MD SB514

Landlords cannot ask about or consider a prospective tenant's criminal history until after extending a conditional offer, and must apply criminal background checks uniformly to all applicants

Landlords are prohibited from rejecting tenants based on arrests without convictions, expunged records, pardoned convictions, juvenile adjudications, or sealed records, and cannot require drug or alcohol testing

After a conditional offer, landlords may only consider specific serious convictions as grounds for withdrawal: first-degree murder, human trafficking, crimes requiring lifetime sex offender registration, and certain offenses (sexual offenses, child pornography, kidnapping, arson) within the previous 3 years

Prospective tenants must receive written notice before application fees are collected explaining criminal history screening procedures, and landlords who withdraw offers must provide specific reasons and allow appeals with individualized assessments

Violations constitute unfair trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act with civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation, and the Attorney General must collect complaint data and publish annual reports on substantiated violations