What Montgomery County's Bill 38-26 Would Change for Renters and Landlords

The Montgomery County Council has introduced Bill 38-26, Discriminatory Housing Practices and Early Lease Termination – Amendments, which would expand housing protections for county residents and create new lease termination rights for some tenants. Introduced during the July 28 Council session, the bill is tentatively scheduled for a public hearing on September 15 at 1:30 p.m.

Councilmember Kristin Mink introduced the bill, which was cosponsored by Councilmembers Will Jawando, Kate Stewart, Dawn Luedtke, Shebra Evans, and Laurie-Anne Sayles.

What the bill would do

If enacted, Bill 38-26 would amend the county's housing discrimination law to prohibit landlords, brokers, and other housing providers from discriminating against people based on citizenship or immigration status when renting or selling housing.

The bill would also give tenants a new way to end a lease early. Under the proposal, a tenant could terminate a lease with 30 days' notice if:

• The tenant is detained, deported, or held for more than 30 days as part of immigration proceedings, or

• Another resident of the unit is detained, deported, or held for more than 30 days, and this creates financial hardship for the household.

  
  

County law already allows early lease termination for other circumstances "beyond the tenant's control," such as an involuntary job relocation. This bill would add immigration-related detention or deportation to that list.

How it would affect residents

For renters and homebuyers, the bill would make explicit that a person cannot be denied housing because of their national origin, immigration status, or because they are undocumented, hold an immigrant visa, or are involved in an immigration proceeding. For tenants facing a sudden immigration-related disruption, it would also provide a legal, penalty-free way to exit a lease early.

For landlords and housing providers, the bill would add immigration and citizenship status to the list of protected categories they cannot use in housing decisions. It would also likely require updated lease language reflecting the new early-termination right.

Why this bill matters

Supporters say the bill closes a gap in the county's fair housing law and gives tenants more flexibility during serious immigration-related hardship. Councilmember Mink has said that citizenship and immigration status say nothing about how a person will perform as a tenant or homebuyer, and that documented cases of discrimination likely represent only a fraction of what's actually happening.

Advocacy groups, including the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, have voiced support, noting that landlords already have a reasonable right to screen tenants based on ability to pay rent, but argue it isn't appropriate to deny housing based on speculation about a tenant's immigration status.

The bill also builds on the county's broader history of expanding local fair housing protections beyond what federal and state law explicitly requires.

The bottom line

Bill 38-26 is a housing and civil rights proposal that could affect renters, homebuyers, and landlords across Montgomery County. It would bar discrimination based on immigration status in housing decisions and give some tenants a legal way out of a lease when immigration proceedings make it impossible to remain. Residents who want to learn more or weigh in should plan to follow the September 15 public hearing and the Council's ongoing review of the bill.