 50 or more units. 13

(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Office focus on the most severe, 14
serious, and high –volume violations and that the planned interventions be limited to the 15
most severe health and safety risk properties. 16

(d) (1) The Office, in collaboration with the Attor ney General, shall develop a 17
plan to: 18

(1) (i) identify severe health and safety risk properties in the State; 19

(2) (ii) expand the structure of the Office to address severe health and 20
safety risk properties in the State; and 21

(3) (iii) provide effective interventions to mitigate predatory, 22
noncompliant, and negligent landlords of multi–unit rental properties in the State. 23

(2) The Office shall communicate and coordinate with counties and 24
municipalities in interventions and identify ways to leverage county resources. 25

(3) The Office shall seek input from renters, renter advocates, property 26
owners, housing providers, housing associations, and other stakeholders to develop the plan 27
required under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 28

(c) (e) The plan required under subsection (b) (d) of this section shall: 29

SENATE BILL 941 3

(1) create a process for identifying: 1

(i) severe health and safety properties; and 2

(ii) predatory landlord practices; 3

(2) develop methods for the referral of properties to the Office, including: 4

(i) by residents that currently live in a property; 5

(ii) through coordination with municipal and county agencies; 6

(iii) by tenant associations; and 7

(iv) by other organizations that serve renters and communities; 8

(3) determine appropriate interventions to protect the health and safety of 9
residents living in severe health and safety risk properties, including: 10

(i) financial consequences, fines, and liability for investigation and 11
intervention costs; 12

(ii) legal interventions such as injunctions and legal proceedings; 13

(iii) required tenant escrow; 14

(iv) the issuance of corrective action plans with deadlines; 15

(v) mandatory follow–up inspections; 16

(vi) required timelines for addressing violations; 17

(vii) mandatory pest eradication plans; 18

(viii) structural repair requirements; 19

(ix) temporary relocation plans for tenants in units that are unsafe 20
for occupancy; 21

(x) requirements for landlords to submit remediation plans and 22
records of completed repairs; and 23

(xi) any other mitigations; and 24

(4) identify costs and options for containing costs, including leveraging 25
collaboration with the county or local housing agency and the utilization of county inspectors 26
versus the hiring of State inspectors; and 27
4 SENATE BILL 941

(5) make recommendations for statutory changes to provide effective 1
mitigation and relief for tenants. 2

(d) (f) (1) On or before August 31, 2027, the Department of Housing and 3
Community Development shall submit the plan and recommendations developed under this 4
section to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, 5
the General Assembly. 6

(2) On or before December 31, 2027, the Department of Housing and 7
Community Development shall submit a report to t he Governor and, in accordance with § 8
2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly that includes: 9

(i) the properties identified under subsection (d) of this section; 10

(ii) the types of violations identified; 11

(iii) the reason a property is included in the plan required under 12
subsection (d) of this section; 13

(iv) any interventions undertaken and the status of violations as a 14
result of the plan; and 15

(v) any other helpful information. 16

(g) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall publish the 17
list of severe health and safety risk properties, including the names of properties, publicly on 18
the Department’s website. 19

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 20
1, 2026. It shal l remain effective for a period of 1 year and 6 months and, at the end of 21
December 31, 2027, this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall 22
be abrogated and of no further force and effect. 23

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.