Maryland HB 1175: Land Use - Residential Housing - Oversight, Regulation, and Taxation (Building Affordably in My Back Yard Act)

Bill Text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1175*

HOUSE BILL 1175
L6, Q2, Q6 6lr2313

By: Delegate Allen
Introduced and read first time: February 11, 2026
Assigned to: Economic Matters and Ways and Means

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Land Use – Residential Housing – Oversight, Regulation, and Taxation 2
(Building Affordably in My Back Yard Act) 3

FOR the purpose of establishing certain policies and processes to facilitate the development 4
of residential housing in the State; requiring an entity that owns residential real 5
property in the State to make a certain certification to the Department of Housing 6
and Community Development; authorizing a local jurisdiction to establish an 7
administrative process to review, approve, modify, or deny certain housing 8
development project applications; providing for the establishment of certain housing 9
production targets; requiring certain local jurisdictions and the Commission to adopt 10
local project design guidelines for certain qualified affordable housing projects; 11
requiring local jurisdictions and the Commission to implement certain preapproval 12
building permit application processes for standardized model home designs; 13
authorizing a county to reduce the fee or tax rate of certain housing–sensitive taxes 14
or fees imposed on a qualified affordable housing project; authorizing a county to 15
increase the fee or tax rate of certain housing–sensitive taxes or fees on classes of 16
property that are not part of a qualified affordable housing project; limiting the 17
entities from which a certain person may accept offers on residential real property 18
during a certain period of time; authorizing a county, after making a certain 19
determination, to impose a transfer tax on the transfer of certain owner–occupied 20
properties; authorizing the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the 21
governing body of a county to establish, by law, certain subclasses of real property 22
and to set a special property tax rate for the subclasses of real property; requiring 23
the Comptroller, in consultation with the State Department of Assessments and 24
Taxation, to evaluate and report on disincentives to homeowners to downsize or 25
transition to smaller homes; requiring the Department of Planning to conduct a 26
study and publish a comprehensive report on housing infrastructure; requiring 27
certain departments to conduct a comprehensive internal review of certain approval 28
processes that impact housing; and generally relating to the oversight, regulation, 29
development, and taxation of residential real estate. 30

2 HOUSE BILL 1175

BY adding to 1
Article – Housing and Community Development 2
Section 1–103 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 5

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – Land Use 7
Section 1–401 and 10–103 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2012 Volume and 2025 Supplement) 10

BY adding to 11
Article – Land Use 12
Section 7–106; and 12–101 through 12–304 to be under the new title “Title 12. 13
Housing Targets and Affordability” 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2012 Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16

BY adding to 17
Article – Real Property 18
Section 10–804 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 21

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 22
Article – Tax – Property 23
Section 6–202.1 and 6–302 24
Annotated Code of Maryland 25
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 26

BY adding to 27
Article – Tax – Property 28
Section 13–601 and 13–602 to be under the new subtitle “Subtitle 6. Transfer Tax on 29
Transfers of Owner–Occupied Properties” 30
Annotated Code of Maryland 31
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 32

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 33
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 34

Article – Housing and Community Development 35

1–103. 36

(A) IN THIS SECTION, “ENTITY” MEANS: 37

HOUSE BILL 1175 3

(1) A CORPORATION; 1

(2) A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; 2

(3) A LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP; 3

(4) A LIMITED PARTNERSHIP; 4

(5) A LIMITED LIABILITY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP; 5

(6) A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION; 6

(7) A TRADE NAME FILER; OR 7

(8) A BUSINESS TRUST. 8

(B) (1) AT LEAST ONCE PER YEAR, EACH ENTITY THAT OWNS 9
RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY IN THE STATE SHALL FILE WITH THE DEPARTMENT 10
A CERTIFICATE DISCLOSING THE CORRECT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR A 11
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTITY WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO COMMUNICATE 12
WITH THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE ENTITY. 13

(2) THE CERTIFICATE SHALL BE: 14

(I) IN WRITING; AND 15

(II) AFFIRMED OR ACKNOWLEDGED UNDER OATH. 16

(C) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PROVIDE THE INFORMATION PROVIDED 17
UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION ON REQUEST BY A UNIT OF LOCAL 18
GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE. 19

Article – Land Use 20

1–401. 21

(a) Except as provided in this section, this division does not a