Senate Bill 477 draws industry pushback over 12-year appraisal recordkeeping; sponsor says amendment targets discrimination
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Summary
Senate Bill 477 would set new time limits for appraisal-related lawsuits and extend some fair-housing claims and recordkeeping to 12 years; appraisers testified the retention and extended limitation are operationally burdensome and urged reverting to the bill's original limits.
Senator McKay introduced Senate Bill 477, saying the measure "brings in clarity and fairness and accountability to Maryland's real estate appraisal system," establishes a 2-year-from-discovery / 4-year-absolute statute of limitations for appraisal claims, extends some discriminatory-housing claims up to 12 years and raises appraiser file retention from 5 to 12 years while excluding fraud and preserving regulator oversight.
The Maryland chapter of the Appraisal Institute opposed the bill as amended. "As introduced, this was a good bill," testified Matthew Wood, a state-certified residential appraiser. Wood said recent committee amendments that add a 12-year statute for certain fair-housing claims and a universal 12-year file-retention requirement create an "unworkable compliance structure" for small independent appraisers and asked the committee to remove the 12-year additions and rely on existing Maryland fair-housing law.
Greg Glover, a Maryland certified appraiser and former chair of the state appraisal board, echoed those concerns and described technological and cost burdens for small firms: long-term electronic storage can fail to migrate across software versions and may force costly forensic retrieval when files must be produced. Both industry witnesses said current practice retains records five years and that criminal or litigation triggers can extend retention for a limited period.
Committee members pressed the sponsor on the amendment history and policy goals. Several members noted the amendment originated in the Joint Procedure and Regulations (JPR) process and that Senator Nick Charles and members of the Black Caucus had prioritized addressing racial bias in appraisals. McKay described the committee amendment as a compromise intended to provide victims of discriminatory appraisal practices more time to seek redress while also proposing filing and retention changes that, in his view, would not affect ongoing claims and would take effect for future claims after 10/01/2026.
No formal vote was taken at the hearing. The committee concluded the record after questions and further explanation from the sponsor and industry witnesses; proponents and opponents signaled interest in negotiating narrower retention rules or targeted approaches tied to complaints.
What happens next: the committee heard testimony and questions but did not record a final vote during this session.
