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Committee considers bill to stop landlords from rejecting voucher holders based on income screening
Summary
Sen. Sarah Love presented SB 335 to clarify that landlords may not refuse tenants for using income-based housing subsidies; Senate amendments added utilities to allowable screening and created a voluntary positive rent-reporting mechanism. Advocates sought clarifying language to prevent double-counting of utility allowances.
Sen. Sarah Love told the committee SB 335 fixes a loophole that permitted landlords to refuse prospective tenants who use income-based housing subsidies by misapplying income-screening rules. The bill clarifies that landlords may not deny tenancy solely because a prospective tenant receives a subsidy and may only screen for the tenant’s responsibility for rent and utilities where appropriate. “SB 335 clarifies that landlords who use financial information in screening may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant with an income-based housing subsidy on the basis of income, credit score, lack of credit history, or pre-subsidy adverse credit history,” the sponsor said.
The Senate amendments added two provisions: permitting landlords to consider a tenant’s ability to pay rent and utilities (when the tenant is responsible for utilities) and adding a voluntary mechanism for landlords to submit positive rent-payment history to credit reporting agencies. Housing advocates supported the bill with amendments and urged a clarifying provision to make sure publicly administered voucher programs’ utility allowances are not double-counted in landlord screening. Emily Hoover Mel of the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership said voucher programs already include utility allowances in voucher calculations and urged the committee to rely on existing public-housing utility calculations so tenants are not screened out unnecessarily.
Representatives of consumer-reporting firms cautioned that positive rent reporting should allow full and complete reporting of rental payments and raised operational concerns about partial-year reporting and data consistency. Committee members asked technical questions about the scope of utilities covered by vouchers, whether energy-assistance programs would be misinterpreted as tenant responsibility, and the mechanics of voluntary rent reporting.
The hearing concluded with advocates urging a favorable report with amendments to clarify utilities and reporting mechanics; no formal vote was recorded in the transcript.
