MD SB180

Fair housing testers may lawfully intercept oral communications without consent when working for testing programs operated by federal, state, or local government, or by qualified nonprofit civil rights organizations

The tester must be a party to the communication, and the recording must be made specifically to obtain evidence of fair housing violations under federal, state, or local law

Qualifying nonprofit organizations must be federally recognized fair housing organizations under 24 C.F.R. § 125.103, or Maryland-incorporated tax-exempt civil rights groups with at least 2 years of experience in complaint intake, investigation, and fair housing testing or enforcement

Intercepted communications are generally inadmissible as evidence in state proceedings, except when used specifically to enforce federal, state, or local fair housing laws

Effective date: October 1, 2026