The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on housing and community development policy in the 2026 General Assembly session. 
Counties are on the front lines of Maryland’s housing challenges—working to expand affordability, revitalize communities, and respond to persistent issues like vacancy, blight, and displacement. Through its advocacy, MACo supports policies that strengthen local capacity to deliver housing solutions, invest in community development, and address the full continuum of housing needs.
In the 448th legislative session, housing remained a central focus, shaped by ongoing affordability pressures, supply constraints, and growing demand for state intervention. The General Assembly advanced a wide range of proposals from production incentives and tenant protections to tools aimed at revitalizing distressed properties, many of which rely on counties for implementation and oversight.
Amid these evolving priorities, MACo worked to ensure that new policies are both actionable and responsive to local conditions. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions on hundreds of bills, helping to refine legislation, promote flexible tools, and reinforce the essential role counties play in turning housing policy into meaningful, on-the-ground results.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
MACo supported HB 85/SB 511 – Corporations and Associations – Cooperative Limited Equity Housing Corporations – Establishment with amendments. This bill establishes a process for converting certain entities into Cooperative Limited Equity Housing Corporations (CLEHCs). MACo’s amendments aligned local authority over CLEHCs with the existing framework that governs condominium regimes to promote long-term affordability. This bill DID pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 153/SB 12 – Residential Rental Apartments – Air-Conditioning Requirement with amendments. This bill will establish state minimum air conditioning requirements for apartment buildings of 10 units or greater. MACo’s amendment preserved counties’ ability to set stronger standards than the State. This bill DID pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 548/SB 325 – Land Use – Permitting – Development Rights (Maryland Housing Certainty Act) with amendments. This bill would have overturned existing Maryland case law by establishing an earlier vesting standard for residential projects and adjusting impact fee and excise tax payment timing to the issuance of a use and occupancy permit. MACo’s amendments moved the legislation in a more workable, predictable, and fiscally responsible direction. This bill DID pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 1538 – Land Use – Accessory Dwelling Units – Requirements and Prohibitions (Maryland Generational Housing Act of 2026). This bill would have required local governments to allow both an internal and external accessory dwelling unit on single-family lots regardless of density limits. Additionally, it would have restricted new parking requirements and allowed ADUs to share utility meters and lines with the main house. HB 1538 would have effectively tripled the density allowed in any area zoned for single-family zoning. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 778 – Land Use – Middle Housing Options – Requirements. This bill would have imposed a sweeping, one-size-fits-all zoning mandate that limited local planning discretion, created implementation uncertainty, and risked unintended fiscal, infrastructure, and public safety consequences by effectively eliminating single-family zoning. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported SB 267 – Land Use – Residential Housing – Oversight and Approval (Building Affordably in My Back Yard Act). BAMBY is a comprehensive, locally grounded package that would have advanced a balanced housing strategy by empowering counties to speed housing production, deploy practical market tools, align state actions with local realities, and pair growth with sensible renter protections. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 239/SB 36 – Land Use – Zoning – Limitations (Starter and Silver Homes Act of 2026) with amendments. This bill would have made several sweeping changes to the land use article and zoning authority, effectively increasing density in single family zones. As key implementers of land use policy, counties offered amendments to refine the bill, ensuring its smooth administration, and reducing operational and fiscal risks for communities. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo submitted a letter of information on HB 993/SB 666 – Real Property – Short-Term Rentals to offer guardrails that allow limited tenant participation in the short-term rental economy while preserving local land use authority and protecting the supply of attainable housing. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo submitted a letter of information on HB 691 – State Government – Procedures – Permitting Efficiency for Housing Development Projects. The bill would have allowed state departments to review and analyze housing-related permitting processes and to implement streamlining measures intended to speed up reviews. MACo’s letter emphasized the importance of ensuring that any delegated responsibilities are clearly defined, adequately funded, and structured to avoid unintended cost shifts to local governments. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 402/SB 981 – Common Ownership Communities – Oversight, Governing Document Database, and Local Commissions with amendments. This bill would have established the Common Ownership Community Oversight Division within the Department of Housing and Community Development to oversee common ownership communities, handle complaints, collect and publish community governance documents, and set standards for local oversight commissions. As drafted, HB 402 would have preempted local existing Common Ownership Community Commissions. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1501 –Department of Housing and Community Development – Homeless Shelter Certification with amendments. This bill would have granted DHCD broad authority to regulate homeless shelters. To preserve established emergency response practices while advancing the bill’s broader goals, counties requested targeted amendments to exempt emergency disaster shelters from the proposed licensing requirements. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1188 – Excess Ownership of Single-Family Residences Excise Tax (End Hedge Fund Control of Maryland Homes Act of 2026). This bill sought to establish commonsense guardrails on large hedge funds from purchasing a disproportionate amount of any county’s housing supply. This bill would have addressed housing affordability challenges by targeting high-volume acquisitions by large investment firms which contribute to rising housing costs and reduced availability for homebuyers. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 774/SB 462 – Landlord and Tenant – Residential Leases and Holdover Tenancies – Local Good Cause Termination (Good Cause Eviction). The bill would have authorized counties to establish laws preventing landlords from failing to renew or terminating leases without just cause. This measure would have helped counties protect vulnerable residents and tailor solutions to the unique needs of their communities. This bill DID NOT pass the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
