A bill introduced Tuesday by the Montgomery County Council would strengthen the current requirement that protects renters from having to disclose their criminal or credit history to landlords during the application process.
This proposal, which amends the county’s ban-the-box legislation, is sponsored by Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles and cosponsored by Councilmembers Evan Glass and Sidney Katz.
“This comes from a very good place of wanting people to get housed,” Glass said during the meeting. It adds to rights already held by those filling out a housing application.
Sayles said her bill would make it clearer what a landlord can do during the rental application process. Past criminal and credit histories can’t be obtained before a landlord makes an offer to a perspective tenant, she said. A similar legislation has the same requirement concerning job applicants.
Sayles’ amendment would require posting of this requirement “in an easily noticeable place,” she said.
“This bill requires the Office of Human Rights to submit an annual report to the Council by Oct. 1 detailing the number of complaints received and reasons for denying a rental application,” according to Sayles, adding, “This information will be critical for monitoring and tracking progress on how we are removing barriers for those seeking to rent in our community.”
Yesterday, I introduced Bill 8-24, which amends Montgomery County’s “ban-the-box” legislation to protect renters from having to disclose their criminal history to a prospective landlord. This bill will better inform renters of their rights. Read more ⬇️ https://t.co/C6O0CFmxue
— Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (@CM_Sayles) March 6, 2024
