# Housing and Community Development (GHS)

## Title 4. Division of Development Finance

### Subtitle 9. Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program

#### Section 4-903

The General Assembly finds that:

(1)

  (i) many residents of the State live in dwellings that do not conform to building, health, safety, fire, occupancy, or other codes and standards applicable to housing;

  (ii) many communities or political subdivisions in the State do not have a minimum livability code; and

  (iii) these conditions impede the development and maintenance of healthy, safe, and viable communities;

(2) private sector financing is often unavailable for rehabilitation because:

  (i) owner-occupants of housing in need of rehabilitation often have low incomes; and

  (ii) nonoccupant owners often incur high risks in owning and managing the housing;

(3) rehabilitating suitable housing:

  (i) increases the economic life of the housing;

  (ii) is often more economical and less disruptive than replacing the housing and relocating its occupants;

  (iii) can better promote community development when it is done through organized housing rehabilitation programs;

  (iv) is essential for sound community development; and

  (v) can be helped by rehabilitating commercial buildings serving communities where housing rehabilitation is desirable;

(4) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent and property acquired to:

  (i) rehabilitate housing;

  (ii) develop healthful, safe, and viable communities;

  (iii) rehabilitate commercial buildings to help rehabilitate and develop housing; and

  (iv) provide healthful and safe housing for migratory workers to maintain and expand the agricultural activities that are dependent on the labor of these workers; and

(5) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent to:

  (i) improve, modify, and add to housing to increase the supply of special housing for special populations, such as elderly households, individuals with disabilities, and other disadvantaged residents of the State;

  (ii) prevent lead poisoning by modifying older housing to provide a lead-safe environment, as lead paint in older housing is a major source of lead poisoning in children;

  (iii) provide adequate indoor plumbing, water supply, and sewage disposal systems for dwellings; and

  (iv) reduce or eliminate radon and asbestos, which are major detriments to the health and safety of residents, on a pilot program basis.

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Md. Code Ann., Hous. & Cmty. Dev. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)