马里兰州房东歧视住房券租客案达成和解：付10万美元罚款并改筛选规则
马里兰州总检察长安东尼·布朗（Anthony G. Brown）11月6日宣布，其民权处已与房东 Disney Properties LLC 达成和解，解决其基于收入来源的非法住房歧视指控。该公司总部位于索尔兹伯里，在马里兰州东岸拥有、经营或管理约100处出租物业，须支付10万美元民事罚款，并大幅修改租赁申请与租客筛选做法。
民权处的调查认定，该公司拒绝向使用住房选择券（即联邦租房援助计划，俗称 Section 8）的申请人出租房屋，并公布了要求提供三至四份近期工资单的申请条件。这些要求对依赖租房援助、残障福利、退休收入或其他合法收入、而非传统就业收入的申请人构成障碍。
布朗表示：「住房券本应帮助人们获得住所，而不是成为他们被拒之门外的原因。这项和解将让马里兰人更容易为家人找到栖身之所，无论他们用工资、住房券还是残障福利支付房租。」
马里兰州《住房机会平等法》（HOME Act）禁止房东基于合法收入来源歧视准租客。今年10月1日生效的新法进一步限制以财务筛选标准拒绝领取收入型住房补贴的申请人。
根据和解条款，该公司必须：在所有受覆盖物业接受住房选择券及其他合法收入来源，并按申请人自付的租金部分而非全额租金评估其收入；取消要求工资单、实体社保卡等不必要的申请条件；修改租赁申请、广告、网站等材料中劝退住房券持有人的措辞；对刑事记录实行个案评估，并对拟拒绝的申请实行集中管理复核；在协议监督期内为最多100名拟使用住房券或租房补贴的申请人免除申请费；为业主、员工、经理与租赁人员提供公平住房培训；并向东岸服务住房券持有人的公屋机构、非营利住房组织与社区组织分享房源信息。
和解还要求该公司在两年协议期内保存记录，并每半年向民权处提交合规报告。
（来源：马里兰州总检察长办公室）
Maryland Landlord Settles Housing Voucher Discrimination Case for $100,000
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced on November 6 that his Civil Rights Division has reached a settlement with Disney Properties LLC, a Salisbury-based landlord that owns, operates or manages approximately 100 rental properties on Maryland's Eastern Shore, resolving allegations of unlawful housing discrimination based on source of income. Disney Properties must pay $100,000 in civil penalties and make significant changes to its rental application and tenant screening practices.
The Civil Rights Division's investigation found reasonable cause to believe the company discriminated against prospective tenants who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers, the federal rental assistance program often called Section 8. The company refused to rent to applicants using housing vouchers and published application requirements calling for three to four current pay stubs, creating barriers for people who rely on rental assistance, disability benefits, retirement income or other lawful sources of income.
"Housing vouchers are supposed to help people secure a home, not be the reason they are turned away," said Attorney General Brown. "This settlement will make it easier for Marylanders to put a roof over their loved ones' heads, whether they pay their rent with a paycheck, a voucher, or disability benefits."
Maryland's Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act prohibits discrimination based on lawful source of income. On October 1, 2026, Maryland strengthened those protections through a new law further limiting financial screening criteria used to deny housing to applicants receiving income-based housing subsidies.
Under the settlement, Disney Properties must accept Housing Choice Vouchers and other lawful sources of income and evaluate income based on the portion of rent the applicant pays; eliminate unnecessary demands for pay stubs and physical Social Security cards; revise applications, advertisements and websites; adopt individualized criminal-history assessments and centralized review of proposed denials; waive application fees for up to 100 eligible voucher applicants; provide fair housing training; and share listings with public housing agencies and nonprofit housing providers. The company must also keep records and file semiannual compliance reports during the agreement's two-year term.
(Source: Maryland Attorney General's Office)
来源：马里兰州总检察长办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于安纳波利斯的马里兰州议会大厦。Martin Falbisoner 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Maryland State House in Annapolis. Photo by Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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