Section 20-703 - Construction of subtitle. - Maryland Statutes

§ 20-703. Construction of subtitle.
 

This subtitle does not: 

(1) invalidate or limit any local law that requires dwellings to be designed and constructed in a manner that affords an individual with a disability greater access than is required by § 20-706(b) of this subtitle; 

(2) limit the applicability of any reasonable local, State, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants allowed to occupy a dwelling; 

(3) prohibit the State or a local government from enacting standards that govern the location of group homes, as defined in § 4-601 of the Housing and Community Development Article; 

(4) affect the powers of any local government to enact an ordinance on any subject covered by this subtitle, provided that the ordinance does not authorize any act that would be a discriminatory housing practice under this subtitle; 

(5) require that a dwelling be made available to an individual whose tenancy would: 

(i) constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals; or 

(ii) result in substantial physical damage to the property of others; 

(6) prohibit conduct against a person because the person has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of: 

(i) a controlled dangerous substance, as defined in § 5-101 of the Criminal Law Article; or 

(ii) a controlled substance, as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802; 

(7) unless membership in the religion is restricted on the basis of race, color, or national origin, prohibit a religious organization, association, or society or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society from giving preference or limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion; or 

(8) prohibit a private club that is not open to the public and that, as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes, provides lodgings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of the dwellings to its members or from giving preference to its members. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 49B, §§ 21(c)-(g), (i), (j), 38; 2009, ch. 120, § 2.]