FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced that the Civil Rights Division of the Office of the Attorney General has reached a settlement with Bay Management Group, LLC (Bay Management) to resolve a claim of racial discrimination that resulted from tenant screening advertisements and applicant-facing materials used for Maryland rental housing that included criminal history language.
The Civil Rights Division opened an investigation after receiving information that Bay Management advertised rental housing using phrases such as “clean criminal background check” or similar language. The Division found reasonable cause to believe that this language had a discriminatory effect.
“A 'clean background check required' ad is a rejection letter in disguise,” said Attorney General Brown. “It tells people not to bother before they've even applied. This settlement takes that language off the table and requires housing providers to make an individualized assessment, not a blanket rejection based on a single line in an ad.”
Housing providers cannot issue a blanket ban on renting to people with a criminal record. Doing so may violate state and federal fair housing laws. A housing provider may only consider a conviction record if it is closely related to whether the person will be a successful tenant. Housing providers must also give applicants a chance to share mitigating information or proof of rehabilitation. Starting October 1, 2026, the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act will limit how housing providers can consider conviction records and is designed to reduce the racial impact of these screening policies.
As part of the settlement, Bay Management will adopt a Civil Rights Division-approved criminal-history screening policy for its Maryland properties. The policy will provide applicants who may be denied based solely on criminal history an opportunity for individualized assessment. Bay Management will also remove “clean criminal background,” “clean criminal history,” and materially similar language from Maryland rental advertisements, qualification criteria, website content, application materials, and other public-facing or applicant-facing materials.
The agreement also requires Bay Management to:
- Update application and denial-notice language;
- Provide fair housing training to relevant Maryland personnel;
- Designate a fair housing coordinator;
- Certify compliance annually;
- Maintain compliance records;
- Provide notice and application fee waivers to certain applicants who were previously denied, screened out, or had a conditional offer withdrawn based solely on criminal history; and
- Pay $30,000 to the State of Maryland in civil penalties.
The settlement also addresses additional concerns identified by the Civil Rights Division related to voucher and source-of-income messaging. Bay Management has agreed to revise its policies, application materials, and public-facing materials for Maryland rental properties to state that lawful sources of income, including housing vouchers, are accepted where required by law.
The Civil Rights Division was established to protect the rights of Maryland residents and promote equal opportunity across housing, employment, and public services. The Division investigates potential violations of civil rights laws and resolves them through policy reform, education, and settlement where appropriate. To contact our Civil Rights Division, please email [email protected], or call 410-576-6300 or 888-743-0023 toll-free. Reports of civil rights violations can be made to the Division by completing the Civil Rights Complaint Form.
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